Trailblazing #7 (10/01/2023)

What I recently found interesting:

Why are “second chances” important?

The beauty of the HBS case study method is that it promotes an ambiguous discussion on a wide range of topics, encouraging the students to more intentionally consider alternative views of the world and adjust different beliefs / habits / biases that we grew up with → on that note, a case about a company called Nehemiah and its “second chance” program led me to change my views on what it means to be incarcerated.

• Similarly, the leading article showcases one (of likely many that we simply do not hear about) example of a person who was able to turn their life around after committing a horrible crime; to be clear, there are no words or actions that can make up for a lost life and retribution must happen so that others are deterred from doing something similar; but that doesn’t necessarily have to mean that rehabilitation is impossible. This may be a controversial statement, but (as human beings) we are intelligent creatures, and after we make mistakes (I acknowledge that describing a murder this way is an understatement), we are capable of changing for the better, but only if properly helped, coached, incentivized and encouraged.

Broadening this reflection, growing up I have mostly been taught that the world was black and white → our lives were supposed to be efficiently governed by law and social / ethical / religious norms thru punishment and pre-determined stigmas associated with breaking those rules. Frankly, myself from before HBS would likely not have considered a former inmate as someone capable of doing good in the world. It was easier that way, it was easier to put that person in a box... And that’s where HBS helped me reflect on that and realize that ‘easier’ is almost never an answer…

• The world is definitely not black and white; it is very gray and it is always worth taking time to understand the other side. Building on the case of Larry Miller, please note that I am not advocating for the world without any laws (i.e. where we could freely commit crimes), but I would like to emphasize that there is always more to a person’s story than the raw facts on their resumes. And the world could use a little more empathy ??

I’ll end this thought with two questions that I think everyone shall ask themselves:

• Would Larry Miller have had such a fruitful career had it not been for him not broadcasting his criminal past?
• Would the world have been better off if Larry Miller had not been given an opportunity to work his way to the top of Nike’s corporate ladder?

A successful Polish entrepreneur (Snowflake’s co-founder) reflects on Polish startup ecosystem’s thus-far unrealized potential and its promising future

Ever since I left Poland at the age of 19 and embraced on a journey to learn from people with different backgrounds and upbringings, I would naturally compare my Polish experiences to what others have gone thru up until the moment we crossed our paths; one of the common parts of one’s early life experiences is education and any way I sliced it I have always come to the conclusion that the Polish public K1-12 education system is relatively good. This opinion is not based on data, this is just my own experience, so perhaps I just got very lucky..

• For context, I went to a public primary school next to my home (K1-6), then spent 3 years in a private middle school (K7-9), after which I decided to develop further (K10-12) at a public school. Regardless of the underlying reasons for my transitions between those systems, at the time of my High School graduation, I knew that I was just an average student; I worked very hard (and I had other things going for me), but I was nowhere close to being a Valedictorian or feeling like I was the smartest kid in the room. Needless to say, my High School experience (subjectively) led me to conclude that Poland was home to an incredibly strong talent (especially in STEM fields).

Having said that, the following eight years spent in Bay Area familiarizing myself with the startup culture / ecosystem left me wonder: why has Poland, albeit wildly successful economically in the past 30 years and full of incredibly talented people (forgive me if I am biased), not been able to replicate the success of Israel, Singapore or Estonia when it comes to building global tech behemoths? Why isn’t Poland the ‘talk of the town’? I have heard many reasons over the last decade, but the two quoted in the leading article are the first that really spoke to me:

• the curse of being a middle-size market → Poland is big enough to have national champions, so when growing a company founders do not necessarily have to build with global markets in mind, to have a life-altering success
• the scars of a post-communist state → last 30 years of economic growth have provided most Poles (especially, boomers and their kids) with both a feeling of satisfaction / accomplishment / comfort as well as subconscious fear of losing it (developed off of “empty shelves”-like experiences from communism).

Now, if Marcin Zukowski is right, then maybe Poland is on the brink of a real breakthru in the startup world → perhaps, the youngest generations are finally able to look past the existential fears stemming from the Polish history and have the courage to take the necessary risks to use their skillsets to “lead the change in the world” rather than assist more developed economies with cheaper remote labor?

• FWIW, I think that shift has already started and I am excited to see how Polish startup ecosystem evolves in the next 10-30 years.

Miscellaneous

Personal

I moved to Singapore ?? with the plan being to stay here until mid-December; and after that hopefully settle in one place for a little longer (hello “stability” ??).

• By nature, I am a traveler and I love exploring the world and experiencing new cultures. So when an opportunity came up to spend 3-4 months in Singapore I asked myself the same question that the Kilimanjaro guides / porters would ask us every day during the meal time throughout our climb two years ago: “why not [have a second and third and fourth bowl of soup]?” ??

Song Recommendation

“Love my life” by Robbie Williams -> coincidentally, F1 came to Singapore two weeks after my arrival here, and even though I am not really a fan, I have always wanted to experience it. First of all, it is more than a race; it is a festival, as there are multiple concerts of well-known artists happening throughout the weekend. That being said, my September song recommendation naturally comes from Robbie Williams’ performance at the conclusion of Grand Prix Singapore.