Can Peter Thiel see the future? You’d be forgiven for thinking so considering he invested early in Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, and Stripe. His strategy with Founders Fund and Mithril Capital is to fund ideas that sound crazy to most people, but have the potential to radically change the world. Exponential innovation > linear innovation.
But how does Thiel tell the crackpot schemes from the brilliant black swans? It boils down to confidence in the team, technology, and business strategy, as he describes in this backstage interview at TechCrunch Disrupt SF.
Here, Thiel also discusses the philanthropic tendencies of some who’ve made their fortunes on technology. He sees the the trend of founders retaining control of tech companies even after they grow big as fueling a new passion for putting money to use for the betterment of mankind.