Are You JamPad Material?
A short blurb on what makes founders Mob-Boss-esque
JP is composed of and constantly hunting for the most talented tech founders in the valley. There’s common nomenclature thrown around when describing JP founders, but what do they actually imply? Let’s break it down:
What Does “Pirate Mentality” Mean?
Highly Disagreeable: people don’t walk all over you; you walk all over them. I mean this in the sense you as a founder have the stomach, IQ, and conviction to disagree with those around you on things. In today’s society of conformity, it’s essential we have those that truly think and act different from the crowd. After all, it was the brilliant misfits of the last 50 years that allows me to be in the position I and many other JP founders are today (miss you, Steve). Most founders today are pushovers, pansies, and are highly conformist to the buzzword/topic/talking point of the month. Don’t be that guy.
Distaste for Authority & Political Correctness: this is absolutely necessary. Folks like teachers and professors, overly corporate structure & “vibes”, and more of that ilk should bother you deeply. People who champion modern day “movements” to not “get in trouble” with the establishment should make you sneeze b/c of how allergic you are to it. You should have a world view and be striving to build your startup daily as the platform you serve said view on to the world at scale.
Not Overly Educated: the best founders are ones who take calculated risk. Founders who win big are the ones who jump. The longer you’re in the “machine” is a strong signal you just don’t have “it”. Books are great, but are all theoretical. We’re looking for those who are talented enough, wake up at 2AM in cold sweats thinking in the weeds about what they’re building, have a burning desire to achieve greatness, and will die trying.
Familiar w/ Retro Silicon Valley: John Doerr, Arthur Rock, Travis, Red-swoosh, Obama O’s, Don Valentine, Mark Pincus, Sean Parker, Brian Chesky, Silicon Valley’s samurai, Andy Grove, Netscape, 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Amazon.bomb, Scully, Steve & Steve, NeXt, 1 Hacker Way, Fairchild Semiconductor, Xerox Park, Bill Hewlett, Sand Hill Rd, etc. If you’re not familiar and carry a “duty” to pay it forth to these legends, you’re probably not what we’re looking for.
Top of the Hierarchy: our internal compass is always reading where you land in your respective chaotic & highly complex dominance hierarchy. JP founders are almost always playing atop their respective hierarchy, and are on a trajectory to stay in that lane.
Quality > Quantity
We’ve received hundreds of applications to JamPad. Only ~ 30 have been accepted, and multiple have been kicked. Quality is by far and large the most important part that’s made the group as potent as it is today.
Only you know deep down if you fit these traits we look for before inducting someone into JP. A great way to figure this out is grabbing coffee or dinner with a JP founder. If you guys hit it off and pass the “vibe check” that’s great signal before meeting with a JP board member.
Final Thoughts
All JP founders meet the above mentality. If you think you do as well, apply to JP here. FYI, everyone will soon be able to view who’s in JP on the new upcoming website, & reach out to founders to begin penetrating the network. Until then, we build!
AL
