Rocket Ships and Yachts

Recently, we were courting an extraordinary candidate, who was deciding between joining FutureHouse or taking a job at one of the frontier AI labs. He was looking for somewhere to do his life’s work, where he would be able to bet on himself. He recognized that he would have more agency and impact at FutureHouse, and found the mission more compelling. He spent a week with us, and had a huge grin on his face the entire time. But, at the same time, he was wondering whether he just wanted the greater stability associated with a more established company. In our last call, he described the decision to me as “the difference between a rocket ship and a luxury yacht in harbor.” In the end, he chose the yacht.

Let me tell you something about yachts. They are fun and comfortable for about 3 days, and then become very, very boring. I find it difficult to understand the frame of mind of someone who, in his late 20s, at the height of his power, would choose the career equivalent of a yacht over that of a rocket ship, something that in his own words essentially amounted to a kind of retirement. I also have the feeling that, with the frontier lab in question, I am watching in real time how fast-moving startups turn into big corporations and die, by failing to select for rocket ship people and selecting for yacht people instead. His choice, though disappointing, is probably net good for FutureHouse. I have long ago learned that people who want to spend their time on yachts should do so, and that putting such people on rocket ships inevitably leads to disaster.

More importantly, though, the entire experience has made me appreciate much more deeply the extraordinary gumption of my team, who have chosen to join me on this particular rocket ship rather than taking their own jobs at OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or the like. They sacrifice pay, stability, comfort, and the like in order to pursue a dream for the future of humanity. They choose to bet on themselves, and on us as a team, rather than on someone else. They choose to build a new ladder rather than climb an existing one. To quote a great essay, civilization is one long, anxious wait for such individuals. I owe them all a great debt.

In order of appearance:

Andrew White, my cofounder.

Samantha Cox

Jon Laurent

Mike Skarlinski

Sid Narayanan

Lauren Jaeger

James Braza

Ryan Rhys-Griffiths

Michaela Hinks

Tyler Nadolski

Geemi Wellawatti

Kiki Szostkiewicz

Mayk Caldas

Jasmine Dhaliwal

Ludo Mitchener

Remo Storni

Albert Bou

Mo Razzak

Ali Ghareeb

Ben Chang

Anna Shive

And, of course, Eric Schmidt, who provides the fuel; who, at age 40, decided to join a spunky startup rather than take a more stable job; and who now, nearly 70, builds actual rocket ships. He is a great inspiration.