JK
Was Starting Twitch A Mistake? - The OnlyFriends Show Ep #6
@ Justin Kan
05/27/21
Takeaways
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I finally made it happen to bring the entire Justin.tv founding team back together for this episode.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We were some of the smartest people in Silicon Valley, now doing the biggest things, and everyone wanted to see us get back together.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I shed blood, sweat, and tears to make this reunion happen.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I think we need to prepare for interviews properly; without it, we risk walking into Google unprepared.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We were trying to sell the company to Google, and I suggested that we prepare our engineers for the interview process.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Emmett, you were the one who said we need to prepare for the Google interviews, and I remember you looking at me and saying, 'Go f*** yourself.'
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I remember being pissed at you, Emmett, but it turned out to be a genius move in the end.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I think we all would have been fired within 12 months if Google had bought Justin.tv.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We were too off in our own way of doing things, which was effective but not orthodox.
MS
Michael Seibel
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The challenges feature was a total failure; we built everything before testing anything.
MS
Michael Seibel
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The moment challenges died versus the moment Twitch was born had years of incompetence in between.
MS
Michael Seibel
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Tim Robinson created the subscriptions feature, which became a third of our revenue for years without anyone knowing.
MS
Michael Seibel
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Tim's secret feature inspired the subscription model for channels on Twitch and across the internet.
MS
Michael Seibel
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We were looking at video views, which is the worst metric for managing a video website.
MS
Michael Seibel
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We were so incompetent about measuring usage that fixing quality of service issues would shrink our views.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
If you just keep moving and trying new things, even if they seem dumb, you can actually find success.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I remember one of Justin's worst moments happened during a pivotal dinner at the Ritz, where we were pivoting from Justin.tv to what became Twitch.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We were working 12 to 15 hours a day, six or seven days a week, and I didn't want to go to a dinner with our investor, but we felt we had to attend.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
During a dinner with an investor, the conversation turned to ayahuasca, which was quite distracting given the stress we were under at the time.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We went from burning $250,000 a month to ending 2010 with a million in profit, which was an incredible turnaround for us.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
There was a deep integrity and trust among us, which meant we never blamed each other for failures; we were all in it together.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We had a surprisingly functional four-person leadership team, despite our dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics and management practices.
JK
Justin Kan
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Despite the dysfunction, we respected each other's areas of ownership, which allowed us to function and grow the company effectively, and we all found motivation from the challenges we faced while building Twitch, which required perseverance.
KV
Kyle Vogt
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We had set ourselves up in a position where we were unwilling to ever admit defeat, which created a strong bond among us.
KV
Kyle Vogt
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We were unwilling to admit defeat, which kept us focused on solving problems rather than contemplating shutting down the company.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
None of us wanted to take on each other's roles, as we were all comfortable in our own areas of expertise, which helped us form a strong bond during tough times.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Our success can be attributed to a combination of luck and perseverance, rather than any specific secret to success.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Having a four-person co-founder team and maintaining engagement from all members over the years is rare, but our strong interpersonal dynamics contributed to our stability.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Despite facing dysfunction in decision-making, the deep trust among us as leaders helped us avoid falling apart.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
We all had moments where we impressed each other, which contributed to our strong team dynamic despite occasional disappointments.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Even without the successful outcome, the startup journey has been a tremendous learning opportunity, allowing me to access insights from top professionals in various fields.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I don't regret the painful experiences in my startup journey, as they taught me valuable lessons about myself and my capabilities.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I believe starting a startup immediately after college was the right decision, as waiting could have led to developing bad habits and a lack of motivation.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I realized that I enjoy inspiring others and catalyzing ideas rather than being the one to build the product, which has shaped my career path.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I learned that I thrive on long-term compounding, taking small steps towards ambitious goals, which makes the process enjoyable and sustainable.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I wish more founders focused on enjoying their work rather than seeking quick financial success, as passion leads to better outcomes.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I believe there is a significant opportunity in addressing health-related issues linked to food consumption, which remains underexplored in the startup world.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The future may involve programming proteins as a new form of technology, bridging the gap between computers and human health, which is currently underexploited. With advancements in machine learning, like AlphaFold, we can now predict how DNA sequences fold into proteins in just minutes, potentially revolutionizing how we build machines that interact with the human body and our environment.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Nature has mastered the efficient conversion of atoms and DNA into machines, far surpassing our current manufacturing methods, which rely on welders and CNC machines.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The tech industry often produces harmful products, similar to cigarettes, without the same level of scrutiny, leading to a society where addictive behaviors are exploited for profit.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Our economy seems adept at creating companies that exploit human weaknesses and addictions, rather than fostering businesses that promote well-being and self-control.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
I believe that the intrinsic human problem in the modern age is our struggle with self-control, exacerbated by the abundance of stimuli from technology and information.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Fasting could be a societal solution to improve self-control, but it's not a scalable answer for everyone.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Technology tends to isolate us, making communities less interdependent and weakening social bonds, which is a significant issue in our modern lives.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The challenge is to create startups that address the disconnection caused by technology, rather than contributing to it.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Addictive behaviors can be harnessed for positive outcomes, such as using game mechanics to encourage physical activity and healthier habits.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The future could see a balance between harnessing addiction for good and achieving mindfulness, leading to a society that transcends current addictive behaviors.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The most effective entrepreneurs are those who are intrinsically motivated and believe they are doing good, which can lead to defeating those who are purely profit-driven.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The idea that we can control our minds and transcend addiction through mindfulness and technology is a hopeful vision for the future.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The people you work with are crucial in entrepreneurship; having the right team can significantly increase your chances of success.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Good leadership doesn't mean being disruptive; it's about understanding the impact of your actions on others and fostering a positive environment.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
The efficiency of converting resources into happiness is more important than the amount of money you have; many wealthy individuals struggle with happiness due to inefficiencies in this conversion.
JK
Justin Kan Cast
05/27/21
@ Justin Kan
Don't focus on the money you didn't make; instead, work on fixing the inefficiencies in your life that prevent happiness.