JL
How Palantir Alumni Keep Launching Billion-Dollar Ideas
@ Joe Lonsdale
05/28/25
Takeaways
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
The hardest part of developing the Gotham platform was not knowing what it was supposed to be at the beginning, as it aimed to create software for the intelligence community.
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
In the intelligence community, finding a spy is challenging, and once found, they often don't share useful information, making it difficult to understand their needs for software.
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Instead of interviewing customers to identify their problems, we had to build a product based on our assumptions and then iterate based on their feedback, which was often critical.
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Initially, we were wrong about the type of data the intelligence community had; they had much less structured data than we assumed, primarily relying on documents and parsing information.
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
It took three years before we had a product that was actually used to solve problems, and during that time, many team members were exhausted and close to quitting.
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
A great engineer seeks certainty and can become frustrated when they only see problems after years of work, but convincing them to stay can lead to critical breakthroughs.
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
The best engineers are like artists; to keep them happy, you need to let them do their work without interference, allowing their creativity to lead to innovative products.
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
One key lesson from Palantir is to tackle hard problems, as it shows that ambitious challenges can be addressed effectively with the right focus and resources.
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Another important lesson is the heavy emphasis on hiring quality people, as the energy and care in hiring decisions significantly impact the team's effectiveness.
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Bob McGrew
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Focusing on first principles is crucial; understanding the actual problem we are trying to solve allows for more tactical and effective solutions.
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Nick Perry
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
At Candid, we have a much narrower focus compared to Palantir, concentrating on improving medical insurance billing for healthcare providers in the US, which is a massive industry.
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Nick Perry
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Medical billing is a complex process involving numerous steps to ensure healthcare providers get paid by insurance companies, and submitting claims correctly is particularly challenging.
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Nick Perry
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
There are over a thousand insurance companies, each with different rules for submitting claims, which complicates the billing process significantly.
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Nick Perry
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
The lack of good software for medical billing leads to a lot of manual work, as providers often have to rely on memory or create their own rules to navigate the system.
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Nick Perry
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Our goal is to pre-adjudicate claims by understanding payer rules, which can help reduce the number of denied claims and improve efficiency in the billing process.
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Nick Perry
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
We believe that by improving the claims submission process, we can enhance patient experiences and address the significant costs associated with medical billing.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Building a mission-oriented company like Palantir attracts the best talent, as people are motivated by the opportunity to make a real difference in the world, beyond just financial compensation.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Many companies claim to have a mission, but often it's insincere. In contrast, Palantir has a genuine mission that resonates deeply with its employees, leading them to give their all.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
The most significant lesson from my time at Palantir is that creating a radically ambitious and mission-driven company is a rare and fulfilling opportunity.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Mission-driven cultures are challenging to create, but they are incredibly rewarding. When a company has a real mission, it fosters a sense of purpose among its employees.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
The healthcare industry faces a productivity problem, where increasing spending does not correlate with improved outcomes, indicating a need for innovative solutions.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Healthcare's inefficiencies stem from a complex mix of factors, including local monopolies and misaligned incentives that do not prioritize patient outcomes.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
The fee-for-service model in healthcare rewards doctors for the quantity of services provided rather than the quality of patient care, leading to suboptimal health outcomes.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
The healthcare system is burdened by an overwhelming number of service codes, making it difficult for providers to navigate and leading to inefficiencies in patient care.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
Innovative technologies, like AI for diabetic retinopathy screening, face regulatory hurdles due to the lack of appropriate coding, which delays their implementation in healthcare.
JL
Joe Lonsdale Cast
05/28/25
@ Joe Lonsdale
The current healthcare reimbursement model incentivizes actions rather than holistic patient care, which can lead to better outcomes if addressed properly.