13: Jason Lemkin, Managing Director at SaaStr

Venture capital is hard. Startups are brutal. The media has turned the winners of innovation into mythical heroes often glorifying the end result over the struggle of the process. Is this good or bad? What are the implications for the broader tech industry? What about for the hordes of individuals encouraged to enter a race where the odds are stacked against them? This week I had a fiery and candid conversation with Jason Lemkin on these very topics. Jason is a SaaS legend - he's a 2x successful founder, current Managing Director at SaaStr Fund, and runs SaaStr Annual, a community of over 10,000 founders, investors and executives focused on B2B SaaS.  This conversation was candid as ever and Jason debunked the ease that startups and venture capital are often portrayed with. My favorite moments included: (1) the importance of atomized thinking when it comes to tackling challenging problems, (2) the inherent challenge for big companies in sustaining and supporting innovation and (3) why your team is the most important decision you can make as a founder.