Quote · Pivot
Meta’s Prediction Market App, Europe vs. Big Tech, and Hollywood’s Comeback
Where this was said
Audience Q&A: Do Ousted Tech CEOs Get Second Acts?
At 48:58 · chapter starts 47:55
Ted from Park & Battery advertising agency asks whether former high-profile CEOs like Adam Neumann (WeWork) and Travis Kalanick (Uber) will have meaningful second acts given the current tech excitement. Kara is blunt: Adam's rental startup Flo is 'doing okay' but nothing transformative; Travis is poking around in robotics. Most ousted founders, she says, had one great moment fuelled by anger, got rich, and surrounded themselves with enablers who tell them they were right all along. Scott frames it probabilistically: one in seven companies works, so lightning rarely strikes twice. He adds a creative-mojo argument — the wild, irrational thinking that makes founders great tends to fade with wealth, age, children, and social norms [1] — Scott Galloway "One in seven companies succeeds. If you beat those odds once, probability alone suggests your moons won't align again. Add in the fact that…" 48:00 . Scott's own record: 9 businesses started, generously 3 wins, 4 losses, 2 draws — and most of those wins came down to luck and timing.
One in seven companies succeeds. If you beat those odds once, probability alone suggests your moons won't align again. Add in the fact that creative mojo fades with age, kids, and financial comfort — and the case for a legendary second act collapses.