Schlep Blindness

Key ideas

Graham argues founders unconsciously ignore ideas involving tedious work, so ambitious, schlep-heavy problems like payments stay open and face less competition.

1. 1

   Schleps are what business is

   Graham argues that tedious, unpleasant tasks are unavoidable and largely define a company. He advises not shrinking from them when they lie on the path to something great.

2. 2

   Your unconscious hides painful ideas

   He calls the danger schlep blindness: people don't even see ideas that would require painful work. His example is online payments, a widely known pain that hackers skipped in favour of easier projects.

3. 3

   Scary ideas face less competition

   Graham suggests ambitious ideas are doubly valuable because the difficulty frightens others away, making them like undervalued stocks.

4. 4

   Ignorance and stepping aside help

   He guesses the best antidote is probably ignorance, which may help young founders. For obviously daunting ideas, he recommends asking what problem you wish someone else would solve for you.

In Paul’s words

Connected in lessons

• Where good startup ideas come fromCited in: Look where others won't

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