In a conversation with one of our very early stage portfolio CEOâs this week, we were talking about how to think about to prioritize solving problems. They are a young company, and so have to figure out *everything*. As we were talking through a few specific parts of the roadmap, I said: letâs distinguish between âI donât know yetâ and âNobody knows yetâ problems. I later tweeted it out, and my friend Dayo Olopade is a brilliant writer and thinker, so it is no surprise that when I started thinking aloud about this idea, she immediately had the perfect language for it.*
Secrets are âI donât know yetâ problems. The answers are known by *somebody*, and you can find them out if you meet enough people. Examples of secrets: how to hire great engineers, what take rate can you justify in a B2B marketplace, how do we make this user experience more beautiful? Some of these are closely guarded secrets, which only a select few know. For these types of problems, you need to build a great team. Ideally, each team member brings a skill, and within that skill the answer to one of these secrets. And if they donât bring it, then they bring an incredible ability to find the answer. As Dayo describes it, journalists rely on networks and sources for secrets. Same for startup CEOs.
Mysteries, however, are ânobody knows yetâ problems. The answers may not be known by anybody. Perhaps because the question hasnât been asked yet ââ or hasnât been asked in the right way. Perhaps because the answer requires some deep insight that nobody has dug far enough down to hit yet. And perhaps because something has changed in the world that has created an unexplained phenomenon**. And mysteries, unlike secrets, are not discovered by talking to enough people. If anything, the more people you talk to, the more confounding a mystery may seem. Mysteries require going into your lab, instrumenting, and experimenting. Mysteries are the substrate of product-market fit. Mysteries are where innovation gets its power.
When youâre at the beginning of a startup journey, you can learn how to fill your sales funnel, how to hire, how to do SEO or how to build a pitch deck. And, even better, you can ââ and must ââ learn how to find people who hold the secrets to doing those things uniquely well. But you have to *discover* the solutions to mysteries. Itâs critically important to distinguish between mysteries and secrets, because too often, a startup team will learn a lot of tactical information, but never unlock the unique insights. Now, as is the case with any good mystery, some secrets can help you piece together the mystery. But the secrets are the means. The mystery is the end.
*If you havenât already, you should buy and read her book, Bright Continent. Itâs a clear-eyed and strong case for why Africaâs future is, well, bright.
**Itâs taking everything in my power not to reference âthe mystery of the faithâ. Itâs a translation of the Greek: âĎὸ ÎźĎ ĎĎÎŽĎΚον ĎáżĎ ĎÎŻĎĎÎľĎĎâ and much theological ink has been spilled about what it means in context, but itâs safe to conclude that it is the core idea of the faith. I guess I referenced it, after all.