But the most resilient Jack does the “Founder Pivot.” He fires himself as CEO, hires a “grown-up” from Microsoft or McKinsey, and reappears six months later as a “thought leader.” He writes a bestselling memoir titled Radical Focus or Zero to One Point Five . He launches a podcast where he interviews other Jacks. He becomes a venture capitalist, and now, instead of building, he funds a new generation of Jacks—each one younger, faster, and more disruptive than he ever was.
For every Jack who becomes a billionaire, a hundred burn out. The relentless pace, the imposter syndrome masked by bravado, the 80-hour weeks fueled by Adderall and Soylent—it takes a toll. At 32, the first Jack might sell his company to Oracle for a modest exit and retire to a ranch in Montana. Another Jack might flame out spectacularly, the subject of a takedown podcast episode titled “The Unicorn That Was Just a Horse in a Costume.” jack silicon valley
His philanthropy is legendary in its ambition and baffling in its execution. He signs the Giving Pledge, promising to donate 99% of his wealth, but first, he needs to build a city of his own (a “charter city” in the Nevada desert, naturally). He funds a non-profit to end homelessness, but the solution is an app that gamifies shelter allocation. He genuinely cannot understand why the “legacy” residents of San Francisco don’t appreciate his autonomous delivery robots clogging their sidewalks. But the most resilient Jack does the “Founder Pivot