Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance and author of the Messy Middle, did a fantastic interview on 20VC the other day.
The whole thing is a great listen, but one of my favorite insights is how Scott values initiative over experience, particularly in the startup world.
Startups are inherently turbulent. Your idea about the market need might be wrong. Your strategy for reaching customers may not work. That killer operations tactic you used at your last stop may be outdated. What you don’t know almost always outweighs what you do.
This level of uncertainty means that, no matter how experienced you might be, you almost always have to invent new tactics to solve problems. What matters most in these situations is your ability to roll up your sleeves and get shit done.