Regenerative Capitalism to Replace Deformed Predatory Capitalism
The venture capital industry is deforming capitalism in many parts of the world, prioritizing returns from proven business models, when more often than not, more long-term patient capital is needed. Regenerative capitalism on the other hand is emerging as a counterweight that rewards green swans, or in other words, uncovers improbable yet revolutionary technology that can offset the damage humans have caused our planet. You may have heard of biomimicry, or other jargon that fits into the umbrella of regenerative capitalism.
Regenerative Capitalism is an economic system that acknowledges that the market we have now is not a beautifully self-correcting free market, but a market that is manipulated by the most powerful forces. And it is a capitalism that states that just as the goods and services we take from each other are not free, the value we extract from nature (water, land, fossil fuels and so on) comes with a cost. Regenerative Capitalism, therefore, corrects injustices in the economic landscape and charges for the use of natural capital, by taking into account not just shareholders but all stakeholders, such as the community and the planet.
We have previously posted an article on breakthrough innovation and the need for long term patient capital that can sometimes only come from governments. Naval Ravikant and Chamath Palihapitiya recognize that the VC business model is not always primed to provide such capital and bring forth breakthrough innovations, but they have both set up funds with a “triple bottom line”, capitalizing on the next regenerative boom of green swans. What’s particularly refreshing about Naval is how he has lots of wealth creation tips, claiming that it’s not necessarily a zero-sum game. He speaks to geeks who want to make something of themselves, but often come under a lot of fire for attempting to “make money”. I’ve’ve taken the liberty to synthesize his inspiring personal wealth creation tips / tweets that are also line with what Robert Kiyosaki had to say about wealth creation. Naval genuinely wants to help young founders fulfill their dreams, and also runs venture hacks, a blog meant to empower founders and help them understand things like term sheets or anything that comes up in your dealings with venture capital funds
Naval's Select Tweets
These are the top 20 tips from his tweet-storm:
- Seek wealth, not money or status. Wealth is having assets that earn while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Status is your place in the social hierarchy.
- Understand that ethical wealth creation is possible. If you secretly despise wealth, it will elude you.
- Ignore people playing status games. They gain status by attacking people playing wealth creation games.
- You’re not going to get rich renting out your time. You must own equity – a piece of a business – to gain your financial freedom.
- You will get rich by giving society what it wants but does not yet know how to get. At scale.
- Pick an industry where you can play long term games with long term people.
- The Internet has massively broadened the possible space of careers. Most people haven’t figured this out yet.
- Play iterated games. All the returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest.
- Pick business partners with high intelligence, energy, and, above all, integrity.
- Don’t partner with cynics and pessimists. Their beliefs are self-fulfilling.
- Learn to sell. Learn to build. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable.
- Arm yourself with specific knowledge, accountability, and leverage.
- Specific knowledge is knowledge that you cannot be trained for. If society can train you, it can train someone else, and replace you.
- Specific knowledge is found by pursuing your genuine curiosity and passion rather than whatever is hot right now.
- Building specific knowledge will feel like play to you but will look like work to others.
- When specific knowledge is taught, it’s through apprenticeships, not schools.
- Specific knowledge is often highly technical or creative. It cannot be outsourced or automated.
- Embrace accountability, and take business risks under your own name. Society will reward you with responsibility, equity, and leverage.
- Fortunes require leverage. Business leverage comes from capital, people, and products with no marginal cost of replication (code and media).
- Code and media are permissionless leverage. They’re the leverage behind the newly rich. You can create software and media that works for you while you sleep.
Do you want to turn your idea into a business and be part of a motivated group of entrepreneurs?
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This program is financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), as well as the State of Berlin.