We talk a lot about ambition in our business. Having some is a prerequisite to start something. To do anything, really. But how much should you have?
Investors often pass on founders for lack of ambition. Entire businesses are considered "low-ambition" or, to use a word that I hate, "lifestyle".
I consider myslef ambitious, and I do look for ambition in others. But of a specific kind.
I don't care about world domination, about market size (in general), about power. The ambition I like is the ambition of doing something that wasn't possibile before. What can you do today that you couldn't do yesterday ? What is uniquely possible on the internet that wasn't possible in an analog world?
I meet often people that have seen a business opportunity, an idea to make money of something. I respect that, but excuse me if I am not excited.
I started thinking about this while listening to Jan Erik from Mapillary. What they are doing is the type of ambition I am taking about. The right kind.