Palmer Luckey - Inventing the Future of Defense - [Invest Like the Best, EP.350]

Invest Like the Best

Key Takeaways  Trust people when they tell you what their problems are, but don’t what they think the solution isGo “back to the future” in your research; you will discover promising ideas that were discussed in the past but have since been discarded Care more about how other people will evaluate the impact of your work, rather than just doing what feels good to you If America is going to be a nation that rewards and promotes innovation, then it should be steering people in that directionIf you have unconventional ideas, you can create a large impact by forcing those ideas onto people and systems that exist in conventional institutionsImpactful businesses are rarely built on the idea of doing something a little better or a little cheaperProblems emerged and have persisted in the national security industry as a result of a broken incentive structure“We have learned a lesson: Don’t try to defend countries that aren’t willing to defend themselves.” – Palmer Luckey Anduril will save Western civilization by saving taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars a year, as we make tens of billions of dollars a yearIf AGI enables the capability to create dangerous things, then it will likely also enable the capability to defend against those dangerous things

Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org

My guest today is Palmer Luckey. Palmer is the founder of Defense company Anduril Industries, which makes next-generation military technology for the US and its allies. Since bringing the company to life in 2017, Palmer and Anduril have disrupted the established order in the Defense industry. Prior to Anduril, Palmer founded Oculus VR, a virtual reality business that he sold to Facebook for $2 billion.

Palmer is only in his early 30s, but he has already experienced more than most people will in a 40-year career. We talk about innovation, invention, differentiated thinking, and so much more. Please enjoy this great discussion with Palmer Luckey.

Listen to Patrick's Business Breakdown with Anduril CEO.

Listen to Founders Podcast

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

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Show Notes:

(00:03:28) - The importance of synthetic long-chain hydrocarbon fuel

(00:09:37) - Ranking America's potential for innovation

(00:12:43) - Why there aren't more Thiel Fellowships

(00:14:56) - The principles that motivate and drive him

(00:18:21) - What it has been like working in the world of defense after the attack on Israel

(00:20:34) - Surprising lessons learned when building a large company

(00:24:02) - How to approach a new field initially

(00:28:45) - Meeting other out-of-the-box thinkers

(00:33:11) - Inventors working backward from existing systems versus forward from their ideals

(00:34:51) - The most pressing issue in national security

(00:41:01) - What matters most for America from a defense perspective

(00:43:58) - How to determine which problems to prioritize

(00:50:24) - Lessons learned from working with AI

(00:57:21) - How Apple is shaping the future of VR

(01:01:36) - Which videogame a prospective employee should excel at

(01:04:06) - Why Oculus was so successful in marketing

(01:11:13) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Palmer