Article

Even the Smartest VCs Sometimes Get it Wrong: Bill Gurley and Regulated Markets

Steve Blank · Medium (Steve Blank) Free Intermediate

Blank pushes back on easy optimism and lays out why regulated markets are genuinely hard, which is the counterweight you need before betting the company on a policy shift. He explains how incumbents and regulators actually behave, so your opportunity read stays grounded. Read it alongside the Gurley talk to hold both the opening and the difficulty in view.

  • Regulated markets move slowly and punish naive timing.
  • Incumbents and regulators are often more entangled than they look.
  • Weigh the opening against how hard the market is to actually enter.

The question it answers

  1. A regulation or policy just changed in my sector. How do I read it as an opportunity instead of just a headache?

Read with it

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  2. Entering an unfamiliar industry means you cannot see the walls and dead ends that veterans already know. Dixon explains that a... cdixon.org Essay · short read The Idea Maze Chris Dixon
  3. Video 2,851 Miles (regulatory capture and startups) Bill Gurley
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  5. A tighter, spoken version of Burfield's thinking, useful if you want the core ideas in an hour instead of a full book. It walks... a16z Podcast Podcast The Art of the Regulatory Hack Andreessen Horowitz
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