I was telling a friend of mine, only somewhat hyperbolically, that I’d watched “Margin Call” forty times just this year. The actual number is probably half a dozen (my blog’s search function tells me I’ve mentioned it fifteen times) but it’s still a lot for what was a niche drama about the financial crisis.
There is a speech given by Jeremy Irons that sums up perfectly why finance and fashion are fundamentally in the same business.
What have I told you since the first day you stepped into my office? There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first; be smarter; or cheat. Now, I don’t cheat. And although I like to think we have some pretty smart people in this building, it sure is a hell of a lot easier to just be first.
Being first is my game. I’ve taken it from a career in luxury fashion to a career to a career in venture capital. It’s the same fucking job.
It means I often look stupid as I see emerging trends long before the rest of the market gets there. There is a basic math to this which involves status signaling. If you are the type who must do the math to understand how status works as it’s not intuitive to you I recommend this piece.
Just remember that being first is the key to both. And your ability to be first is almost entirely a function of cool. And being cool means not giving a fuck. And if you don’t give a fuck its generally for one of two reasons. Its either because you have the status to do and can get away with it or or you genuinely don’t care.
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Janis Joplin
One reply on “Day 1040 and Easier To Be First”
Great read, Julie. I think this part “It means I often look stupid as I see emerging trends long before the rest of the market gets there.” doesn’t speak to the fact that you have to have a certain level of confidence in your own curiosity to embrace your interest in the frontier. Perhaps, that’s comfortable “looking stupid,” but I think it’s a bit more than that.