D Students Start Because They Don't Know
Inspired by on Lenny's Podcast
A students don't start until they know the answer. D students start because they don't know the answer.
Bob Moesta, who has dyslexia and struggled in school, shares a counterintuitive insight: 'Most A students don't start until they know the answer, most D students start because they don't know the answer. We're wired very differently. The A students have a disadvantage against the D students in entrepreneurship because we just go start and we learn right in there.'
If you have a child who struggles academically, this might be the most hopeful thing you can tell them. The skills that make you a great test-taker - waiting for perfect information, avoiding mistakes, following established procedures - can actually HURT you in creative and entrepreneurial contexts.
Meanwhile, the kid who failed tests but learned by doing, who started projects before they knew how to finish them, who figured things out through trial and error? They're wired for innovation.
Different brains excel in different contexts. The D student isn't a broken A student - they're a different KIND of student. And sometimes that difference is exactly what the world needs.
PM Theme: Bias toward action / entrepreneurial mindset
Parenting Theme: Celebrating different types of learners
“Most A students don't start until they know the answer, most D students start because they don't know the answer. And so you start to realize we're wired very differently.”Bob Moesta · 00:46:09
“The A students have a disadvantage against the D students in entrepreneurship because we just go start and we learn right in there. We don't have to hypothesize everything first because we actually don't know how to do that.”Bob Moesta · 00:46:09
