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magazine as “the most important dead company in Silicon Valley" and I'm sure you've never heard of them….

If you’re not familiar, General Magic was a “legendary” 1990s startup founded by people who were way ahead of their time. The company (funny as it is) was actually a spinoff of Apple, with additional backing by Sony and AT&T. They imagined a world of handheld devices, mobile software, digital assistants, app-like experiences, and connected services long before smartphones became the norm. In many ways, they saw the future clearly.

From General Magic (screenshot by Hyperallergic)


The lesson is not that vision doesn’t matter. It does. General Magic had vision in abundance. The lesson is that 

 And honestly, being unique is not enough either.

What matters is whether you can execute in the right market, at the right time, with the right product, and keep going long enough to make the vision real. 

General Magic had many of the ingredients people usually point to as “the moat,” but the market wasn’t ready, and the path from invention to adoption was still messy.  Meanwhile, later companies came in with stronger execution, better timing, better distribution, and products that people could actually use at scale.

A few takeaways I think are worth sitting with:

1. Vision is important, but execution decides outcomes.


 A great idea can open the door. Execution is what gets people through it. People can try to copy my style, my ideas but they can't copy what made me who I am. I never worry about someone “copying” me as I'm constantly growing and improving on ideas and ways to execute them..so should you.

2. Patents are not the same as product success.


 Owning IP can protect an invention. It does not create adoption, love, or market pull on its own.

3. Timing matters more than founders want to admit.


 You can be right and still be early. Being early often looks a lot like being wrong until the rest of the ecosystem catches up.

4. Distribution beats originality more often than people expect.


 The best product doesn’t always win. The product that reaches people, fits their habits, and solves a problem clearly usually does.

Sorry, that's a line from B.I.G., but it's a good one. From the halls of General Magic, the CEOs of some of the world's biggest companies (eBay, LinkedIn, etc.) were born. How can a company with so many smart people fail? It's because of arrogance! Listen to your team and listen to your audience. Sometimes your first idea is what gets the ball rolling, but where you land is what makes you a household name.

. The market rewards delivered value, not just invented value.


 People don’t adopt potential. They adopt what works for them now. 

Alright, I'm done with today's word blast. In the end, just remember:

It’s easy to fall in love with yourself and ideas, but history keeps telling us the same thing: 

Invention is not the finish line. Execution is.

Being First Means Nothing.....the story of General Magic

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