Piss & Vinegar: Notes from my first startup
The Coronavirus has put a hold on many of my upcoming speaking engagements. I rediscovered this piece that I wrote in 2012 during another crisis, Hurricane Sandy. It’s about my first ever startup, Innovest, and my boss, Marc Brammer. Ten years after Innovest, Marc married my sister-in-law and is now my brother-in-law. They say a startup is like a family…
The Opposite Of Weakness Is Vulnerability
LinkedIn has turned our careers into beauty pageants. The truth is that entrepreneurship is really hard. In this column I share some guiding principles of my life and work as well as some vital stats about who I am. I hope it empowers others to be more authentic and empathetic. It’s tough out there - but it’s easier when you go through life as your whole self.
Requiem For My Startup
Most entrepreneurs fail and most employees are disengaged. The gulf between our social media personas and our real-lives has never been wider. Emoji culture is doing huge damage to our actual emotions. So, this article is a countermeasure. My startup just failed. It’s hard for me right now. And I’m being totally transparent about it.
Culture: Why Big Finance Falters in Fintech
From 2009 – 2014, I built one of the first commercially viable robo-advisors, the first deep-learning network that could detect market-moving Congressional legislation, and one of the earliest trading algorithms for illiquid markets. I built those products inside some of the largest financial institutions in the world. And every one of those products was shut down by those banks. Everyone who was part of those teams quit or was fired. But none of the innovations died.
The Blockchain and The Innovation Decoy
In my work launching new products in big companies I’ve seen that the real reason many huge companies publicly celebrate innovation is to avoid having to actually innovate. Because the hard part of intrapreneurship is rarely that the technology is too complex, or the user flow indecipherable, or the unmet market need opaque. The hard part is that someone in the organization thinks they’re doing it already.
Multimedia features
Financial Times, “You Are What You Finance
Take the Lead, “Thriving as an Intrapreneur with Greg Larkin”
Etch Podcast, “When Innovation Doesn’t Work Out”
The Crazy One Podcast, “Why innovation is rarely authorized’ panel from HOW Design Live 2019”
Inside Outside Innovation, “Greg Larkin and This Might Get Me Fired”
Innovation Crush, “Greg Larkin / This Might Get Me Fired”
Thrive Loud, “This Might Get Me Fired”
NPR’s Marketplace, “Apply subprime lessons to credit cards”
NPR’s Marketplace, “Banks try to win back trust”
Washington Post, “Banks Hoard Cash as Credit Card Defaults Rise”
CNBC, “Credit Cards Could Become Next Trouble Spot in Crisis”
NPR’s Marketplace, “Who’s next to fail in financial sector?”
Bloomberg, “Is Lehman Liquid Enough?”
NPR’s Morning Edition, “Insurance Firms Back Effort to Storm-Proof Homes”
Bloomberg Businessweek, “The Next Meltdown: Credit-Card Debt”
Bloomberg Businessweek, “Online Extra: Banks: All About the Green”
New York Post, “Lone Voice Warned of Subprime Mess”
New York Magazine, “Greg Larkin Was the Al Gore of the Subprime Mess”
Inc., “7 Things You Really Need to Know to Run a Successful Business This Year”
Inc., “6 Problems That Only Entrepreneurs Have”
Inc., “7 Must-Follow Rules For Fitting Into Tech Startup Culture”
Bloomberg Businessweek, “Oregon Voters Will Decide on GMO Food-Labeling”