As the policeman watches, he becomes increasingly certain that the man is hiding something. Suddenly, the man’s head pops up and he sprints away down a side alley, pursued by the policeman. As he turns the corner, he trips over a large bag lying in front of a dumpster – and crashes to the groundmasking his face from view.
A frustrated Philip looks up as the officer walks away, his keys still missing. He curses under his breath and begins to feel panicked. All of his attempts to find the keys on his own have failed; he knows that he needs help if he is ever going to get home in time for dinner. Taking a deep breath, Philip squares his shoulders and starts toward the police officer once again. This time, though, something magical happens: as soon as Philip comes close enough, the officer detects Philip’s desperation and offers to help him find whatever may be wrong. Together they search beneath every streetlight until finally finding Philip’s keys lying in plain sight on the ground nearby
The officer was frustrated and disappointed. He had been trying to find the kids for hours, but they were nowhere to be found. Finally, he asked the man if he was sure he lost them here. The man looked around, then finally admitted that he could not think of anywhere else they could be.
As the man shops for a light, he notices how better the light is over at the park across the street. He begins to feel itchier and decides to head over to take a look. As he walks into the park, he suddenly realizes that his lost wallet and ID are right there in front of him on the ground. He quickly collects them and leaves before anyone sees him.
What the streetlight effect is really all about is our tendency to focus on whatever we’re looking for. Whether it’s our keys lost in the darkness or people we want to impress, we tend to look at things in a way that makes them easier to find. But even if something is right in front of us, if we don’t pay attention, it might as well be hidden away.
I was feeling lost and unfulfilled, and I had no idea how to find the deals I was looking for. All my favorite entrepreneurs seemed interested in meeting me at a coffee shop in Hong Kong, but none of their businesses really caught my eye. Then one day, I met a company that completely surprised me. The business was initially quite small and had very few customers, but it showed huge potential. After speaking with the founders and getting a deeper understanding of their business, I realized that this company could be on the come up- and potentially very successful.
The weeks would fly by and I would be left with nothing to show for it. I would start to feel self-conscious that I had no accomplishments to show for all my hard work. But then, at the end of the week, I would take a step back and appreciate what I had accomplished. Even if it was just making it through another week, each accomplishment was important in its own way.
You can spend a lot of time searching for something, but if you’re looking in the wrong places, you’ll never find it.
People who spend too much time looking for something will eventually give up and settle for anything. This is because they’re likely looking in the wrong places. For example, if you’re trying to find a lost item, it’s important to look in all different areas of your house first. Otherwise, you might never notice that it’s missing until it’s too late. The same goes for finding something new – if you
Invest time in places where there is a high concentration of what you are looking for
The top startup hubs in the world are all different, but they all share certain key characteristics. First, these ecosystems are concentrated in major cities with a strong legacy of technological innovation. Second, these hubs have a large pool of talented and ambitious entrepreneurs who are looking for ways to create real impact. Finally, these ecosystems have fertile ground for venture capitalists and other financiers who are invested in early-stage companies.
Despite the many similarities between global startup hubs, each one has its own unique features that make it particularly well-suited to support a specific type of entrepreneur. For example, Silicon Valley is known for its highly technical startups while Boston is home to pioneering companies like Fidelity Investments and Twitter. In each case, the local environment provides ample opportunities for growing businesses and building scale. As my experience in Hong Kong showed me plainly, it’s essential that entrepreneurial leaders stay connected to the shifting landscape around them if they want to continue making progress – which is why I now spend most of my time traveling search engine optimization (SEO)focused on finding new opportunities outside of Hong Kong’s borders
By the end of my first year as a venture capitalist, I was starting to get bored. Sure, I was producing results and had real deal flow, but it wasn’t the same feeling as when I was working on my own ideas. Plus, looking back at my trips now, all of them felt incredibly rushed. It was clear that if I wanted to keep up with the Joneses and get promoted quickly within the industry, I would have to start traveling more often. Thankfully by then my bank account could handle it and so a few weeks later I found myself boarding another plane for yet another city adventure. This time it would be London!
I quickly realized that I had made a horrible mistake. The junkyard was a popular spot for homeless people to sleep, and the desk chairs served as makeshift beds. I slept on the floor for three nights in a row before convincing myself to turn back around and head back home.
We were constantly on the lookout for new and interesting opportunities to invest in, whether it was through our own research or through finding deals that we could bring to our partners. We loved the challenge of trying to spot the next big thing, and we were always excited when something came across our desk that looked promising. It was a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it in the end -we managed to grow our fund rapidly
