Lessons from JD Ross

JD Ross, the co-founder of the disruptive real estate technology company Opendoor, is a prominent figure in the startup world, known for his deep thinking on company building, venture capital, and the philosophies that drive innovation. At just 23 years old when he co-founded Opendoor, Ross has since become a general partner at the venture studio Atomic, continuing to shape the next generation of companies. His insights reveal a mind focused on first principles, mission-driven culture, and the power of mental models.

On Entrepreneurship and Starting a Company

Quote: "I think when you're starting a company you generally... first you should actually like know what you want to do. This idea of like 'I should just want to start a company' is a terrible idea, mostly because most companies are miserable after you get past the fun part." [1]
Learning: Don't start a company for the sake of it. You need a genuine, mission-driven passion for the problem you're solving to endure the decade-plus of "severe pain" that often follows the initial excitement. [1]
Quote: "You don't need permission from anyone to build a business." [2]
Learning: The most effective way to attract mentors and opportunities is to start building something on your own initiative. Action precedes support. [2]
Quote: "Pay attention to your first idea – it's usually the best." [3]
Learning: Startups face two primary types of risk: technical risk ("Is this possible to build?") and market risk ("Do people actually want this?"). Identifying which is your primary hurdle is crucial. [1]
Quote: "Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees. Having a lot of money and the ability to recruit amazing talent early, I don't actually think makes it easier to have the rigor to build the business well. You get sloppy." [1]
Learning: Early constraints, especially financial ones, force a level of rigor and creativity that is often a competitive advantage. Too much capital too early can lead to a lack of discipline. [1]
Quote: "The job of an entrepreneur is to see where you are in that wave of innovation and... find a way to capture or create the value you can for people given the new world that's behind you." [4]
Learning: Successful entrepreneurship is about recognizing and acting on major technological or societal shifts. Ross points to real estate tech and telemedicine as recent examples. [4]
Quote: "You do not need to build your technology before you know if you're going to have a market. Your technology can just be described, and you can generally sell it." [1]
Learning: Get customers first. You can sell a vision and validate a market before spending significant capital on building the final product, even for highly complex technologies like pharmaceuticals manufactured in space. [1]

On Building Teams and Company Culture

Quote: "When picking co-founders, try to find complements – not people exactly like yourself." [3]
Learning: Co-founder conflict often arises from overlapping expertise. To avoid this, ensure there are clear areas of ownership and distinct mandates for each founder. [3]
Quote: "Culture kind of tends to fall out of the founders. It's sort of a reflection of the combination of the founders." [1]
Learning: The early culture is an imprint of the founders' values and work styles. It then evolves to include the "weird mix" of the first 30-50 employees, a phase Ross calls the "band of brothers and sisters." [1]
Quote: "When mission comes first, everyone can win." [3]
Learning: A powerful, shared mission is the ultimate alignment tool. It allows individuals to place the company's goals above their own, which is a key trait for success. [3]
Quote: "People who are really great, only want to work on things that are great." [3]
Learning: To attract and retain top talent, you must be working on a problem that is genuinely compelling and ambitious.
Quote: "The number one core value is to start and end with the customer. That's not to start and end with the business, not to start and end with what's possible." [2]
Learning: True customer obsession means their needs dictate your direction, above all else. [2]
Learning: The company-building phase between 30 and 80 employees is where things often "start to crack." This is a critical period to intentionally reinforce culture through strong onboarding and mentorship from experienced employees. [3]
Learning: Look for people with a "hulk mentality"—those who, when things get harder, rise to the challenge rather than backing down. [3]

On Strategy, Mental Models, and Storytelling

Quote: "Always ask yourself how the opposite of your opinion might possibly be true." [3]
Learning: Ross champions the "always invert" mental model, borrowed from Charlie Munger. Defending the opposite of your belief is a powerful way to uncover flawed assumptions and discover new ideas. [3]
Learning: One of Ross's key skills is building mental models—breaking down complex problems into simpler, recognizable patterns to make sense of the world. [3]
Quote: "Playbooks rule everything around me." [5]
Learning: Developing and using established "playbooks" or frameworks for company building is essential for scaling effectively and avoiding repeatable mistakes. [5]
Quote: "I think humans are tool builders and storytellers." [3]
Learning: A startup's narrative is critical. The first test of a good story is how many people are compelled to retell it. [3]
Quote: "Whatever the three-word version of Opendoor was, it had to be something someone wanted to listen to, even if they couldn't care about startups that day." [3]
Learning: Your core message must be concise and compelling enough to cut through the noise and capture attention immediately, much like Elon Musk's "launch my car into space." [3]
Learning: Opendoor is fundamentally an engineering and tech company. Its success lies in the ability to "intersect really strong software development and data science with actual business problems." [2]

On Venture Capital and Building at Atomic

Quote: "[At Atomic] we only invest in the companies that we start... We drive returns. We don't capture returns." [4]
Learning: The Atomic model is to act as co-founders, not just investors. Ross spends the majority of his time "in the trenches" with entrepreneurs—coaching, hiring, and building alongside them. [4]
Quote: "The good firms and the good managers are partners with these entrepreneurs in a much deeper way than capital." [4]
Learning: The best venture capitalists provide value far beyond money, acting as true partners in the building process. [4]
Learning: Atomic's strategy involves identifying major problems in the world, assembling the right teams to tackle them, and providing the capital and resources to accelerate their growth. [6]
Quote: "We believe entrepreneurship should be inclusive and the problems of our times are too important to ignore or limit to a particular geography or group." [6]
Learning: Atomic actively seeks to democratize entrepreneurship by creating an open call for "Future Founders," especially from underrepresented backgrounds. [6]

On Life Philosophy and Personal Growth

Quote: "I think all the value of life comes from deep friendships, deep relationships, and deep work…that is where fulfillment comes from." [3]
Learning: Fulfillment isn't found in surface-level engagement but in profound connections and dedicated, meaningful work. [3]
Quote: "The biggest thing for accelerating your growth curve is just understanding that people learn through osmosis, and so surrounding yourself by great people is the single best way to grow yourself." [2]
Learning: Be rigorous and thoughtful about who you spend your time with, as you are the average of the people who surround you. [2]
Quote: "[Carroll Quigley convinced him that] all of us are solely responsible for western civilization." [5]
Learning: Ross operates with a long-term perspective, considering how to "create the most good for the human race over a 1000 year time horizon," reflecting a deep sense of personal responsibility for the future. [5]
Learning: Snark and sarcasm emerge when people feel disempowered to make change. It's a defense mechanism against a feeling of helplessness. [5]
Learning: Finding a mentor who has been successful before is one of the most valuable things a young entrepreneur can do. [2]
Quote: On the four areas of life that have become more expensive while everything else has gotten cheaper: "Housing, health care, transportation, and education." [3]
Learning: These are the major sectors ripe for disruption because they represent significant points of friction and cost in modern life. [3]

Sources:

[4] Opto Investments: "JD Ross on Atomic's venture capital strategy"
[3] Podcast Notes: "Venture Stories: What Jd Ross Thinks About Basically Everything"
[5] YouTube: "What Jd Ross Thinks About Basically Everything"
[1] YouTube: "Z Fellows Startup Workshop: 'Make Them Come... Then Build It' with JD Ross"
[7] Forbes: "JD Ross"
[8] The Network: "Jd Ross"
[9] Square One Podcast: "29: JD Ross, Co-Founder of Opendoor"
[2] Medium: "Jd Ross on OFF RCRD with Cory Levy | TRANSCRIPT"
[10] YouTube: "JD Ross Co-Founder Open Door on LinkedIn List of Top Disruptors"
[11] VC Sheet: "JD Ross (Atomic) / VC Breakdown & Contact"
[6] Atomic: "Atomic III: Our new $260M fund and an open call to future founders"
[12] Clay: "JD Ross - Facebook, Github, LinkedIn"
[13] Medium: "Jd Ross"
[14] JD Ross Energy: "News & Insights"
[15] YouTube: "Episode 5 - David Ross"

Learn more:

Lessons from JD Ross

On Entrepreneurship and Starting a Company

On Building Teams and Company Culture

On Strategy, Mental Models, and Storytelling

On Venture Capital and Building at Atomic

On Life Philosophy and Personal Growth

Written by Antoine Buteau

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