Let's Get Down To MM Business | The Innovators Dilemma

Let's Get Down To MM Business | The Innovators Dilemma

From Mere Mortals Conversations by Kyrin Down & Juan Granados

February 22, 2026 · 1h 24m

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges of iterating hardware, the implications of Clayton Christensen's 'The Innovator’s Dilemma', and strategies for starting a business in today's tech landscape.

Why is iterating hardware so difficult and what would we do if it came time to start a business. In Episode #515 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: Clayton Christensen's 'The Innovator’s Dilemma' book, why incumbents like IBM and Blockbuster struggled with disruptive shifts, how spin-outs can help large firms explore new markets, whether today’s tech giants (NVIDIA, Amazon, Alphabet) are genuinely pivoting faster than past eras, the trap of single‑thesis bets (e.g., x402 via Coinbase/Circle), the difference between wealth and money via Paul Graham’s classic essay, my slow‑ship shift toward building something around livestreaming/value-for-value/OpenClaw-style agents, Juan's practical plan to buy and streamline existing local service businesses and the enduring challenge of measuring value in a world awash with AI-generated content. No boostagrams but we do appreciate the streaming! Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortals Timeline: (00:00:00) Intro (00:00:36) The Innovator's Dilemma book (00:05:20) From hardware to software: DiSASSter (00:10:58) CapEx arms race: Nvidia up, Apple lagging (00:15:04) Incumbents can't buy their way out every time (00:19:13) Is AI truly…

People in this episode

Hosts: Kyrin Down, Juan Granados

Topics covered

  • business strategy
  • disruption
  • technology
  • investment
  • value measurement
  • entrepreneurship

Keywords

  • Innovator's Dilemma
  • disruptive innovation
  • business cycles
  • AI-generated content
  • investment strategies
  • local service businesses

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: IBM, Blockbuster, NVIDIA, Amazon, Alphabet

Products: Coinbase, Circle

Books & works: The Innovator’s Dilemma, DiSASSter

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