despite the inherent unpredictability of consumer tastes and the complex way they interact, Venture Capitalists (VC) still put a heavy bet on pattern recognition. These patterns – be it a proprietary product, low-cost customer acquisition tactics, or the ability to reach scale fast – are hardly reliable predictors of success.

If you are creating a start-up, or otherwise building an institution from scratch, and hiring a whole team, various markers of talent—including intelligence and cooperativeness—will matter much more. Hiring a whole batch of very smart people has the potential to create strongly positive, dynamic, nonlinear benefits.