In today’s episode Grant and Hammad unpack the “Idea Maze” — a framework for understanding whether founders truly grasp the terrain they’re building in. The Idea Maze comes from Balaji Srinivasan’s lecture notes on entrepreneurship, and was subsequently popularized by Chris Dixon’s succinct blog post.

Beyond just being able to chart possible paths, great founders become what Grant calls Maze Historians — encyclopedic students of their category’s history, players, dead ends, and hidden treasures. Grant argues that this level of mastery is foundational for building in the American Dynamism Cinematic Universe.

We explore the origins of the original Idea Maze concept, why it’s taken hold at firms like Andreessen, and why action — not just analysis — creates key insights.

🔗 Show Resource Links

• Grant’s post on Finding Maze Historians

• Balaji’s Lecture Notes

• Chris Dixon’s Idea Maze Post

🎙️ Podcast Links

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

• ⁠X (FKA Twitter)⁠

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🌀 About Motion Blur

Exploring what makes great companies and technologies work. Brought to you by Grant Gregory & Hammad Aslam. Grant is a Partner at Cantos where he focuses on physical world technologies. Hammad is a Partner at Kivu Ventures, Susa’s growth fund.

Learn more about the hosts:

• Grant Gregory, ⁠Embers⁠

• Hammad Aslam, ⁠Susa Ventures

Intro music credit: ⁠Will Harrison⁠