We’ve come to understand that jetpacks exist on a continuum and can be categorized into three major areas.

1. Fake Jetpacks: value eroder

They look like they’ll take you far, until you hit the ignition and nothing happens. It's not a jetpack, it's hollow and made from cardboard. They:

  • Overpromise and underdeliver ("pump and dump" schemes)
  • Lack strong core values
  • Steal or take credit for others’ work
  • Create things that hurt people, or set the industry back due to the negative brand impact of bad actors

Examples

  • People: Bernie Madoff, Mark Zuckerberg, Elizabeth Holmes, Martin Shkreli, Sam Bankman-Fried, Anthony Levandowski, Andrew Mason
  • Companies: Groupon, Theranos, FTX, WeWork, Juicero, Enron, Philip Morris
  • Products: selfish social media, NFT rug pulls, Fyre Festival, Google Glass, Hoverboards, Oculus Rift, Segway, weight loss supplements

2. Jetpack Mini: Emerging value creator

They've created the spark from which breakthroughs emerge. While not perfect yet, their early impact is clear. They:

  • Operate with transparency and trust
  • Solved something unspoken and real in a novel and compelling way
  • Show early proof of results

Examples

  • People: Marques Brownlee, Tristan Harris, Boyan Slat, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Jerod Chirico, Salvador Dali
  • Companies: Notion, Khan Academy, Gemini, Anthropic, Twelve
  • Products: Replit, Midjourney, Bicentennial Man, Starlink, AirPods, Oura, WALL-E, Paul Newman Daytona

3. Jetpack Ultra: Enduring value creator

They are masters of making magic real. They:

  • Imbue strong core values into things that stand the test of time
  • Create massive improvements in the way industry sectors or the world is viewed
  • Nail what others have been feeling, and represent a lighthouse for future generations

Examples

  • People: Maya Angelou, Satoshi Nakamoto, Walt Disney, Abraham Lincoln, Emelia Earhart, Ada Lovelace, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson Pollock
  • Companies: Apple, OpenAI, Strategy, Disney, United Nations
  • Products: iPhone, ChatGPT, Bitcoin, EPCOT, Model T, Internet

The point

Fake Jetpacks crash while real Jetpacks transform.

We're not here to call people out or drop shade. Rather, to provide a healthy set of diligence dimensions used for good. A community of like-minded folks who believe in building things that help people.

In short, wizards, not warlocks.

We will share, collaborate, and create content, frameworks, tools, and products in real time, both from ourselves and from members of the community. Think of it as a way to fight back against the centralized aggregators that extract more value from users and customers than they provide back.

Think of it this way: have any of the Big Tech companies that you've helped build by buying, using, or creating on their platforms ever shared portions of their profit back with you? The answer is, for the most part, no. Bitcoin has mechanics that jump-started a movement and showed a way to provide value back to those who build its value.

As Tron said, we fight for the user.

Invent or die.