Joe Betts LaCroix is the co-founder and CEO of Retro Bioscience, a longevity technology company. Under his leadership, and with the help of $180 million from Sam Altman, Retro built a laboratory out of a converted shipping container at a fraction of the normal cost. Our corporate philosophy is “extending people’s healthy life expectancy by 10 years” […] By focusing on the cellular factors of aging. ”
Raised in Oregon to counterculture parents and educated at Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and California Institute of Technology, Betts-LaCroix values invention and experimentation among her lifelong friends. His previous ventures include his hardware startup OQO, which developed the world’s smallest Windows device (a Guinness World Record in 2006) and sold the computer to Google. He is a part-time partner at accelerator Y Combinator and has invested in numerous startups.
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Now 62 years old, he embodies a fast-solving approach to work. Additionally, his business philosophy is built on ideas and principles that benefit any leader in any industry.
In true “Smarter, Faster” spirit, Big Think asked Betts LaCroix about role models, startup culture, embedded ID chips, and more. His engaging and insightful answers include our favorite business maxim hacked so far this year: “Act fast and defeat ignorance.”
Think big: How did the tinkering and curiosity of your childhood in Oregon shape your current leadership philosophy?
Betts LaCroix: Curiosity comes from within. My leadership models (my parents) did not impose their interests on me. I love my job. Because it’s authentic to me and it makes me more productive. That’s why I think people who work because they love it are the best fit for me. That’s the quality I chose. To me, leadership is about matching people with challenges that are right for them, what excites them, and what they need for the next challenge.
Think big: Mentorship is a great way to pass on your experience to a new wave of startups. What leadership discoveries are you trying to impress startup newbies?
Betts LaCroix: Trust yourself. When you stay true to your instincts, you become a leader to follow. People can smell deceit. Trying to be someone you’re not can lead to bland behavior or worse. Don’t let the world’s conservatism dampen your ambitions. Choose a startup that aligns with your actual values and aspirations. That alignment will then drive all of your fundraising, hiring, partnerships, and most of all, yourself, amidst the intense questions and challenges you will inevitably face.
Trust yourself. When you stay true to your instincts, you become a leader to follow.
Think big: What leadership techniques and practices do you use to foster innovation at Retro?
Betts LaCroix: First, I avoid using the word “innovation.” The only time I hear this term used is in companies that I would classify as “dead companies.” People will be quick to ignore cultural beliefs that the CEO doesn’t embody. Therefore, I always openly make inventions and standardize them. I almost never accept the answer “It’s not usually done this way” if it means you have to proceed slowly. There’s almost always a way. Sometimes it’s not there, but a feeling of optimism that it’s probably there means there’s a 90% chance you’ll find it.
Think big: Do you have an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip implanted in your hand? What are the benefits of this enhancement, and what does it tell your team about your approach to leadership?
Betts LaCroix: No need to worry about forgetting your keychain in the building. I don’t have a car, so I’m not very picky about keys (Lyft is more efficient because I can work on the way). But the main reason I like my chip is that it’s fast. No need to take the fob out of your pocket or attach it to yourself every day. I also like the feeling that my body and the company are connected.
I am a participant in an autophagy (cell recycling) phase 0 trial. If a scientist needs blood for research, I will donate it immediately. I’ve never understood the concept of “work” because I’ve always lived by the adage “pursue projects you love.” Therefore, for me there is no separation between work and life, and the term “work-life balance” is something of a typo. It is semantically invalid. Therefore, it is natural for me to participate in this project.
Think big: Recruiting can make (or break) a company. How are you positioning Retro’s company culture to ensure success in this regard?
Betts LaCroix: Very talented people love to build important things, so the first criterion is to choose an important mission, one that is very challenging. The other thing is to give people room to run. Authoritarian cultures destroy creativity. I trust people a lot. I have a positive view of human nature and that mostly works for me.Sometimes I am very disappointed and experience painful exceptions [to my default positivity], but they pass – and statistically, they are certainly the exception. Believing in others leads to believing in yourself.
Think big: Which leadership virtues will be most effective and valuable in navigating the decade of accelerating technology that lies ahead of us?
Betts LaCroix: The learning rate is more important than the amount of knowledge. Information becomes increasingly outdated. So, to succeed in the future, you really need to develop the ability to adapt and learn, rather than relying on outdated knowledge bases from 10 years ago. That’s why I look for people who have learned several new things in a short amount of time, and I promote people who learn quickly.
Think big: Is it time to reconsider conventional wisdom about leadership in the technology industry? Does “move fast and break things” still hold true as a practical mantra?
Betts LaCroix: Speed is everything. My job is to maximize the probability of mission success with limited resources. Any delay will cost you in wages, rent, and everyone’s patience. On the contrary, speed gives an impression. Progress energizes us and helps us attract more talented team members to further drive and accelerate progress.
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People confuse fast with sloppy, but we expect more from ourselves. For a fast and accurate 2D chart, you would expect it to be in the upper right quadrant. Quick means knowing something you know nothing about and having the confidence to figure out why. Don’t be afraid to devise quick experiments to see if your hypothesis is wrong. So I think we need to act quickly and break through ignorance. I celebrate repetition. Here, experiments that quickly disprove the hypothesis are considered successful.
For me, there is no distinction between work and life, and the term “work-life balance” is something of a typo. It is semantically invalid.
Think big: Which leader have you most admired in your life and career and why?
Betts LaCroix: When I was a kid, it was Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller (whom I saw lecture on in Oregon) and Nikola Tesla. Afterwards, I was in awe of my Harvard advisor. For not only was his mind a paradise of play, but it was also amazing how he remade his world. He was a child prodigy sent out by the fundamentalist community to disprove a terrible theory. ” Learns the truth about continental drift, realizes for the first time how brilliantly true it is, and then dedicates his life to becoming a world leader in uncovering other similar truths.
Jolie Bell, co-founder of OQO, my first venture-funded company, was an inspiration to me because she taught me that you can have an aesthetic perspective on machines. He gave it to me. I knew spring dogwood trees and Kathe Kollwitz’s paintings were beautiful, but it wasn’t until I met Jolie that I realized that some machines were beautiful, too. Especially if you focus on function rather than decoration. But then there was a long gap, where I didn’t really have a model to inspire me until I met Sam Altman.
Think big: Mr. Altman’s retro support attracted attention. How has his involvement influenced your leadership and vision?
Betts LaCroix: Sam has had an incredibly positive impact on me as a leader and on our company culture. At first, I wondered why this guy named Sam was so obsessed with startup technology. That’s when I realized that startups are the levers that drive all inspirational change. I love learning difficult things that enable exciting results, and startup culture is key. It’s legitimately funny, and it’s very empowering to understand that it can (and should) be real. This means that you can bring your whole self to the task. (Including my body, haha). I don’t get judgment from Sam, only constructive ideas. “Have you ever thought about ‘X’?” Here are some practice methods you should try. ” There is zero learned helplessness.
