One thing that scares me as a VC is becoming an expert. By their nature the most disruptive ideas almost always make no sense at the start and I fear that by becoming an expert, I'll become blind to the novelty of brilliant ideas when I encounter them.

Sometimes the ideas make sense but one can't see how big the market potential is. Many times as a result of being knowledgeable about the subject matter, we don't account for outliers or surprises. Experts are many times overconfident in their thinking.

Sure, one doesn't want to be dumb and clueless especially when there's a fudiciary duty to profitably return capital to investors. But there's a reason incumbents keep getting disrupted. Whether that's because of what Ben Thompson addresses here or because research shows that innovation at startups outperform the R&D departments of big companies, you want to make sure you're not so smart that you miss what in retrospect should have been a no brainer opportunity.

Bessemer Ventures' anti portfolio is a such a great place to get humbled.

Ultimately one has to figure out a way to remain eternally curious and excited. It's one of the best ways to enjoy the gruelling journey of being a passenger in the hot air balloon that startups tend to be, whether you're a founder, operator or investor.