“Would anyone be interested in staying after class tomorrow to brainstorm experiments?”

This simple post is one of the most-engaged-with in all of LaunchPad12’s Slack messages. Founders are beginning to realize that a robust ideation practice is essential to a rigorous experimentation cycle. And they’re also beginning to value the perspective others bring to their own work: they’re not trapped by the same ways of thinking about the business!

One of the easiest ways to think out of the box is to talk to someone else. Not just strangers — valuable as they can be — but outsiders who have a different perspective on the problems you’re facing. They’re much less constrained in their approach to your business. They’re not nearly as precious about protecting prior art as you are.

But here’s the thing: you have to have a crew, and you have to be willing to be vulnerable enough to ask for help.

It’s one of the primary values of the classroom environment, as it creates a built-in learning cohort: with sufficient context on one another’s work, cohort members can make meaningful contributions to each others work. Some (like Mr. Beast) might even argue they’re the key to exponential success.

So here’s the question — especially if you’re not in a school environment — who’s your learning cohort? Where can you go to reach outside your team for perspective? We’ve got a crew on discord if you’re looking for one.

Related: Flex Your Idea Muscle
Related: The Value of an Outsider’s Perspective
Related: Draw On A Network
Related: Rally A Cohort
Related: Gather Lunatics

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