The Dark Matter of a Startup

Do you have an answer to this question: “What is your value?”

You see, I dont.

I dont have specific skills. I dont code. I dont know finances. I suck at operations.

Im not really a sales person. I dont know how to use SalesForce very well.

Same for PR or marketing. I dont “do” event planning.

Legal? forget it. HR? Thats a joke.

IT? Thats even more funny than HR.

So, why am I currently working at my sixth startup, if I have no skill?

Because I am Dark Matter.

Before you puke in laughter, let me explain.

Dark Matter, as defined by Wikipedia is:

In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that is undetectable by its emitted radiation, but whose presence can be inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter. Dark matter is postulated to explain the flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies and other evidence of “missing mass” in the universe. According to present observations of structures larger than galaxies, as well as Big Bang cosmology, dark matter and dark energy account for the vast majority of the mass in the observable universe. The observed phenomena which imply the presence of dark matter include the rotational speeds of galaxies, orbital velocities of galaxies in clusters, gravitational lensing of background objects by galaxy clusters such as the Bullet Cluster, and the temperature distribution of hot gas in galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Dark matter also plays a central role in structure formation and galaxy evolution, and has measurable effects on the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background. All these lines of evidence suggest that galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the universe as a whole contain far more matter than that which interacts with electromagnetic radiation: the remainder is frequently called the “dark matter component,” even though there is a small amount of baryonic dark matter.

Yeah, I have no idea what that means either. EXCEPT, that dark matter is undetectable, but absolutely necessary to the existence of everything.

How does that work in a startup world?

Every successful startup that I have seen has someone within their ranks that just kinda “does stuff.” No one really knows specifically what they do, but its vital to the success of the startup.

There are plenty of examples. Take Matt Mullenweg at Automattic. Does he code? Some. Come up with strategy? Sure. Speak around the country? Of course. But he doesnt fill a specific role.

What about Anil Dash at Six Apart?His title is “VP and Lead Evangelist.” What does he do for Six Apart? He blogs. He speaks. He helps people understand the importance of blogging. He does some business development.

Another characteristic of a Dark Matter person, is that they tend to be disruptive (or as Todd likes to call them) Fire-Starters. Some times these employees will get the company spun up on different ideas, hoping to find one of interest that actually bears fruit.

For me, I figure a 1/10 hit rate (meaning 1 out of 10 ideas is actually decent) on ideas is pretty successful. Hopefully, even the tossed ideas will be the genesis of other better ideas by other people within the company.

Jeffrey Kalmikoff at skinnyCorp is a great example of this. Every time we connect, he has a new idea. Sometimes several. It takes a bit of work to parse through them and pull out the interesting nuggets. Its completely worth the effort, because there are always interesting nuggets. Always.

A third component of a Dark Matter employee is that they see connections. They understand why two disparate people or concepts should connect. They think about things in combinations, rather than silos.

My favorite “Dark Matter Connector” is Frank Gruber. He spends his day looking for ways to connect people, whether its with his company, AOL, or with each other, Frank understands the importance of connection.

If you are in a startup, take a look around at the people who are working towards your success. Do you have someone that fills the role of Dark Matter?

If not, why not?

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