Why a Lack of Expertise is a Superpower to Create a $Billion Business

I knew almost immediately I never wanted to be an Architect so why did I spend 6 years studying towards a masters degree I’d never use?

Ironically, it prepared me for what I wanted to do more than anything else ever would have. As a broad generalist degree, you’re required to understand everything from the business of architecture, to the structural integrity of buildings, while reinterpreting historical precedent and utilising the technology available today to create something new. You understand the fundamental characteristics of things just by looking at them, able to instantly pattern match and understand why certain things work and other’s done.

Those are the most important skills in business today — design thinking. At the time, I didn’t understand the universal applicability of what I was studying. How could I — I was too focussed on the minutiae detail of construction to appreciate the broader spectrum implications. With time, understanding the way that the Parthenon stood throughout the ages helped me project how businesses would evolve with the advent of modern tech.

The obvious route is typically the wrong one. The road less traveled endows you with a unique set of skills and perspective those in the industry you hope to ascend don’t have. You are free from the…