495: Setting up scale: How to avoid voltage drop (with John A. List)

Welcome to an episode with a highly regarded economist and best-selling author, John A. List. Get John's book here: https://amzn.to/3BDlHzj

In this episode, John defined scaling – an overused yet often confused word in the startup world today – and elaborated the term. He also spoke about the voltage effect and how it relates to scaling. The discussion revolved around the five vital signs that every scalable idea must possess to avoid voltage drops and gave numerous realistic examples to help us visualize each sign. John also shared the top things that we must keep in mind when making decisions related to scaling.

Professor John A. List is the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on combining field experiments with economic theory to deepen our understanding of the economic science.

In the early 1990s, List pioneered field experiments as a methodology for testing behavioral theories and learning about behavioral principles that are shared across different domains. He co-authored the international best seller, The Why Axis, in 2013.

List was elected a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011, and a Fellow of the Econometric Society in 2015. List received the 2010 Kenneth Galbraith Award, the 2008 Arrow Prize for Senior Economists for his research in behavioral economics in the field, and was the 2012 Yrjo Jahnsson Lecture Prize recipient. He is a current Editor of the Journal of Political Economy.

Get John's book here:

The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale. John A. List: https://amzn.to/3BDlHzj

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