The Greatest Breakthroughs Are Removed Frictions

To every founder asking what to build next—whether in crypto, AI, or fintech: what if the greatest breakthroughs in human history weren’t new inventions, but the simple removal of… friction? 🧵

We are trained to look for the next revolutionary product. But we almost always overlook the invisible, boring standards that allow thousands of new products to exist in the first place.

This is a story about that hidden architecture. It’s about why the battle for the future isn’t about building better tech—it’s about agreeing on the rules that let everything connect.

It’s a battle that repeats in every era, and today it’s being waged over the operating system for human ambition itself: money.

The most dangerous move isn’t falling behind on technology. The most dangerous move is to accept a modern solution that’s just a prettier version of the past.

In 1885, the industrial revolution hit a wall at a station in Gloucester. Passengers had to get off, walk, and buy new tickets for a different train. Why? Because the tracks were different sizes. It was a failure of imagination.

This could happen again in payments and finance. You look at the proprietary networks. You look at the existing, closed rails. They feel safe. They feel curated.

But if you build your startup inside them, you are making an irreversible mistake. When you build on a closed network, you are a tenant. The landlord can change the rent. The landlord can evict you.

You can create a feature, but you cannot shape the future. The future requires permissionless innovation.

Consider the GPS. The military built it. They owned it. It was a weapon. Then, they flipped a switch. They gave the signal away. Nobody had to sign a deal to build Uber. Nobody had to ask permission to invent Google Maps. That is the power of an open standard.

You can build inside a walled garden. You may even get distribution at the start. You may get a false sense of safety. But you will never be truly free.

Or you can build on an open network. The “messy” crypto protocols and decentralized networks. The open-source models.

The incumbents will tell you the open version is a “toy.” They will say it’s chaotic. But the toy is the only place where you can be the architect, not the tenant.

▶️ “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life”—Steve Jobs. History doesn’t remember the gatekeepers. It remembers the ones who tore the gates down.

Don’t just build a better product. Build a bridge to the wild, permissionless possibilities of tomorrow. ▶️ A centuries-old blueprint for a more open and vibrant future: @a16zcrypto a16zcrypto.com

Originally published as a thread on X.