Just reading this title already gives me a headache.
There’s a thought tangling up my brain as I sketch out this article from the dentist’s chair, my prosthetic hand (aka my phone) firmly in my grip. But what exactly is it? The thing is: things are complex, yet sometimes they can also be simple.
Okay, time to put my phone down. The assistant is staring at me, waiting.
Back again. Still feeling the lingering effects of anesthesia. But under the lights and the discomfort of this procedure, a realization hit me.
When you’re facing a major challenge—especially one that involves changing a group dynamic—you can’t avoid moving in these two directions: vertical, when you focus deeply on solving a specific issue; horizontal, when you connect the dots, exploring the bigger picture; then vertical again, when you return to previous doubts, reconsidering your approach; and back to horizontal, when you look for alternative solutions. And so on, and so on.
Vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal.
Lately, I’ve been feeling caught between these two movements. Take my Tuesday articles, for example. Silvia Castrogiovanni reminds me to be more concise, some friends give me feedback and ideas, then Tuesday comes again, and I have to write again—concise yet insightful, concise yet insightful… and next time, there will be something else to integrate.
I want to understand how my interest in social analysis connects with this strange vertical world of startup founders—people who focus on solving specific problems. I want to find the intersection between this vertical approach and my intellectual encounters—the books I read, the conversations I have—where the effort is analyzing broader social issues.
If the personal is political, then maybe the vertical is always, in some way, also horizontal?
Let’s take a step back. All startups are built to solve problems experienced by their target customers. The goal is usually growth—an opportunistic approach. Every group has its own objectives. When pitching to investors, there’s always a slide about the problem—explaining how the startup will solve it. But this problem-solving isn’t just about business—it’s often tied to social issues as well.
In the early stages, what interests investors most is the intellectual ability to deconstruct the problem. And solutions? They’re not just about innovation or execution (vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal…). They’re also about understanding the underlying social dynamics.
So, we should ask: Are there alternative ways to solve this problem—beyond the startup’s idea? What is the real problem? What are its different layers?
These are crucial questions because they reveal an unexpected intersection in this intellectual crossword puzzle: the word “IMPACT.”
And there it is—the core of social innovation in startups. Every vertical initiative has a horizontal impact. Every disruptive idea has social consequences. Every social problem has far-reaching branches.
And the worst way to create impact? Being unaware of the dots you’re connecting.
Maybe, just maybe, startup founders should learn to be a little less naïve. They shouldn’t assume they’re saving the world. Instead, they should aim to make a conscious contribution to its development—understanding that they’re just one set of actors (not the only ones!) intellectually deconstructing certain problems with social implications.
And here I am, sitting in my dentist’s chair, filling in the blanks like a crossword puzzle at the beach this summer. Trying to find the best way to articulate everything that crossed my mind under the hands of my trusted dentist. Hoping for unexpected intersections. Hoping to find the right words.
But maybe this is a lifelong task. Maybe the real point is to never stop moving in this rhythm.
