Cultivating Dark Matter

I wrote this post several years ago, and revisited it today after some discussions about roles within an organization (startup or otherwise). Still rings true.

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

Recently, I asked a friend, “if you were going to hire me, what role would you hire me for?”

I don’t have any specific skills. I don’t code. I don’t know finances. Operations is not my strength.

I’m not really a sales person. I still don’t know how to use SalesForce very well.

Same for PR or marketing. I don’t “do” event planning.

Legal? forget it. HR? That’s a joke.

IT? Thats even more funny than HR.

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.

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 StartupLand?

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. Until he took over as CEO, he didn’t really hold a specific role.

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 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 Dark Matter employee also sees connections that others don’t. They understand why two disparate people or concepts should connect. They think about things in combinations, rather than singles.

This morning, I got StartupMixology, written by my favorite “Dark Matter Connector,” Frank Gruber. He spends his day looking for ways to connect people, whether its through TechCocktail, or directly with each other. Few people understand the importance of connection like Frank does. (Even if he did quote me on networking … ☺)

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?