Why history keeps laughing at its own big breakthroughs

If you’ve ever tried to build something truly new, you’ve probably felt the quiet (or not-so-quiet) skepticism that follows big ideas. When you see a future others can’t yet imagine, doubt tends to show up early and often – with your ideas getting brushed off as unrealistic, naive, or even laughable.

It’s a feeling Marc Andreessen knows all too well. Long before becoming a venture capitalist at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), he helped create foundational internet technology, including Mosaic and Netscape Communications. Over decades in tech, he’s seen firsthand how world-changing ideas often begin as punchlines.

At the 2013 Milken Institute Global Conference, Andreessen reflected on how easily we forget that today’s obvious breakthroughs once felt insignificant or absurd.

“The great innovations of the past are now well understood as very important,” he said. “Yet, at the time, they were often considered trivialities or jokes.”

All great ideas have to start somewhere – right?

Andreessen shared three powerful examples illuminating how early perception can wildly underestimate lasting impact.

When the telephone was introduced, Thomas Edison assumed it would mainly help telegraph operators speak to one another. The notion that ordinary people might casually pick up a phone and talk across distances seemed implausible at the time, brushing off the profound societal shift the technology would eventually create.

The same pattern repeated decades later with the internet. Between 1993 and 1997, many observers, including prominent media voices, dismissed it as a novelty, doubting it could ever become a trusted consumer medium or support commerce.

Even the automobile (yes, the most commonly used mode of transport we now use every single day) followed this path. Early cars were expensive toys for the wealthy, often requiring a driver, mechanic, and even a stoker.

J. P. Morgan famously passed on investing in Ford Motor Company, viewing cars as frivolous luxuries rather than the foundation of modern life.

Reflecting on these stories, Andreessen has arguably said it best:

“Innovations of our present moment will likely be seen as trivial or jokes by many. One day, our descendants will mythologize them while chuckling at their own future trivial innovations.”

How to prepare for the inevitable setbacks founder life brings

Understanding this history offers practical lessons for founders carving out new paths today. Because at the end of the day, skepticism is a natural, almost universal reaction to breakthroughs that disrupt existing beliefs or markets.

But only the ones that learn to embrace this as a signal that their idea challenges convention will be the ones to pave the way for great change.

Rather than relying solely on persuasion, Andreessen’s viewpoint suggests founders should focus on proving traction through early adopters.

Anticipate skepticism, and sharpen your narrative with clear, simple explanations of why current assumptions are flawed.
Focus on measurable early signals to shift the conversation from speculation to data.
Tell a compelling counter-factual story backed by experiments and real-world testing.