Everything Is About to Change

Are you ready to adapt quickly? Billionaire tech investor Thomas Tull says you should be—because these days, there's no other choice.

- JASON FEIFER

The world moves fast. Thomas Tull wants founders to move faster. That's why, when he invests in a startup, he gives them this advice: “Prepare for velocity.” In other words, make sure you're ready to grow quickly and pivot at a moment's notice.

Tull has taken that advice himself. His career has run on fast growth—from when he ran a chain of laundromats after college, to later founding the film studio Legendary Entertainment (which made massive hits including The Dark Knight trilogy and The Hangover series). That work, along with finding success as a tech and VC investor, made him a billionaire. After leaving Legendary in 2017, he continued his investing career—starting his company Tulco that year and the United States Innovative Technology Fund in 2022—supporting companies including Pinterest, FIGS, Oculus Rift, and Sandbox AQ. He's also part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Yankees.

The way Tull sees it, running a business has always been hard—but the landscape was once more predictable. Here, Tull talks about how to navigate today’s fast-moving environments, and why it all starts with a leader's attitude.

I love that advice you give founders: "Prepare for velocity." Can you unpack it?

Things happen so quickly nowdue to the confluence of global politics, technology moving at a geometric rate, and all our interconnectivity. Your company can get big very quickly, and it can fail very quickly. You're going to have to make a lot of choices with imperfect information, and you must be prepared for the velocity of today's changes, and the implications of your decision-making.

How does a founder put that into practice?

Start with your elemental value system—that is, what you fundamentally believe in and want to act upon. Then you must have pliability, to be able to change and bend where applicable.