Where the Term Comes From in This Episode In the episode, Steve connects the adjacent possible to how a company emerges. He attributes the idea to Stuart Kauffman at the Santa Fe Institute, popularized by Steven Johnson [^b5ece131-b6dd-5800-8dc9-f7b4c9d794bd@201]. How It Is Used [moment: 201]The adjacent possible describes how a current set of capabilities eventually unlocks an entirely new set of capabilities. Applied to a company, it means ideas, capabilities, and values emerge over time — things get proven and disproven, and the process becomes organic rather than forced [^b5ece131-b6dd-5800-8dc9-f7b4c9d794bd@201] [^b5ece131-b6dd-5800-8dc9-f7b4c9d794bd@211]. Why It Matters for Starting Something New Steve uses the term to frame what it is like to start without a fixed vision. Early in fundraising, the honest position was: no venture-backed company, no certainty about what it would become — just an intention to build something special. Five years later, that earlier version couldn't have predicted the outcome [^b5ece131-b6dd-5800-8dc9-f7b4c9d794bd@119] [^b5ece131-b6dd-5800-8dc9-f7b4c9d794bd@130] [^b5ece131-b6dd-5800-8dc9-f7b4c9d794bd@144]. - The adjacent possible: today's capabilities unlock tomorrow's, which unlocks the next set. - Coined by Stuart Kauffman, popularized by Steven Johnson. - In companies, it means ideas and values emerge organically rather than being forced. - Starting without a grand vision lets the unpredictable become possible.