ST
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Not as a grand mission — he wanted to quit his Harvard PhD but didn't know how, and figured it would be "really awkward if I don't have something else to do." A working company would give him "a choice set."
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Stephen is blunt about the origin. "I actually started Lumiere because I was thinking man I really wanna quit my PhD but I don't know how and it's gonna be really awkward if I don't have something else to do." His logic was about reducing the cost of leaving: "I think one thing I think about is how do I de risk the other option." If he had a company that was working, that would give him a choice set — so quitting the PhD wouldn't feel like jumping off a cliff. The PhD became "a side thing" and Lumiere became the 16-hours-a-day thing.