Linear CEO Karri Saarinen reflects on ambition: how to become the best of your generation
joonasvirtanen · x · 2026-10-19
Linear CEO Karri Saarinen published a blog post, Room for ambition, revisiting a question posed at a late-night startup gathering in Finland nearly twenty years ago: "How do we become the best people of our generation?"
- He frames the question not as a prediction but as an obligation — to make an honest effort at building something great, not a claim to recognition
- Shared ambition matters: people pursuing different things while genuinely wanting each other to succeed; support can be as simple as listening seriously, sharing an idea, or making an introduction
- He redefines greatness as mastery rather than competition — winning by someone else's rules doesn't lead to greatness
- His core point: ambition needs space, and an environment where people take each other's aspirations seriously matters more than specific advice
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