I believe Thiel (or was it Graham?) put it another way: there are good ideas and then there are bad ideas, but there is that small intersection in the middle of the Venn diagram — the place where the good ideas that look like bad ideas, live. That is where opportunity is.

Another quote comes to mind: The things you get fired for when you’re young are the same things that you get lifetime achievement awards. If you’re shooting for the stars then by definition you have to take a stand in the zone of controversy.