When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for people telling you that you are nuts.

Ellison’s remark captures a common social dynamic around genuine novelty: ideas that depart sharply from prevailing assumptions often look irrational before they become legible. Calling an innovator “nuts” functions as a defense of the status quo—an attempt to police boundaries of what seems feasible or respectable. The quote also implies a psychological requirement for innovators: resilience in the face of ridicule, skepticism, and reputational risk. In Ellison’s business context, it gestures toward the early stages of disruptive technology and entrepreneurship, when proof is scarce and conviction must precede validation. The line frames social disapproval not as a sign of failure, but as an expected cost of originality.