Reason to Not Not Do a Startup: The Idea

Monday, August 2, 2010

Reason to Not Not Do a Startup: The Idea

Sometimes I ask people I know in my life who I believe would be good entrepreneurs, “have you thought about doing a startup?” I common response to this question is, “Yes, but I don’t feel like I have a good idea.”

I typically let the conversation end right there, because I would never push someone to do a startup that is hesitant. A good entrepreneur has an undeniable drive, a hunger to bust through brick walls and make their startup successful. It’s not possible to try to convince someone with logic to adopt that often-irrational entrepreneurial frame of mind.

But, if I were to continue the conversation, I don’t think a lack of a good idea is a reason to not do a startup. Want a good idea? Here’s 30 great ones that Paul Graham wants to fund. Why would Paul Graham just give away 30 great ideas for free? Because the value of a business is not in the idea. In an early stage company, the value is in the people involved.

It’s the same reason that anytime I have a startup idea, I immediately write a blog post about it here. I know that ideas are cheap, and additionally, ideas get better as people contribute feedback to them, shape them, and make them their own. I’d love to see a great team make any of the nagging startup ideas banging around in the back of my head a reality.

Entrepreneurs almost never take a startup from idea to full execution in a straight line. The idea is a just a starting point from which people weave and bob around as they try to figure out where the money is in a new market they are creating, or existing market they are co-opting.

The converse is true here too. If you’re really passionate about doing a startup because you think you have a great idea, you are actually starting with very little. In fact, the passion you have is very likely far more valuable than the idea itself. So, I would never discourage someone in that position, but my advice at that stage is typically: go get the 2 or 3 smartest people you know and run with the idea. Because people are so important, it’s really difficult to give the idea a fair shot if you do it alone.