I used to do 1h free with startups (free for them only, the government paid me), and I echo your impression of "perfect start-ups" (which is a better name than

I used to do 1h free with startups (free for them only, the government paid me), and I echo your impression of "perfect start-ups" (which is a better name than I ever thought of). For whatever reason, I only saw the perfect start-ups when they were hurtling towards launch; then they'd come to me and ask a question like "how do I sell my product?" or "I've mortgaged my house, when will I start to be able to make payments from my company?" Those were always sad. I loved the "interesting people" -- they still had time to do something useful. Before you launch a startup, you have unlimited time (it's rarely true that you must be the first entrant in a market to succeed, so time is on your side). I would always tell them to do a "feasibility analysis" -- a long document in which you: 1. Clearly state what it is your company does 2. Clearly state who your customer is 3. Clearly state why they will value you 4. Are specific about what you're assuming about your customer, competition, wider economy, etc., that will drive you to success 5. Validate that your customer exists and shares your perception of what value is 6. Validate that all of your assumptions are true These usually took about 3 months of part-time work for the entrepreneur to complete, and, if they had a feasible start-up, they usually had customers in hand by the end of the process. If it wasn't a feasible start-up, they had the chance to pivot or just walk away, before spending any real money or real time. I love the idea of Getwear, and I really love the frank discussion of their failure. I'm sad that everything Yaakov writes probably could've been determined in a feasibility analysis.