4 ms·

> Very few of us actually give a shit about doing something novel. Most novelty presents outside of business in general, including startups. Startups generally

by cbsmith 11y ago

> Very few of us actually give a shit about doing something novel. Most novelty presents outside of business in general, including startups. Startups generally are applying the novelty (that is no longer novel) that is perceived as potentially valuable to see if it actually is. Ideally, startups should be focused on doing something _well_, rather than doing something _novel_. To the extent that novelty occurs, it should be a side effect of that objective.

AndrewKemendo 11y ago
I think the whole ethos behind a high-tech startup is that you do something well by implementing a novel (in the sense of adoption rate) process or technology. There is certainly room for disagreement, but all of the "high tech startups" that make up the startup zeitgeist, were exactly that.
- cbsmith 11y ago
  > I think the whole ethos behind a high-tech startup is that you do something well by implementing a novel (in the sense of adoption rate) process or technology. That might be the ethos, but it isn't the reality. Most startups aren't first movers, and most of the ones who succeed aren't either. Throwing in "in the sense of adoption rate" is kind of silly though, no? Every mom & pop shop has its own unique process that hasn't been widely adopted. I swear, those Zappos shoes are just like the ones you get on other web sites.
  - AndrewKemendo 11y ago
    Most startups aren't first movers I'm not talking about those, and it's not even necessary to be a first mover so long as the startup is overhauling how things get done outside of the current dominant market leader. I'm talking about Microsoft, Uber, Amazon etc... the ones who have literally changed the way people live. Those are the ones that actually held up the ethos.
    - cbsmith 11y ago
      > I'm talking about Microsoft, Uber, Amazon etc... the ones who have literally changed the way people live. ...or they road a wave... You didn't mention Walmart. ;-) Uber has had a number of competitors, back in their day when they were "changing the world", so did Microsoft & Amazon. Hell, Microsoft's operating system ride started with an operating system they bought from someone else. If you grow at a crazy fast rate to become a household name, you inherently are riding some kind of wave change. I don't think that was what the MIT Microfluidics PhD friend was referring to as "novel". If you want to call that "novel", then you are going to have a much harder time making the case that Theranos isn't trying to be novel.
      - AndrewKemendo 11y ago
        You didn't mention Walmart. ;-) Well they are the ones being disrupted currently. They did it in the 80s and 90s to Sears and the rest. you are going to have a much harder time making the case that Theranos isn't trying to be novel. I actually think Theranos is trying to be novel, my initial response was that maximizing value isn't something new in the valley. I have no clue on whether they are or not in reality, but they portray themselves as actually making new technology - my guess is that they just can't do it and are trying to buy time.

by cbsmith 11y ago

AndrewKemendo 11y ago

I think the whole ethos behind a high-tech startup is that you do something well by implementing a novel (in the sense of adoption rate) process or technology. There is certainly room for disagreement, but all of the "high tech startups" that make up the startup zeitgeist, were exactly that.

cbsmith 11y ago
> I think the whole ethos behind a high-tech startup is that you do something well by implementing a novel (in the sense of adoption rate) process or technology. That might be the ethos, but it isn't the reality. Most startups aren't first movers, and most of the ones who succeed aren't either. Throwing in "in the sense of adoption rate" is kind of silly though, no? Every mom & pop shop has its own unique process that hasn't been widely adopted. I swear, those Zappos shoes are just like the ones you get on other web sites.
- AndrewKemendo 11y ago
  Most startups aren't first movers I'm not talking about those, and it's not even necessary to be a first mover so long as the startup is overhauling how things get done outside of the current dominant market leader. I'm talking about Microsoft, Uber, Amazon etc... the ones who have literally changed the way people live. Those are the ones that actually held up the ethos.
  - cbsmith 11y ago
    > I'm talking about Microsoft, Uber, Amazon etc... the ones who have literally changed the way people live. ...or they road a wave... You didn't mention Walmart. ;-) Uber has had a number of competitors, back in their day when they were "changing the world", so did Microsoft & Amazon. Hell, Microsoft's operating system ride started with an operating system they bought from someone else. If you grow at a crazy fast rate to become a household name, you inherently are riding some kind of wave change. I don't think that was what the MIT Microfluidics PhD friend was referring to as "novel". If you want to call that "novel", then you are going to have a much harder time making the case that Theranos isn't trying to be novel.
    - AndrewKemendo 11y ago
      You didn't mention Walmart. ;-) Well they are the ones being disrupted currently. They did it in the 80s and 90s to Sears and the rest. you are going to have a much harder time making the case that Theranos isn't trying to be novel. I actually think Theranos is trying to be novel, my initial response was that maximizing value isn't something new in the valley. I have no clue on whether they are or not in reality, but they portray themselves as actually making new technology - my guess is that they just can't do it and are trying to buy time.