8 ms·

Developing new startup ideas

70 points by epi0Bauqu 17y ago

jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
That's how I went about it and it was absolutely awesome. Look at it this way: What are the odds that someone steals the exact idea you choose out of the many you have, sticks with it long enough to matter, AND executes past the first iteration? You're more likely to get struck by lightning. Let's say the roles were reversed with Facebook and those two twins supposedly took the idea from Zuck. Do you really believe they would have had the vision to iterate beyond a social network for college kids? On the other hand, you can tell as many people as much as possible. You'll get a ton of feedback, find flaws, meet new people, and have opportunities present themselves you would have never had happen otherwise. The odds of that? Very very likely.
shykes 17y ago
I think it's a widely accepted fact that, as a guy with an idea and a laptop you are worth zero without proper execution. So you have everything to gain by sharing your idea. Things get trickier as you build value. There's still plenty of information you'll benefit from sharing, but it starts mixing with stuff you definitely don't want to share. I see a common trait in a lot of successful companies: they found a healthy balance between too open and too closed.
shafqat 17y ago
I think he is spot on. BUT, the fact that he won't share his idea spreadsheet is very disappointing. My comment on his blog: "While I agree completely with your thesis, this response makes the whole thing a wash in my opinion. Do you really think someone reading your blog is going to steal your idea, build a product, execute and deliver? I'd say the chances are almost non-existent. Love the fact that you're telling people to share ideas and get feedback and be open, but loathe the fact that you won't eat your own dogfood. Saying it only applies when you show ideas to individuals is weak. But that's just my opinion."
- ErrantX 17y ago
  > BUT, the fact that he won't share his idea spreadsheet is very disappointing I think you've fallen for the fallacy associated with "Ideas are worthless". A lot of people assume that means "share it with everyone" - which is definitely not what this article is suggesting. Share it with people you know, people you respect, people who you think will give input - but share it personally If you are going to attempt to execute an idea throwing it onto HN (for example) does potentially devalue you it for you. The amount of extra input is potentially useful (though I doubt by much) but the chance of it being implemented by another shoots right up too :) (of course; if you dont plan to execute now, or dont see yourself executing then sharing publicly is a good idea)
  - shafqat 17y ago
    Fair point, but I dont think ideas are worthless at all. Given that he is not building startups to execute on these ideas (and alludes he probably won't be in the future), I thought it would make his case much more compelling if he did share. Maybe a few ideas... or just the headline idea without the detail. I got into a bit of back-and-forth with him on the blog, but I did agree with his general thesis. FWIW, I think throwing out an idea on HN is not a terrible idea. The feedback and useful suggestions probably outweigh the risk, especially if you are already working on building the business (i.e. past the 'idea' stage).
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      FWIW, I think throwing out an idea on HN is not a terrible idea. The feedback and useful suggestions probably outweigh the risk, especially if you are already working on building the business (i.e. past the 'idea' stage). I suspect it's a case of "each one on it's own merits". Some ideas would see benefit in being aired publicly. Others less so. If you dont have people you chat to one-to-one (or in small groups) about your ideas then I can definitely see the benefit, yes.
  - dtran 17y ago
    I like to think of an idea as a seed or germ of the real idea. It's from the most important part - the founders, their execution, market & product positioning are all much more important, but this also doesn't mean that every idea is a good one. I think that a really great founding team will eventually pivot and morph an initially not-so-great idea into something decent and viable, but really great startups must also come from pretty good initial ideas, or at least the initial idea has to quickly lead to a relatively good idea.
ethanhuynh 17y ago
ok, consider this quote "An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of the old inputs" (don't remember exactly who said it), so, when you share your idea to others and receive feedback, meaning you'll gather more inputs, and therefore you'll can have more ideas by combining them and you can also develop your initial idea into a better one (again, by combining your initial idea with the new inputs)
fnid2 17y ago
I absolutely would NOT put my ideas in a Google spreadsheet. That's a sure way to share it with everyone you don't want to have it -- like google. Why on earth would you recommend putting your ideas in a system owned and controlled by someone else. Put it in a spreadsheet on your own computer or in a text file. NOT google spreadsheets.
- coryl 17y ago
  Paranoia much? Do you really think some evil genius at Google is reading your idea list, waiting for the right one to pop up so he can steal it?
  - fnid2 17y ago
    Yeah, I think that. In fact, I'm almost positive of it, because to show me "relevant" ads, they have to read my spreadsheet. I don't trust google at all. They've shown repeatedly that they are not not evil. Regardless, their stuff isn't very secure. I read about all kinds of backdoors people find into their apps. Putting your ideas into a google spreadsheet is sharing it with the world and you'll never be able to delete it from their lightning machines.
    - coryl 17y ago
      In fact, I'm almost positive of it, because to show me "relevant" ads, they have to read my spreadsheet. Its an algorithm that scans through the text to pick up keywords in order to target advertising. There isn't a person literally reading over your content. Aside from your paranoia, why do you think your ideas are worth stealing anyway? I could care less if someone came across a document of my unpursued ideas. If they can execute them or germinate them better than I can, they deserve to have them.
      - fnid2 17y ago
        They are worth a lot. I implement many of them. And thanks for explaining to me how the google ads work. I thought they had an army of people looking at all the web pages and clicking check boxes by the ads that should show there. It's amazing that they can automate something like that! I have new respect for google now. That's awesome!
DaniFong 17y ago
What should you do if you want competitors to run off and start with your idea? I already have my main thing.
- dangoldin 17y ago
  Show that it's profitable!
  - DaniFong 17y ago
    God damn it. It's going on the spreadsheet.
jcs 17y ago
Well if he isn't going to share his spreadsheet, we can start our own. Feel free to add your idea to http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tOGIddn3rPdqKbHWsqaWbiw&hl=en_GB http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tOGIddn3rPdqKbHWsqaWb... and we'll see where it goes.
- shafqat 17y ago
  Love it, idea added. Thanks.
- DaniFong 17y ago
  This is very cool. People are starting to vandalize though. I may have to make my own and close it to editing.
ryanhuff 17y ago
While getting as much feedback as possible from a diverse group is great, you need to be fair with peoples time. Engaging people (VC's, etc) to help vet your laundry list of ideas seems beyond realistic, unless these people are already your friends.
adityakothadiya 17y ago
This sounds reasonable, but wouldn't I look like another "idea guy" if I keep bouncing off a list of different ideas to other entrepreneurs or VCs? Wouldn't they would like to see me being passionate about one market, one idea, have detailed research about it, being committed about it? It's very easy to bounce of bunch off ideas with VCs or entrepreneurs - if they are your friends. But it doesn't seem to be very logical approach for first time entrepreneurs.
Tichy 17y ago
Where is his spreadsheet?
matwood 17y ago
“Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats.” -Howard Aiken

70 points by epi0Bauqu 17y ago

That's how I went about it and it was absolutely awesome. Look at it this way: What are the odds that someone steals the exact idea you choose out of the many you have, sticks with it long enough to matter, AND executes past the first iteration? You're more likely to get struck by lightning. Let's say the roles were reversed with Facebook and those two twins supposedly took the idea from Zuck. Do you really believe they would have had the vision to iterate beyond a social network for college kids? On the other hand, you can tell as many people as much as possible. You'll get a ton of feedback, find flaws, meet new people, and have opportunities present themselves you would have never had happen otherwise. The odds of that? Very very likely.

shykes 17y ago

I think it's a widely accepted fact that, as a guy with an idea and a laptop you are worth zero without proper execution. So you have everything to gain by sharing your idea. Things get trickier as you build value. There's still plenty of information you'll benefit from sharing, but it starts mixing with stuff you definitely don't want to share. I see a common trait in a lot of successful companies: they found a healthy balance between too open and too closed.

shafqat 17y ago

I think he is spot on. BUT, the fact that he won't share his idea spreadsheet is very disappointing. My comment on his blog: "While I agree completely with your thesis, this response makes the whole thing a wash in my opinion. Do you really think someone reading your blog is going to steal your idea, build a product, execute and deliver? I'd say the chances are almost non-existent. Love the fact that you're telling people to share ideas and get feedback and be open, but loathe the fact that you won't eat your own dogfood. Saying it only applies when you show ideas to individuals is weak. But that's just my opinion."

ErrantX 17y ago
> BUT, the fact that he won't share his idea spreadsheet is very disappointing I think you've fallen for the fallacy associated with "Ideas are worthless". A lot of people assume that means "share it with everyone" - which is definitely not what this article is suggesting. Share it with people you know, people you respect, people who you think will give input - but share it personally If you are going to attempt to execute an idea throwing it onto HN (for example) does potentially devalue you it for you. The amount of extra input is potentially useful (though I doubt by much) but the chance of it being implemented by another shoots right up too :) (of course; if you dont plan to execute now, or dont see yourself executing then sharing publicly is a good idea)
- shafqat 17y ago
  Fair point, but I dont think ideas are worthless at all. Given that he is not building startups to execute on these ideas (and alludes he probably won't be in the future), I thought it would make his case much more compelling if he did share. Maybe a few ideas... or just the headline idea without the detail. I got into a bit of back-and-forth with him on the blog, but I did agree with his general thesis. FWIW, I think throwing out an idea on HN is not a terrible idea. The feedback and useful suggestions probably outweigh the risk, especially if you are already working on building the business (i.e. past the 'idea' stage).
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    FWIW, I think throwing out an idea on HN is not a terrible idea. The feedback and useful suggestions probably outweigh the risk, especially if you are already working on building the business (i.e. past the 'idea' stage). I suspect it's a case of "each one on it's own merits". Some ideas would see benefit in being aired publicly. Others less so. If you dont have people you chat to one-to-one (or in small groups) about your ideas then I can definitely see the benefit, yes.
- dtran 17y ago
  I like to think of an idea as a seed or germ of the real idea. It's from the most important part - the founders, their execution, market & product positioning are all much more important, but this also doesn't mean that every idea is a good one. I think that a really great founding team will eventually pivot and morph an initially not-so-great idea into something decent and viable, but really great startups must also come from pretty good initial ideas, or at least the initial idea has to quickly lead to a relatively good idea.

ethanhuynh 17y ago

ok, consider this quote "An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of the old inputs" (don't remember exactly who said it), so, when you share your idea to others and receive feedback, meaning you'll gather more inputs, and therefore you'll can have more ideas by combining them and you can also develop your initial idea into a better one (again, by combining your initial idea with the new inputs)

fnid2 17y ago

I absolutely would NOT put my ideas in a Google spreadsheet. That's a sure way to share it with everyone you don't want to have it -- like google. Why on earth would you recommend putting your ideas in a system owned and controlled by someone else. Put it in a spreadsheet on your own computer or in a text file. NOT google spreadsheets.

coryl 17y ago
Paranoia much? Do you really think some evil genius at Google is reading your idea list, waiting for the right one to pop up so he can steal it?
- fnid2 17y ago
  Yeah, I think that. In fact, I'm almost positive of it, because to show me "relevant" ads, they have to read my spreadsheet. I don't trust google at all. They've shown repeatedly that they are not not evil. Regardless, their stuff isn't very secure. I read about all kinds of backdoors people find into their apps. Putting your ideas into a google spreadsheet is sharing it with the world and you'll never be able to delete it from their lightning machines.
  - coryl 17y ago
    In fact, I'm almost positive of it, because to show me "relevant" ads, they have to read my spreadsheet. Its an algorithm that scans through the text to pick up keywords in order to target advertising. There isn't a person literally reading over your content. Aside from your paranoia, why do you think your ideas are worth stealing anyway? I could care less if someone came across a document of my unpursued ideas. If they can execute them or germinate them better than I can, they deserve to have them.
    - fnid2 17y ago
      They are worth a lot. I implement many of them. And thanks for explaining to me how the google ads work. I thought they had an army of people looking at all the web pages and clicking check boxes by the ads that should show there. It's amazing that they can automate something like that! I have new respect for google now. That's awesome!

DaniFong 17y ago

What should you do if you want competitors to run off and start with your idea? I already have my main thing.

dangoldin 17y ago
Show that it's profitable!
- DaniFong 17y ago
  God damn it. It's going on the spreadsheet.

jcs 17y ago

Well if he isn't going to share his spreadsheet, we can start our own. Feel free to add your idea to http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tOGIddn3rPdqKbHWsqaWbiw&hl=en_GB http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tOGIddn3rPdqKbHWsqaWb... and we'll see where it goes.

shafqat 17y ago
Love it, idea added. Thanks.
DaniFong 17y ago
This is very cool. People are starting to vandalize though. I may have to make my own and close it to editing.

ryanhuff 17y ago

While getting as much feedback as possible from a diverse group is great, you need to be fair with peoples time. Engaging people (VC's, etc) to help vet your laundry list of ideas seems beyond realistic, unless these people are already your friends.

adityakothadiya 17y ago

This sounds reasonable, but wouldn't I look like another "idea guy" if I keep bouncing off a list of different ideas to other entrepreneurs or VCs? Wouldn't they would like to see me being passionate about one market, one idea, have detailed research about it, being committed about it? It's very easy to bounce of bunch off ideas with VCs or entrepreneurs - if they are your friends. But it doesn't seem to be very logical approach for first time entrepreneurs.

Tichy 17y ago

Where is his spreadsheet?

matwood 17y ago

“Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats.” -Howard Aiken