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This is why I vehemently disagree with anyone that claims creating a startup is easier today than in the past. Not only are the low hanging ideas saturated (ie

This is why I vehemently disagree with anyone that claims creating a startup is easier today than in the past. Not only are the low hanging ideas saturated (ie website monitoring, brand monitoring, fitness apps), but the bigger ideas require a lot of data, and the big tech companies have the clear advantage.

dangoldin 8y ago
I think creating a small/lifestyle startup is easier than ever since distribution/globalization is much easier but creating the next big thing is much more difficult.
- mattmg83 8y ago
  That's the best phrasing I've read that reconciles these two beliefs (easier to build + saturation). Nicely and simply put.
anongraddebt 8y ago
I don't think it is any easier or harder. The difficulty remains the same. Today, the web stack is much more accessible, and accessible to a much larger group of people. Indeed, a non-trivial number of its parts are relatively automated (e.g. Weebly). In 1995, it was only accessible to a much smaller group of people. Mobile app development will soon reach the same point. And yet, there are plenty of new technologies and ecosystems - to learn and creatively generate something from - that are inaccessible to people in the same way the web was in 1995. Experiment until you find something people want that has a promising business model and tech model design. If you get traction, don't take investment from just anyone (I'm reminded of Amazon's VC arm working with Amazon to copy a portfolio companies' product, which then buried that startup). Etc. Etc. There are plenty of other early-stage strategic heuristics you can utilize to your advantage. Perceived weaknesses or disadvantages can be the other-side of an actual strength or advantage. ------ I want to emphasize this point more: often times, the lack of resources (whether financial, intellectual, etc.) is the setting of a creative breakthrough that generates the successful business model and tech model.

dangoldin 8y ago

I think creating a small/lifestyle startup is easier than ever since distribution/globalization is much easier but creating the next big thing is much more difficult.

mattmg83 8y ago
That's the best phrasing I've read that reconciles these two beliefs (easier to build + saturation). Nicely and simply put.

anongraddebt 8y ago

I don't think it is any easier or harder. The difficulty remains the same. Today, the web stack is much more accessible, and accessible to a much larger group of people. Indeed, a non-trivial number of its parts are relatively automated (e.g. Weebly). In 1995, it was only accessible to a much smaller group of people. Mobile app development will soon reach the same point. And yet, there are plenty of new technologies and ecosystems - to learn and creatively generate something from - that are inaccessible to people in the same way the web was in 1995. Experiment until you find something people want that has a promising business model and tech model design. If you get traction, don't take investment from just anyone (I'm reminded of Amazon's VC arm working with Amazon to copy a portfolio companies' product, which then buried that startup). Etc. Etc. There are plenty of other early-stage strategic heuristics you can utilize to your advantage. Perceived weaknesses or disadvantages can be the other-side of an actual strength or advantage. ------ I want to emphasize this point more: often times, the lack of resources (whether financial, intellectual, etc.) is the setting of a creative breakthrough that generates the successful business model and tech model.