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People here aren't going to want to hear it, but that's the kind of person this site promotes. I constantly see stories about 'You don't need a good idea to st
by wccrawford 16y ago
People here aren't going to want to hear it, but that's the kind of person this site promotes. I constantly see stories about 'You don't need a good idea to start a company' (yeah, that one just got posted!) and how you should just start a company and go for it. About how good ideas are worthless and only doing something matters.
It's bull. Starting a company is HARD WORK and not something you should jump into without adequate preparation. I'm sure YC details the work you'll need to do to get going, but most people don't get accepted to YC.
The problem isn't Silicon Valley. It's the idea that just being in Silicon Valley somehow solves your problems for you. It doesn't. For every problem it solves, it creates at least 1 more. Creating a viable internet-based business has NOTHING to do with location. Or for that matter, any international business.
- paulbaumgart 16y agoThe set of people with whom you can have in-depth conversations is highly location-dependent, and you will be sub-optimally innovative without having such conversations with the right people.
- gloob 16y agoDo you have a rigorous definition of innovation? Or, at least, rigorous enough that you can measure it and stick a number on it? Because, without the ability to stick a number on it, how do you propose to know which sorts of actions are optimal and which aren't? Engineering without numbers isn't engineering - it's guesswork.
- paulbaumgart 16y agoI admit I haven't thought about this particularly deeply, but I suppose the best way to measure innovation is to compare the state of the world before and after the innovation takes place.