4 ms·

If you're going to talk of great companies, you can't leave out the two juggernauts of our time. Neither Google nor Facebook started as a company. Both search

by revorad 16y ago

If you're going to talk of great companies, you can't leave out the two juggernauts of our time. Neither Google nor Facebook started as a company. Both search and social networks were written off as markets when the two current leaders entered the space. I don't want to invoke another semantic wrestling championship between execution and ideas, but you have to give credit to Facebook for realising that social networks are not just about dating. It was their idea of exactly replicating offline social relationships on the web, executed to near perfection that made them successful. Great ideas are a combination of many small seemingly trivial good ideas. They do matter, otherwise one wouldn't know what to execute. I'm afraid this article does rather poorly on the swombat-o-meter - http://swombat.com/2011/1/20/how-to-write-good-startup-advice-articles http://swombat.com/2011/1/20/how-to-write-good-startup-advic...

eladgil 16y ago
I agree re: Facebook and Google. But to your point, both Facebook and Google could have been seen as bad ideas since, as you state: >Both search and social networks were written off as markets when the two current leaders entered the space. The point of this post is not "Are good ideas bad for a startup". Obviously good ideas are much better then bad ones, and great ones are much better then good ones. The point of the post is "don't think you need the most amazing idea ever to start something. it is more important to start something and learn what the great idea is along the way".
- revorad 16y ago
  Sorry, this topic is bound to lead to a semantic merry-go-round! Facebook and Google are examples of great ideas executed well creating huge markets, which did not exist when they set out. So how would have their founders fared if they chose to focus on a great market at the start? We would have yet another portal with banner advertising and a dating site. I agree with the point of the post you mention here, but your post doesn't really support that. Your advice is to focus on a great market. One of the hottest markets right now seems to be photo sharing. But I highly doubt the next great company will come out of there. Can you give me an example of a great market today?
  - eladgil 16y ago
    :) Thanks for the points above. "Great market" /= "hot market" Great market to my mind is a market that has a lot of users who will use your product (and better yet, you can make money off of them using your product). Maybe I will write a post on how to identify a great market, as that is a pretty big topic. But one example is often markets where user behavior is fundamentally shifting, or where there is a sudden change (e.g. adoption of truly smart phones) leading to opportunity. I think certain areas in ecommerce are a good example today of changes in user behavior and business model leading to high growth companies (Gilt Group was just the beginning, and some really cool companies are getting started today around fashion/women's goods online).
    - revorad 16y ago
      a market that has a lot of users who will use your product Photo sharing fits the bill just right. Facebook has shown you can also make money off it. Ecommerce is always a great market, but it's too vague because it's just commerce through a new medium. I'd prefer and love to read blog posts discussing specific ideas. Take that as reader feedback :-P Did you see this Mixergy interview with the founder of Gemvara? http://mixergy.com/matt-lauzon-gemvara-interview/ http://mixergy.com/matt-lauzon-gemvara-interview/ It is one of the most innovative ideas I've come across recently, and apparently executed very well too.
      - eladgil 16y ago
        Thanks for the feedback. To be honest I didn't want to name specific markets as I didn't want to create too much interest in areas where friends of mine are working. I didnt want to add attention and make it more crowded. :)
        revorad 16y ago
        Haha that made me chuckle. "It is all about execution. Even if you have a great idea - 5 other people will have it at the same time." Just quoting a blog post...

by revorad 16y ago

eladgil 16y ago

I agree re: Facebook and Google. But to your point, both Facebook and Google could have been seen as bad ideas since, as you state: >Both search and social networks were written off as markets when the two current leaders entered the space. The point of this post is not "Are good ideas bad for a startup". Obviously good ideas are much better then bad ones, and great ones are much better then good ones. The point of the post is "don't think you need the most amazing idea ever to start something. it is more important to start something and learn what the great idea is along the way".

revorad 16y ago
Sorry, this topic is bound to lead to a semantic merry-go-round! Facebook and Google are examples of great ideas executed well creating huge markets, which did not exist when they set out. So how would have their founders fared if they chose to focus on a great market at the start? We would have yet another portal with banner advertising and a dating site. I agree with the point of the post you mention here, but your post doesn't really support that. Your advice is to focus on a great market. One of the hottest markets right now seems to be photo sharing. But I highly doubt the next great company will come out of there. Can you give me an example of a great market today?
- eladgil 16y ago
  :) Thanks for the points above. "Great market" /= "hot market" Great market to my mind is a market that has a lot of users who will use your product (and better yet, you can make money off of them using your product). Maybe I will write a post on how to identify a great market, as that is a pretty big topic. But one example is often markets where user behavior is fundamentally shifting, or where there is a sudden change (e.g. adoption of truly smart phones) leading to opportunity. I think certain areas in ecommerce are a good example today of changes in user behavior and business model leading to high growth companies (Gilt Group was just the beginning, and some really cool companies are getting started today around fashion/women's goods online).
  - revorad 16y ago
    a market that has a lot of users who will use your product Photo sharing fits the bill just right. Facebook has shown you can also make money off it. Ecommerce is always a great market, but it's too vague because it's just commerce through a new medium. I'd prefer and love to read blog posts discussing specific ideas. Take that as reader feedback :-P Did you see this Mixergy interview with the founder of Gemvara? http://mixergy.com/matt-lauzon-gemvara-interview/ http://mixergy.com/matt-lauzon-gemvara-interview/ It is one of the most innovative ideas I've come across recently, and apparently executed very well too.
    - eladgil 16y ago
      Thanks for the feedback. To be honest I didn't want to name specific markets as I didn't want to create too much interest in areas where friends of mine are working. I didnt want to add attention and make it more crowded. :)
      - revorad 16y ago
        Haha that made me chuckle. "It is all about execution. Even if you have a great idea - 5 other people will have it at the same time." Just quoting a blog post...