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The problem is that products "that people were willing to pay for" are not necessary products which will EVER get you into startup mode (high growth). It can be

by tlogan 14y ago

The problem is that products "that people were willing to pay for" are not necessary products which will EVER get you into startup mode (high growth). It can be a very good business but it will never be a startup. So in SV a lot of people abandon these kind of ideas because majority of VCs and incubators will not invest into these ideas. So young entrepreneurs ends up chasing non-profitable "get eyeballs" first think about profit latter ideas. And, no - market is not saturated with high quality competitors - for example, you can make Basecamp for "industry X" (i.e. teachers?, doctors?) you will make money to live quite comfortable.

grey-area 14y ago
The problem is that products "that people were willing to pay for" are not necessary products which will EVER get you into startup mode (high growth). It can be a very good business but it will never be a startup. For certain definitions of startup. NB if you ask a VC what they'd call a startup, it's in their interests to funnel you into thinking startups only ever go through VCs, go for growth rather than profit, and must end in an exit event (IPO or sale to another SV company). If you choose to accept that definition, you are limiting your choices dramatically. If not being a startup can be a very good business, why not try it out? What have you got to lose? Not much. What have you got to gain? Valuable experience, and maybe some profits. Most startups actually began as just very good businesses (very small in scale), and take years to grow to something more substantial, changing along the way. So in SV a lot of people abandon these kind of ideas because majority of VCs and incubators will not invest into these ideas. 37 signals (for example) is a successful company which many would call a startup (at least in their early days), but was not funded by VCs or incubators. That's not the only way to start or grow a company.
rimantas 14y ago
> you can make Basecamp for "industry X" Or just bingo cards creator ;)

by tlogan 14y ago

The problem is that products "that people were willing to pay for" are not necessary products which will EVER get you into startup mode (high growth). It can be a very good business but it will never be a startup. So in SV a lot of people abandon these kind of ideas because majority of VCs and incubators will not invest into these ideas. So young entrepreneurs ends up chasing non-profitable "get eyeballs" first think about profit latter ideas. And, no - market is not saturated with high quality competitors - for example, you can make Basecamp for "industry X" (i.e. teachers?, doctors?) you will make money to live quite comfortable.

grey-area 14y ago

The problem is that products "that people were willing to pay for" are not necessary products which will EVER get you into startup mode (high growth). It can be a very good business but it will never be a startup. For certain definitions of startup. NB if you ask a VC what they'd call a startup, it's in their interests to funnel you into thinking startups only ever go through VCs, go for growth rather than profit, and must end in an exit event (IPO or sale to another SV company). If you choose to accept that definition, you are limiting your choices dramatically. If not being a startup can be a very good business, why not try it out? What have you got to lose? Not much. What have you got to gain? Valuable experience, and maybe some profits. Most startups actually began as just very good businesses (very small in scale), and take years to grow to something more substantial, changing along the way. So in SV a lot of people abandon these kind of ideas because majority of VCs and incubators will not invest into these ideas. 37 signals (for example) is a successful company which many would call a startup (at least in their early days), but was not funded by VCs or incubators. That's not the only way to start or grow a company.

rimantas 14y ago

> you can make Basecamp for "industry X" Or just bingo cards creator ;)