This keeps coming back to HN every n months. At this point i would expect every HN reader to fully understand that ideas are, at best, a potential starting poi

This keeps coming back to HN every n months. At this point i would expect every HN reader to fully understand that ideas are, at best, a potential starting point from which opportunities might be discovered. The vast majority of ideas anyone generates do not align with real opportunities and, therefore, would be foolish to pursue. An idea backed up by a tangible and real opportunity could very well be like finding a diamond in dirt. The value is in opportunities. I'd rather someone come to me with an opportunity than an idea. You can throw money at an opportunity and have it multiply. Not so with ideas. Now, to be fair, sometimes it is really hard to recognize and even quantify the opportunity. Examples abound. Facebook, eBay and Pinterest come to mind.