5 ms·

I don't get it. All this doctrine seems to make finding a partner a pre-requisite to working on your idea. This seems to be the same 'bad advice' from the dot.c

by Tawheed 17y ago

I don't get it. All this doctrine seems to make finding a partner a pre-requisite to working on your idea. This seems to be the same 'bad advice' from the dot.com boom that asked for a business plan that predicted the next 5 years with growth expectations. It's garbage! If you've got an idea, then go work on the damn idea! If you happen to have a co-founder that believes in the same vision, then good for you; otherwise, keep forging ahead and focus on what needs to be done. You may encounter that in order to be effective, you need another person to do 'X" because you literally cannot do 'X' effectively; but don't confuse that with a need to find a co-founder.

BrandonWatson 17y ago
By all means, if you have an idea, go work on it. Don't wait for anyone to validate. But if you are going to get a company formed around your idea, and start selling to customers (and supporting them), and (ack!) hire employees, having at leats one co-founder is almost a requirement.
mechanical_fish 17y ago
Who said the point of a partner is to help you find an idea? The point of the partner is to force you to explain your idea with enough clarity and detail that you realize how much it sucks. Then you look for a slightly different idea. ;) No question, you can work on your idea without a partner. That's the problem. You'll risk spending dozens or hundreds of hours on your pet project before showing it to anyone with the incentive and the social position to tell you that it won't work. Your friends won't do that. They like you. They don't want to hurt your feelings. Worse, when you do find out that your idea doesn't work, you might become despondent. Too despondent to notice that all you need is a few tiny tweaks and suddenly things will be fixed. But there's nobody to help you find those tweaks, because nobody else understands the project. Your friends and loved ones don't get it. It's just you, alone with your problem. By the time you get ahold of yourself and get sober enough to realize that your project is salvageable, days or weeks might have gone by. You can try to be objective about your own work. But be warned: Not only is it likely to be less effective, but it's torture. It's the source of the emotional roller coaster that entrepreneurs so often complain about -- the one where you're euphoric one minute and despondent the next.
- Tawheed 17y ago
  The problem I hear you describing is "I'm not sure if I can make a sound business out of this product idea." And your solution of "get a partner" seems rather flawed to me. I think it's just an excuse that a bunch of people have made up because it's easy to find another guy that you can sell your vision to and get him to get on board. Whereas, what you are really looking for in a great "partner" is really a "customer" that is willing to pay! Because think about it, if your real problem is the question of whether you can create a real business, then wouldn't finding that first customer that is literally willing to pay you for your idea (monetarily or through time and advice) a much better avenue? On top of that, there is also that assumption that your partner will have the necessary skills to somehow solve you "do I have enough of a business" problem; which isn't a guarantee either! Technically, you're both going to be dumb shits. At the end of it, I think failures and co-relation to # of founders is completely wrong. It all comes down to whether you have the discipline to think about operating a business, and the ability to a) understand your weaknesses and b) find leverage in compensating for it.

by Tawheed 17y ago

BrandonWatson 17y ago

By all means, if you have an idea, go work on it. Don't wait for anyone to validate. But if you are going to get a company formed around your idea, and start selling to customers (and supporting them), and (ack!) hire employees, having at leats one co-founder is almost a requirement.

mechanical_fish 17y ago

Who said the point of a partner is to help you find an idea? The point of the partner is to force you to explain your idea with enough clarity and detail that you realize how much it sucks. Then you look for a slightly different idea. ;) No question, you can work on your idea without a partner. That's the problem. You'll risk spending dozens or hundreds of hours on your pet project before showing it to anyone with the incentive and the social position to tell you that it won't work. Your friends won't do that. They like you. They don't want to hurt your feelings. Worse, when you do find out that your idea doesn't work, you might become despondent. Too despondent to notice that all you need is a few tiny tweaks and suddenly things will be fixed. But there's nobody to help you find those tweaks, because nobody else understands the project. Your friends and loved ones don't get it. It's just you, alone with your problem. By the time you get ahold of yourself and get sober enough to realize that your project is salvageable, days or weeks might have gone by. You can try to be objective about your own work. But be warned: Not only is it likely to be less effective, but it's torture. It's the source of the emotional roller coaster that entrepreneurs so often complain about -- the one where you're euphoric one minute and despondent the next.

Tawheed 17y ago
The problem I hear you describing is "I'm not sure if I can make a sound business out of this product idea." And your solution of "get a partner" seems rather flawed to me. I think it's just an excuse that a bunch of people have made up because it's easy to find another guy that you can sell your vision to and get him to get on board. Whereas, what you are really looking for in a great "partner" is really a "customer" that is willing to pay! Because think about it, if your real problem is the question of whether you can create a real business, then wouldn't finding that first customer that is literally willing to pay you for your idea (monetarily or through time and advice) a much better avenue? On top of that, there is also that assumption that your partner will have the necessary skills to somehow solve you "do I have enough of a business" problem; which isn't a guarantee either! Technically, you're both going to be dumb shits. At the end of it, I think failures and co-relation to # of founders is completely wrong. It all comes down to whether you have the discipline to think about operating a business, and the ability to a) understand your weaknesses and b) find leverage in compensating for it.