3 ms·

I find lists like this to be rather naive. A lot of people think that businesses are all about: good idea + great execution. Wrong! A business is about: making

I find lists like this to be rather naive. A lot of people think that businesses are all about: good idea + great execution. Wrong! A business is about: making money. Plain and simple. You don't need a fancy idea and the latest execution 'methods' (e.g. agile, lean, etc.) to make money. You need a market, hard work, smart decisions, and a bit of luck. There is way too much conversation conflating the concepts of innovation and business. I would say that in the case of innovation it IS about: good(novel) idea + great execution. I imagine many startups feel that they MUST innovate to be a 'worthy' company. But, you really don't. To be a company you just have to make money. You do whatever is necessary to do just that. Nokia sold rubber tires FFS [0] [0] http://www.nokia.com/global/about-nokia/about-us/the-nokia-story/ http://www.nokia.com/global/about-nokia/about-us/the-nokia-s...

arjie 13y ago
I think you misunderstand. This isn't "just do this and you'll be rich". It's obvious that it isn't because then why would they give out the ideas? This document exists precisely _because_ ideas are cheap. Since ideas are easy and execution is hard, it makes no sense to hoard ideas. The things that you say are necessary and which are in your control (seeing if you have a market, working hard, making smart decisions) are collectively what people call execution.
- StandardFuture 13y ago
  The title of the article is: Free STARTUP (Business) Ideas. NOT: Free Product Ideas. This concept still doesn't seem to phase people. You don't need novel ideas to start a business. That's why I am trying to make it clear that it is incorrect to conflate a startup (business) with some sort of invention (like the car or lightbulb). The two are non-equivalent. Although, one can lead to the other. This reduction of business to: idea + execution is not doing anyone any good. >seeing if you have a market, working hard, making smart decisions) are collectively what people call execution This thinking can also be misleading as business ideas can actually be a sub-component of smart decisions. >ideas are easy and execution is hard This is also an over-simplification that will do no one any good. And it seems to be pervasive throughout the 'startup community'. Google started on a research paper. Research papers are NOT easy. So, no, ideas are not always easy. Of course, you might argue that the research paper was part of the 'execution' in which case you would be arguing my previous point: innovation is what has the idea + execution phase. The end result of innovation is usually an invention (whether it be fractional reserve banking or microprocessors). The research paper was not a business and not part of a business. The invention was eventually used to power a business. The same with the invention of the lightbulb. Anyways, I just wish people would stop oversimplifying things. It really does no good.
  - vladmk 13y ago
    I think you have too much time on your hands...

arjie 13y ago

I think you misunderstand. This isn't "just do this and you'll be rich". It's obvious that it isn't because then why would they give out the ideas? This document exists precisely _because_ ideas are cheap. Since ideas are easy and execution is hard, it makes no sense to hoard ideas. The things that you say are necessary and which are in your control (seeing if you have a market, working hard, making smart decisions) are collectively what people call execution.

StandardFuture 13y ago
The title of the article is: Free STARTUP (Business) Ideas. NOT: Free Product Ideas. This concept still doesn't seem to phase people. You don't need novel ideas to start a business. That's why I am trying to make it clear that it is incorrect to conflate a startup (business) with some sort of invention (like the car or lightbulb). The two are non-equivalent. Although, one can lead to the other. This reduction of business to: idea + execution is not doing anyone any good. >seeing if you have a market, working hard, making smart decisions) are collectively what people call execution This thinking can also be misleading as business ideas can actually be a sub-component of smart decisions. >ideas are easy and execution is hard This is also an over-simplification that will do no one any good. And it seems to be pervasive throughout the 'startup community'. Google started on a research paper. Research papers are NOT easy. So, no, ideas are not always easy. Of course, you might argue that the research paper was part of the 'execution' in which case you would be arguing my previous point: innovation is what has the idea + execution phase. The end result of innovation is usually an invention (whether it be fractional reserve banking or microprocessors). The research paper was not a business and not part of a business. The invention was eventually used to power a business. The same with the invention of the lightbulb. Anyways, I just wish people would stop oversimplifying things. It really does no good.
- vladmk 13y ago
  I think you have too much time on your hands...