

HP founding minutes: erm, let's just do some stuff - johns
http://blog.businessofsoftware.org/2008/12/hp-founding-minutes.html

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aston
Also testified to in Jessica's book.

The biggest lesson I got from it is that oftentimes all it takes to start
something big is deciding that you actually want to start it. Don't let
uncertainty about how you'll become a profitable business stop you from
pursuing ideas you have.

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hassy
i think this is a case of reading too much into something in search for
"lessons". investors are right to be looking for the things they look for,
because HP is an exceptional exception. tens of thousands of smart guys that
"just wanted to work together" didn't get far.

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kolya3
At the same time though, you get several bright people who work together
really well and suddenly there is no need to stick to one "great idea".
Business plans change all the time. What matters most is the ability of that
team to adapt to the changes around them.

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njharman
> appalling timing (in the tail-end of the great depression, just before the
> second world war),

Isn't that awesome timing? Depression over, cusp of giant government spending
and demand for innovation whatever the cost due to war.

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donw
At the time, though, the U.S. was still in a depression, and I doubt that
either founder expected a war that would be great for their business.

This is why my favorite Goethe quote is: "Whatever you think you can do or
believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it."

~~~
joop
Oops! Turns out this quote isn't by Goethe after all but by W.H. Murray. Check
it out: (<http://german.about.com/library/blgermyth12.htm>). The original
quote which this one is based on was “Now at last let me see some deeds!”
which is a line from Faust... :-)

~~~
donw
Faust... that worked out well. ;p

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mseebach
Isn't most businesses started with a small group of people wanting to go into
business together? They may have a slightly more articulated idea of what to
do, but still nowhere near an elevator pitch. The HP founders just took the
"hey, we should do something together" conversation over lunch and formalized
it.

Once they struck sales with their model 200 audio oscillator, they became as
focused as any successful company.

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shimi
Great story, this is how magic is created. Few mates getting together and want
to create something. It's not the idea that count, its the motivation!!

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13ren
the minutes:
[http://www.communities.hp.com/online/blogs/hparchives/archiv...](http://www.communities.hp.com/online/blogs/hparchives/archive/2008/11/27/original-
business-plan-1937.aspx)

By what criterion did they decide if a field looks "good" or not? It matters
less what you see than _how_ you see.

It looks like market assessment, probably based on likely growth in demand,
existing competitors and the HP founders' capabilities to make a "[technical]
contribution" (as they later came to call it).

