

 Idea Shaping: One idea at a time. Preferably one you love. - chrismunns
http://spencerfry.com/idea-shaping

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lukeqsee
Spot on. I programmed for a group of "idea" guys for while. Many a time I was
torn off a work-in-progress only to begin another work-in-progress. It was so
bad, I was only able to finish _one_ project of dozens.

The key isn't having the ideas, starting the ideas, or even _almost_
completing ideas. It's all about finishing.

Since I left, I now have one working idea; it's an amazing difference. I hope
to have a MVP out soon, and I can't wait.

~~~
nreece
True. Coincidentally, I blogged about it recently -
[http://www.nilkanth.com/2010/08/02/the-transparent-
toaster-c...](http://www.nilkanth.com/2010/08/02/the-transparent-toaster-
corollary/)

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sendos
A couple months ago I did some back-of-the-envelope calculations to see the
relative benefits of focusing on one idea versus doing many at once, and in
most scenarios, focusing on one idea has the highest probability of success.

See the analysis here: [http://www.startuptrekking.com/2010/05/startup-
analysis-is-s...](http://www.startuptrekking.com/2010/05/startup-analysis-is-
shotgun-approach-or.html)

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ruang
The problem with just one idea is that the success of that idea is also
subject to external factors beyond your control (ie competition).

Thus diversifying with multiple ideas, similar to in a stock portfolio, allows
these externalities to cancel themselves other out.

