I mostly disagree with this article. Disclaimer: I live in NYC and not the valley, but I think this just makes my point stronger.
Ideas are a dime a dozen. Many can be great. Execution is what separates the wheat from the chaff. And most of the time, the Minimum Viable Product has become cheaper to produce and iterate, than ever. So the startup costs are minimal.
I would actually say the opposite. People live lives, companies create products. You will have MANY ideas in your life. Make sure to maximize your chances of succeeding in your first venture. If you do, and then you exit, you will have connections, a reputation, a track record, lots of money, and you will be able to own the crap out of your next companies and do whatever you want.
That probably means your first venture shouldn't be the next Google or Facebook, so that you can bear giving away equity in it to people and give them responsibilities. Investors, mentors, coders, designers, marketers, etc. People who do things better than you in their respective fields. If you are reluctant to give up equity, your first startup will be hobbled in its resources, you will have to wear many hats and wear yourself thin. Why do it?
Companies create products. People live lives. Enjoy yours while you are young. Create a group around you that is passionate. What was that Aesop's fable? Oh yes:
I think that the individualistic culture in the USA has produced some amazing things, but the power of groups is just beginning. The open source movement is a great example, but as people get better tools to organize themselves, groups will become more and more efficient.
The nice thing about groups is that they can do more. An individual is just a group with one person. If set up right, larger groups are also not as fragile, if one member leaves or decides to take a break. They have more connections, they have more resources to grow.
In short: you will have plenty of ideas. Don't make your first one into something that you will take responsibility for and take on the risk all by yourself. Rather than letting it consume your life, land your first success. You will always be able to own and enjoy your next ideas, and have more OPTIONS to execute them how you want.
After working in an incubator for about 3 months and learning all about the ideas several companies were founded on, I have to disagree with this. I would say I had to hold back laughter for half of them, and not because the idea initially struck me as poor, but because of many, many details within the idea that were not thought through completely, or a company that was put together to solve the wrong problem, or had a better competitor already in the market that they weren't aware of. And these were companies that had made it into an incubator. Supposedly the cream of the crop.
Ideas are valuable and it's difficult to get them right in their entirety. You can't build a company on just any old idea, you have to build it on the whole idea and its extension into the market. A holistic idea.
Ideas are a dime a dozen. Many can be great. Execution is what separates the wheat from the chaff. And most of the time, the Minimum Viable Product has become cheaper to produce and iterate, than ever. So the startup costs are minimal.
I would actually say the opposite. People live lives, companies create products. You will have MANY ideas in your life. Make sure to maximize your chances of succeeding in your first venture. If you do, and then you exit, you will have connections, a reputation, a track record, lots of money, and you will be able to own the crap out of your next companies and do whatever you want.
That probably means your first venture shouldn't be the next Google or Facebook, so that you can bear giving away equity in it to people and give them responsibilities. Investors, mentors, coders, designers, marketers, etc. People who do things better than you in their respective fields. If you are reluctant to give up equity, your first startup will be hobbled in its resources, you will have to wear many hats and wear yourself thin. Why do it?
Companies create products. People live lives. Enjoy yours while you are young. Create a group around you that is passionate. What was that Aesop's fable? Oh yes:
http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/milowinter/13.htm
I think that the individualistic culture in the USA has produced some amazing things, but the power of groups is just beginning. The open source movement is a great example, but as people get better tools to organize themselves, groups will become more and more efficient.
The nice thing about groups is that they can do more. An individual is just a group with one person. If set up right, larger groups are also not as fragile, if one member leaves or decides to take a break. They have more connections, they have more resources to grow.
In short: you will have plenty of ideas. Don't make your first one into something that you will take responsibility for and take on the risk all by yourself. Rather than letting it consume your life, land your first success. You will always be able to own and enjoy your next ideas, and have more OPTIONS to execute them how you want.