> We often talk about the Number One startup killer at TechStars—making a product for which there is no interesting market. TechStars accepts just 10 of more than 600 startups that apply and presumably they are among the best. But still, we find that at least one-third of those startups are attempting to build a product that they want, or that no one wants, instead of what the market wants.
So, no, the idea alone doesn't make you rich, but having a good idea is worth something, given how many bad ones there are.
Here's the solution: Borrow from Edison and the electric light. Look at lighting before the good electric lights -- it sucked. There were open flames that were dangerous. The light quality was awful. Etc. Yes, it was expensive and dangerous, but you have to remember, the light quality sucked.
So, there was no doubt about the customer 'pain' or the 'market' or the 'market potential'.
So, why was there work to do? Because no one knew how the heck to "Do that".
So, the challenge was in how to do that. Eventually Edison pulled it all together, and the earnings have been a lot of what has kept GE going to the present.
It would have been still better if there had been some patents.
It can be still better if the solution is in software, essentially impossible to 'reverse engineer' and very difficult to duplicate or equal, and quite secure in code on servers.
So, TechStars needs to start with customer 'pain' that is huge and clear and not solved. Then TechStars needs to find a solution to this pain. The solution, the 'secret sauce', should give much better results than anything else and be difficult to reverse engineer, duplicate, or equal. For a Web site to order custom printed paper napkins delivered by FedEx (put the print shop in Memphis and let orders in by 10 PM Memphis time be delivered by 10:30 AM local time), that's essentially impossible to protect. So, f'get about it.
> We often talk about the Number One startup killer at TechStars—making a product for which there is no interesting market. TechStars accepts just 10 of more than 600 startups that apply and presumably they are among the best. But still, we find that at least one-third of those startups are attempting to build a product that they want, or that no one wants, instead of what the market wants.
So, no, the idea alone doesn't make you rich, but having a good idea is worth something, given how many bad ones there are.