Why you should choose an ambitious startup idea • Hacker News Board

Re: Why you should choose an ambitious startup idea

#41

Post by swombat » Mon, Mar 12, 2012, 4:59 PM UTC

architgupta wrote: post #38

swombat wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's only true if you're following the "build to flip" model. Many supposedly companies all around the world become successful businesses by focusing on a problem that is perhaps less ambitious, but makes money.

I am not sure I follow your comment. For most startups, if I understand correctly, the founders get rich on a liquidity event - either the company getting sold or IPO'ing. So eventually you are going to flip, if things go well, right? Or go public in the rare but usually better outcome. Anyway this is Andreessen's view. I work on a "smaller problem" right now. :)

Absolutely not. There are many ways for a founder to get rich. Liquidity is just one of them. A pretty standard way is for the company to start issuing dividends. The founder is presumably a major shareholder, and so if a big dividend is issued, they'll get a big chunk of that.

Obviously if you've raised VC, then that won't work - though angels will probably be more understanding. So, the conclusion is, liquidity events are only necessary if you've raised VC money. So don't raise VC money if you don't have to.

Re: Why you should choose an ambitious startup idea

#42

Post by RuggeroAltair » Tue, Mar 13, 2012, 2:43 AM UTC

pg wrote: post #2

Based on a lot of data, I'd say he's right. It's harder to work on an ambitious idea, but not proportionately harder.

Not only it isn't proportionally harder, but I think that Google feared your essay when you were indicating search as a possible startup.

First, Matt Cutts said "Paul's #1 suggestion is reinventing search. I happily welcome competition in search because it keeps us on our toes, but his #2 suggestion resonated with me more: reinventing email."

They just today released (for the first time, and they even call it huge news) a video about what they do on a search, I'm sure watchers must have thought that search is so advanced and hard seeing that video that they might give up ;-)

I wonder what pushed them to post this video. It's not even very informative, it talks about searches of N-grams and spell corrections, it seems more like something to show how advanced the changes they make are. It must be so hard to catch up with them ;-)

Maybe GOOG is afraid of a plethora of startups reinventing search. One may succeed.

Re: Why you should choose an ambitious startup idea

#43

Post by sopooneo » Tue, Mar 13, 2012, 2:47 AM UTC

larrys wrote: post #39

sopooneo wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got my current job largely by the fact that I had a failed startup on my resume.

What type of failed startup was it? Was it a VC backed startup that failed? If so then there is definitely a halo effect in that (in the startup world). But that will only work with the 1% of the world that cares and understands the startup world. Unfortunately the traditional world (where many failed startups founders might end up) doesn't view it the same way. It also depends on how long you spent doing the startup…

I spent about two years on it, but a lot of that was weening off my traditional job. The tech worked perfectly eventually, however me being a business person and learning to market was not so successful. Most definitely not VC backed. More MC backed.