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You Don't Need A Good Idea To Start A Great Company

blog.eladgil.com · 604 words · saved by 1 readers

I met recently with a friend of mine who has been talking about leaving Google for the last 3 years. Every time I see him he says he is just "waiting for a great idea" to leave to start his own company. I expect him to do what a lot of people do - stick around Google for another 6-24 months, and then join someone else's company. He is never going to start anything. I think "waiting for a great idea" is absolutely the wrong way to "start" a company, and typically does not yield a startup. Startups are not about working on a great idea - they are the relentless pursuit of doing stuff for customers. Start a company. Don't "start an idea". As you work on your "good idea", you will quickly find that nobody wants to use it. This means you will keep iterating on the product and potentially even the market until someone wants it. Many "side projects" or internal tools are examples of this, as they have turned into great stand alone companies or products. Blogger came out of Pyra Labs

You Don't Need A Good Idea To Start A Great Company Elad Gil Jan 27, 2011 3 Share I met recently with a friend of mine who has been talking about leaving Google for the last 3 years. Every time I see him he says he is just "waiting for a great idea" to leave to start his own company. I expect him to do what a lot of people do - stick around Google for another 6-24 months, and then join someone else's company. He is never going to start anything. I think "waiting for a great idea" is absolutely the wrong way to "start" a company, and typically does not yield a startup. Startups are not about wo

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