Talent & Execution > Ideas
Don't overweight the value of an idea
TLDR: Ideas don't create value, talent & execution do
Most people think coming up with an idea is the first step to starting a business.
Ideas are a dime a dozen, and the best ideas mean nothing without the best team in the world to execute them.
What most people think starting a company is:
Ideas > Funding > Talent > Execution
What great founders think starting a company is:
Talent > Ideas > Execution > Funding
Meet your co-founders first, compare your unique experiences and passions to give birth to novel ideas that you are uniquely suited to solve. Then and only then, can you follow on with world-class execution through the lens of a shared long-term vision and a competitive edge that no one else can match.
When done the other way around, the idea becomes an emotional attachment and creates sub-system optimizations which stunt growth, ruins teams, and wastes years of founders' lives and incredible amounts of investors’ money.
People first. Unique ideas at the intersection of your skills second.
That’s just one of many secrets of entrepreneurship that few appreciate.
See you Monday.