Ideas aren’t worth much…
Over the last few years I have had the privilege of working with a number of very bright individuals who all believe that their *start-up* or concept is unique, scalable, powerful and ultimately will be profitable. As “Howard 2.0” has evolved, I have become a student all over again … this time in the fast paced, often ruthless world where start-ups reside. I have not been in school long… but in those few short years, I have learned quite a lot.
A concept is born… (or so you think).
Many of these friends or colleagues insisted on me signing an NDA four pages long and broad enough to cover what I ate for breakfast. The paranoia that some display around a concept is amazing. These colleagues refuse to share the concept with anyone, or to even attempt to crowd-source the elevator pitch — or a simple deck.
Other companies that I work with or consult for do not exhibit the same paranoia that cripples many who are considering starting a newco. They are out there. They are showing an in-depth deck to colleagues and gaining insightful feedback on how to improve or re-work their model, and how to differentiate themselves from known (or un-known) competitors.
So, you have an idea… great. What are you going to do with it? Right now that idea is worth NOTHING.
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Love your ideas, Dr. Luks! You should consider joining our conversation on “ideas” at #ideachat, the Salon for Twitter Thinkers. ;) This post on the value of ideas may be of interest where Derek Sivers presents his theory:
http://blogbrevity.posterous.com/ideachat-dec11th-divergent-thinking-and-makin.
However, I think individuals who are catalysts for those that are idea-challenged can provide great value. :)
Nice job on the new site, too!
Angela Dunn
@blogbrevity
Thanks Angela… would love to join ideachat. When does it typically take place?
Thank you for asking! #Ideachat is a once a month Twitter Chat held on the Second Saturday of the Month at 9 am EST. The next #ideachat is this Saturday, February 12th, and we will be discussing “Content & Expressing Ideas.” Colleen Jones, author of “Clout: The Art & Science of Influential Web Content” will join us in the discussion. Hope you can, too!
great post. absolutely correct. and more so by the minute