Cocktail Napkin to Startup (DIY Part Five)
June 20, 2006
In part one through four I have detailed the genesis of an idea. The idea was a result of a conversation with another entrepreneur, two associates, observation of another startup and an immediate business problem. So whose idea was it? Mine? Does it matter?
Well to be sure there are others who think the idea belongs to someone else. First, I recieved a comment from Joe who said, “Do you steal all of your ideas from people that think you are a serious VC, or just this one in particular?” (first, I never held myself out as a serious VC - when we were doing outside investments I used the title “entrepreneur and part-time vc” to describe myself - hardly very serious). Then I received an email from the original entrepreneur who started me down this road. He was concerned I “lifted” his idea, but after a telephone conversation we were able to determine that our concepts were completely opposite (he is building a central repository for data - we enpower users to house their own data on the edge).
If at the end of this experiment we end up with something cool, lots of people will claim it was ‘their’ idea. In the past, every time I thought I was on to something unique, there were hundreds of people thinking about the same concept. Execution is what gives ideas value. The idea is like the paper money is printed on - worth very little until the Mint prints on it.
Part One: Got a great idea? Join the Napkin Club!
Part Two: Cocktail Napkin to Startup (DIY Part Two)
Part Three: Cocktail Napkin to Startup (DIY Part Three)
Part Four: Cocktail Napkin to Startup (DIY Part Four)
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