That describes the way many if not most of the biggest startups got started. Neither Apple nor Yahoo nor Google nor Facebook were even supposed to be companies at first. They grew out of things their founders built because there seemed a gap in the world. Paul Graham, How to Get Startup Ideas Continue reading Live in the future, then build what’s missing
Think of it this way. If something is wanted a large amount by a large number of people, it exists already. So you’re left with 3 options. Imagine the graph below: Large Number of PeopleWant Little Large Number of PeopleWant a lot Small Number of PeopleWant Little Small Number of PeopleWant a lot So the upper right corner is in red because it exists already. Now the bottom left (Small number of people wants little) is not worth pursuing so it’s in red also. You’re left with the top left and bottom right. Paul Graham says you should always go … Continue reading Build something a small number of people want a large amount
We usually advise startups to pick a growth rate they think they can hit, and then just try to hit it every week. The key word here is “just.” If they decide to grow at 7% a week and they hit that number, they’re successful for that week. There’s nothing more they need to do. But if they don’t hit it, they’ve failed in the only thing that mattered, and should be correspondingly alarmed. Programmers will recognize what we’re doing here. We’re turning starting a startup into an optimization problem. And anyone who has tried optimizing code knows how wonderfully … Continue reading Focus on growth, growth alone
Roadmap to Billions 