Vivek Ravisankar’s Web

Numerous questions have been asked on what’s the most important thing for a startup – team? idea? execution? investors, etc. Most young startuppers (fresh out of college) tend to romanticize the idea they have in their minds. They are on cloud nine when something strikes them and just can’t control their excitement – a belief that they have latched on to something big and the only thing remaining is developing the website and hosting it.

It’s good to aspire big (or) move on with a positive frame of mind, but the value of just an idea is cheap! Most of the startups have been started either because the founder himself has been affected by the lack of something (or) he/she is dedicated to give back something to the community.Everyone of us has an idea and everyone has got another way to simplify the existing processes.

Holding just an idea is equivalent to just seeing a beautiful girl. Everyone in the shopping mall would have had a look,the tougher/main part is not having a glance at the girl but asking her out for a date – in the startup scenario it’s not the idea that counts, but it’s execution.

The misconception that an *idea* is everything leads the startuppers to keep it to themselves (or share with their very very close buddies) and not discuss in public – why? the fear of someone stealing it! I have already mentioned the value of an idea , still lets meet the types of people whom you can possibly bounce the idea with:

• Budding entrepreneurs/entrepreneurs: Like how your girl is the most beautiful angel on earth, for each entrepreneur his product/company is *the* thing. He is definitely not going to drop his own project and start with your idea, for all you know he might think your plan is stupid! Infact, it’s a good thing to bounce your idea with like-minded people, they might provide valuable insights
• CEO/CXO of a big firm in the same domain: He has 1001 things in his mind and 10001 clients to serve. He is not going to put a team and rip off your idea, there are already many products waiting in the queue. Again, he might provide you good tips and suggestions on how to proceed in your domain. Make good contacts & network, someday he might acquire you
• All iz well – the happy MNC guy: No way he is going to start! He is a happy guy with a good salary and a comfortable position. Again, its good to bounce it off with him, he might give some industry perspectives and if he/she has a lot of cash – potential angel
• Wannabe entrepreneurs: These guys just want to start-off something – maybe because they are bored of their day jobs, maybe they want their business card to say ‘CEO’, many more reasons. I am not sure whether discussing with them would help, but some of the guys in this category act as a very good devil’s advocate

As Abhishek Bachan in the movie Guru says ‘Gurubhai se ladna, tho Gurubhai banke. Lekin gurubhai eki hai‘ (To have a fair fight with gurubhai, you need to become one. And there is only ONE Gurubhai!). It’s not enough for someone to copy your idea, they need to copy your mind, your execution, but there is only *one* mind like you! Bounce your idea with smart guys and start thinking about how to execute.

All the above are just to emphasize the fact that having an idea is *NOT* a big thing. You can copy the idea, but not the mind, not the execution and that’s the challenge for every startup. The mistake I made was, the idea can mask all other challenges that a startup undergoes – it’s good you have got a nice model, but think and move further.

Race on…