first post

The high tech world these days has been exposing the daily lives of a VC in the valley as well as the random idea that gets off the ground and forms a “startup”. I find that Paul Graham and Y Combinator as a “venture accelerator” has shown the world the barrier of entry is incredibly low and when given a little one can go for miles. It seems so “easy” that even I am considering pursuing early stage funding from YC for next summer, as one of many venues for a project that could easily stand up to many companies that exist today. I have seen so many companies appear in my RSS feeds that are worse than a new product in a new market – actually, nothing is riskier than that. These poor companies sincerely believe that their business plan doesn’t have to exist and their idea will be purchased by the big three – MS, Yahoo, or Google. We see the trend of buying new ideas (a shift away from new technology) as something that these big three need to do to stay competitive.

The young entrepreneur shouldn’t have to sell themselves out to someone else for their benefit – thinking it is a great way to “strike it rich” may be true, but what will it get you? Like dodgeball.com, the founders left after seeing how frustrating the direction of their product became. Sure, they had job stability and a great influx of money, but their dream product crumbled before them. One should be hoping to not be bought out, but eventually become that company that becomes a household name.

I’m frightened of this crowded space truly being overrun by lackluster companies, making life just that much harder for those who aren’t in it for the quick turnaround.