by: Sigurd Rinde
Just back from LesBlogs 2.0 (funny how fast the iterations are, six months to 3.0?) – thank you Loic and everybody else!
When listening to what the gentlemen VCs/angels said, one thing struck me:
"There’s a lack of ambitions among European startups!"
With that my (quirky) mind forked to what I often hear from VCs, business consultants and everybody else who are "experts" on staring up companies:
"What problem is your product going to solve?"
Without a good answer, then you’re quickly written off.
Now, what about electric light? Were candles and kerosene lamps a problem?
What about the horse and carriage situation? Did the car solve a problem?
Did airplanes solve a problem?
Did the assembly line fix an obvious problem?
Not so. Suspect that the former technologies were fine, just fine. No problems present.
That transport was slow, workshops less than streamlined or the light low in lumens were not issues until new standards were set by the new and "unwanted" products.
So why not aim for something bigger than "solving a mere problem", something that would "move the world"?
Stop listening to the "experts".
Make a product nobody wants… yet.
That would be ambitious.
Original Post: http://thingamy.typepad.com/sigs_blog/2005/12/ambitions_and_l.html