There are two types of success factors:
doing the right projects (having the right ideas)
doing projects right (executing the ideas right)
doing the right projects right = big success
doing the right projects wrong = ?
doing the wrong projects right = ?
doing the wrong projects wrong = big failure
The question remains: Which is more crucial to the success of a startup: Having the right idea or doing the execution of the idea right?
A venture capital colloquialism is:
A 'B' idea with an 'A' team is an 'A'.
An 'A' idea with a 'B' team is a 'C'.
Doing a 'B' project right (the execution done right by a 'A' team) may lead to an success. But executing a right 'A' project idea wrong (by a 'B' team) may lead to failure.
Having a great idea is not enough[1]. Execution is ultimately more important[2]. There have been many people who had the idea to build a flying machine. The Wright brothers were the first who not only had the great idea, but executed it successfully. Today they are the ones who are credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane - not all the others who just had the big idea.
The market?
The question is how you define ideas. Is a market part of the idea or not? According to the concept of getting to the product/market fit - the right market has yet to be found for every idea. Finding the right product/market fit is part of the teams execution of the idea.
The only thing that is more important than the idea or the market or the execution is the timing. There's an old saying: "being early is the same as being wrong":
executing the right project idea right in a potential market decades ahead of its time (too early, before the market is ready, no customer acceptance) = failure
executing the right project idea right in a growing/established/old market = success
That leads to a possible ranking of importance:
2. Execution (doing a project right and finding the best market for the idea is key)
3. Idea ('good ideas grow on trees')
0 comments: