The essence of timing … and why Vincent van Gogh would have been a terrible entrepreneur
The essence of timing … and why Vincent van Gogh would have been a terrible entrepreneur
In analogy to the real estate industry, where the three most important success factors are “location, location and location”, venture capitalists say the most important success factors for startup investments are: “1) team, 2) team and 3) team”.
Sorry — this is complete nonsense. I will explain why.
“Nothing is as strong as an idea whose time has come”. With this quote by Victor Hugo and others, McKinsey once decorated a book in the late 1990s which became the definitive guide in Switzerland on how to write business plans. After co-founding b2venture in 2000, for well over a decade I read hundreds of business plans in which this saying was prominently featured on the cover page. Statistically, not even 1% of these businesses have actually been successful. In my case, I even perceived this slogan as a “turn-off”, as the business plans adorned with it were more like working through a McKinsey textbook than a document reflecting the entrepreneur’s “feu sacré”. In other words: I could no longer stand this saying.
But: it is actually spot on!
In analogy to the real estate industry, where the three most important success factors are “location, location and location”, venture capitalists say the most important success factors for startup investments are: “1) team, 2) team and 3) team”.
Sorry — this is complete nonsense. I will explain why.
“Nothing is as strong as an idea whose time has come”. With this quote by Victor Hugo and others, McKinsey once decorated a book in the late 1990s which became the definitive guide in Switzerland on how to write business plans. After co-founding b2venture in 2000, for well over a decade I read hundreds of business plans in which this saying was prominently featured on the cover page. Statistically, not even 1% of these businesses have actually been successful. In my case, I even perceived this slogan as a “turn-off”, as the business plans adorned with it were more like working through a McKinsey textbook than a document reflecting the entrepreneur’s “feu sacré”. In other words: I could no longer stand this saying.
But: it is actually spot on!
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