Tell them their idea is crap. Or, if that is a bit harsh, at least ask them if it's really the most important thing they could be working on, and whether they'd like to sell sugar water the rest of their lives — or change the world.
Methodologically speaking, both investors and entrepreneurs need to get better at recognizing where companies are in the startup lifecycle and let results speaks for themselves. (The Startup Genome calls the developmental stages of the Startup Lifecycle Discovery, Validation, Efficiency and Scale.) By standardizing the necessity of going through the discovery and validation phase it will be clear in a few months that nobody wants another mediocre to-do list app, and investors can invest appropriate amounts so that these entrepreneurs don’t have the rope to hide in stealth and hang themselves.
(スタートアップ・ゲノムとは、操業開始サイクルの発見、正当性、効率および規模の開発段階のことを言います。)
発見と実証段階を経験する必要の標準化によって、よくも悪くもない、しなければならないことのリストアップを誰も望まないことは数か月で明らかでしょう。また、これらの起業家が隠れて、かつそれら自身を掛けるためにロープを持たないように、投資者は適切な量を投資することができます。
This approach is practical and avoids unrealistic authoritarianism, like implying people shouldn't have the right to start a company. This does not tell Starstruck Entrepreneurs they can't pursue their flights of fancy; it simply lets gravity quickly pull them and their Hollywood halos back to reality, and towards work that actually matters. This cleans out the junk in the startup ecosystem — an ecosystem that powers tomorrow's economic future.
The technology entrepreneurship world is rightfully attracting a lot of press, attention, and money as one of the world's best avenues towards continued economic prosperity, but it must learn to bestow adulation only on the people creating truly transformational companies — otherwise, the Starstruck virus will fester.
As the power of entrepreneurs increases, we would love see the community strive to remember why we do this. It's not about the fame, glory or money. It's about building products that transform the world and drive the humanity forward.
起業家のパワーが高まるにつれ、私達がどうして起業するのかという理由を社会が必死で思い出そうとするのを見たいものだ。名声、賞賛、お金のためではない。それは、世界を変え、人類を前進させるプロダクトを構築するためなのだ。
