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The Fantasy of New

Many people focus on generating a new idea, a new product, a new APP, a new concept. However, there are serious issues about new. New ideas face tremendous challenges.


New idea is not the starting point of startup. Understanding a problem OTHERS ASKED YOU TO SOLVE is the starting point. The start point of entrepreneurship is NETWORKING.
Basing innovation on "thinking about new idea" is dangerous. It makes someone enter a cycle of "thinking" and "novelty". If thinking in vacuum goes on too long, the concepts will be fabricated, not really visionary.
 

Reason #1: New things are ahead, and takes time and money to gain traction


When you present something new, you need to show that the value is drastically greater than the price, and that the new item is reliable and always available. To establish something new is not just introducing it, but to sustain its life.

 

Reason #2, it's interesting but not business worthy


Many new ideas can not survive as a business. It is just good intent.

 

Reason #3, People don't like it.


Many new ideas may not gain the public's approval and become small niche fetishes. The market will not grow, and the operation can not sustain.


If you spend a sizable amount of time and money to provide an artifact and people either don't like it or don't want to pay the price you ask of them, then your startup efforts have failed. You can sell one or two items as novelty but that is about it.

 

Reason #4, It is not new after all


Many ideas are common - when you have it, others are also thinking about it or has thought about it long long time ago and started much earlier. When you start to do google search and find many of your ideas actually have been taken, you will realize that coming up with a crazy but good idea is hard, just like coming up with a craze but good name is hard.

The only time you are truly new, is when everyone thinks you are crazy. If people agree with you, you are too late.

The solution to "thinking new" cycle is to go to the industry and learn. Here the problem is that a lot of people who wants to think will not be willing to go to the floors to learn. They think that they are "above it". That is the true tragedy repeated over and over.




 

Novel and new are actually quite different. Novel refers to "what you give", and "new" refers to "what people accept".

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