"7. What’s your secret sauce? ... We hope to come up with Something Big in 2010."
Hmm. I harbor hope that he's kidding. I'm more and more a believer that the only secret sauce that matters is relentless execution and incremental improvement over many years. Sure, some companies will happen upon the magical product-technology-market puzzle piece that ends up being worth a billion dollars, but that's playing the lottery, not running a business.
There is a lot more secret sauce out there than you hear about. By definition you don't hear about it. There's rarely any incentive for companies to talk about it. Many people inside a company might not even realize what it is at their company!
A great example is PayPal. According to Max Levchin their custom fraud detection system was the only reason they were able to stay in business.
Great article, well above the standards of Techcrunch lately. I agree with the seven deadly sins being the best advice on there. VC's want to know why people wont stop using your idea not why they will want too.
Which is funny, because my startup actually revolves around two of the seven cardinal virtues. I think he hits the nail on the head because he's talking about how anonymity has allowed people to embrace more and more of personalities they would not have been able to otherwise in meatspace.
But as your real identity and your social graph ties closer with your online persona, I think we're going to see a shift in a different direction. I'll let you know how it goes.
I was thinking the same thing. It's a really good article - above the TechCruch norm. I especially liked #2 - "Where's the real money?" It's tempting to try to go from 0 to 100,000,000 in one go, but if you haven't penetrated a familiar market yet, it's often worth waiting on the unfamiliar market.
Reminds me of the recent Pyramid Method post here[1]. Succeed in a small sector that gives you frequent feedback. Once you're mastered that sector, move on to bigger things.
Hmm. I harbor hope that he's kidding. I'm more and more a believer that the only secret sauce that matters is relentless execution and incremental improvement over many years. Sure, some companies will happen upon the magical product-technology-market puzzle piece that ends up being worth a billion dollars, but that's playing the lottery, not running a business.