Superhuman

The Problem with the "Right Idea"

The myth of the “right idea” is one of the biggest traps for aspiring founders. People imagine startups begin with a lightning bolt of inspiration: the one perfect idea that changes everything. But that’s not how it works.

Ideas evolve. Airbnb didn’t start as a marketplace for lodging—it was a website to rent air ma... See more

Finding startup ideas is a subtle business, and that's why most people who try fail so miserably. It doesn't work well simply to try to think of startup ideas. If you do that, you get bad ones that sound dangerously plausible. The best approach is more indirect: if you have the right sort of background, good startup ideas will seem obvious to you. ... See more

Live in the future, then build what's missing.If you look at the way successful founders have had their ideas, it's generally the result of some external stimulus hitting a prepared mind.

"The way to figure out what to work on is by working."

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"I think for most people who want to do great work, the right strategy is not to plan too much. At each stage do whatever seems most interesting and gives you the best options for the future. I call this approach 'staying upwind.' This is how most people who've done great work seem to have done... See more