A VC in Vacationland

Image via Wikipedia

I know..this is a weird title.  But it has deep meaning.  One of the interesting aspects of life is that "you see your ideas", that is if you are planning on buying a VW Touareg, you now see them all over the place where you never noticed one before.  There must be a special place in the brain that stores these ideas and creates awareness when that idea surfaces in your vision.

This is very much how a VC's mind works.  I have a set of ideas about where the world of technology is headed and when reality makes those "ideas" pop up in front of me, my brain becomes interested.  This can happen anywhere–on the web, at a conference, visiting a university and meeting researchers, etc.  I never know where I might find something that will relate to that idea in my brain.

This does not mean I immediately "do something" about that reality that relates to one of my ideas.  Often, I let it "marinate" in the brain for days or weeks before knowing if I might pursue it.  If the new reality is someone with an entrepreneurial idea, I generally wait to see if the person can develop the concept into a viable business plan.  The world is full of good ideas.  I do not have time to develop them, only encourage entrepreneurs to move forward.

Often, the person with the new concept is taken aback.  "I thought you were a VC and funded new businesses" is invariably the retort after I tell them to go off and develop the concept into a business plan.  I am, but it is not my job to bring it to market, only to provide advice and funding.

My basic advice to new entrepreneurs is to "see you ideas" as well.  You must be aware of the marketplace where your ideas will land and how customers will perceive your idea among all the great and competitive ideas that exist in this marketplace.

What's the picture above all about?  It's a prototype for the first VW bug, designed by Doctor Porsche. I wonder how many people looked at it and thought that a "people's car" was a joke.  Nope.  It was one of the biggest automobile ideas of the 20th century.  But it was not the design, it was how it was marketed, manufactured and sold that made the difference.  All successful entrepreneurs have a broad "world view" of their marketplace and how their idea will succeed. They see their ideas….

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