Is The Current Market Full Of Bad Ideas?

Yesterday, Chamath Palihapitiya made a big splash at TechCrunch Disrupt:

Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive and founder of investment firm The Social+Capital Partnership, said today that the tech world should be “utterly ashamed,” because “we are at an absolute minimum in terms of things that are being started.”

Palihapitiya was interviewed onstage at our Disrupt NY conference. He argued that in contrast to past decades, where tech entrepreneurs were inventing silicon chips, putting computers on every desktop, or wiring the world, we’re now “rehashing ideas from 2003.” He didn’t name a specific company, but when Palihapitiya talked disdainfully about an instant messaging app that allows you to send photos of everything from an apple orchard to your genitalia, and that the message disappears after a short period of time, it’s not too hard to decipher who he’s talking about.

“That was a bad business plan 10 years ago, and it’s a bad business plan now,” he said.

Here’s what I think of the situation.

I don’t think the tech world is necessarily any more full of bad ideas than usual. The tech world always sees its share of bad ideas.

However, what we’re seeing today are some good ideas that are evidently not venture-style BIG ideas.

Take the example of a 1M/1M portfolio company, Innovation Labs, and its Avaz app. It’s a well-reviewed communication app for autistic children that sells for $99 on the app store.

That’s not a BAD idea.

However, it is not a billion dollar venture style idea, which, I suppose, is what Chamath is complaining about.

From where I sit, I look at ideas all the time. And since I am not obsessed with ideas having to be venture fundable, I can appreciate good, useful products and services for the value they offer, the problems they solve, rather than that the size of the market opportunity they are after.

That being said, I agree, that there is a 1999 or 2003 style dynamic in the market right now. A lot of bogus ideas ARE floating around.

And, as it has happened before, they will crash and burn.

I would rather focus on the global renaissance in entrepreneurship that is happening, with ideas big and small, and the value creation we foster.