I've been working in software dilligence for 7 years now and have worked with 100+ companies getting purchased or raising late-stage investement as an assessor, so I've had the rare privilege of seeing the insides of a whole bunch of companies that are doing well (PE doesn't buy companies that aren't doing well). And if there's one conclusion I can draw from this its...
Your idea bloody well does matter.
The myth that "your idea doesn't matter, it's all about execution" is complete nonsense. Successful businesses are built by people who understand a problem domain well enough to see how to solve a problem that people will pay more for than it costs to solve the problem, where "costs to solve the problem" encompasses everything, especially all the non-functional requirements.
The world is full of failed software companies where no one thought through all the cost ramifications of getting and serving a customer and figured out whether their idea will fly as a long-term profitable business. And it's also full of complete crap software (or software that started out as crap and then improved) that makes founders lots of cash because the idea was actually something people want to pay for.
I will also say, yes it takes years for most of these companies.
the execution vs idea debate always felt like a false binary to me. bad idea executed perfectly is still a bad idea. but also a great idea with zero distribution instinct goes nowhere. your comment made me think about is that most founders who say "ideas don't matter" had a good idea and dont realize it because prolly they were too close to it
Your idea bloody well does matter.
The myth that "your idea doesn't matter, it's all about execution" is complete nonsense. Successful businesses are built by people who understand a problem domain well enough to see how to solve a problem that people will pay more for than it costs to solve the problem, where "costs to solve the problem" encompasses everything, especially all the non-functional requirements.
The world is full of failed software companies where no one thought through all the cost ramifications of getting and serving a customer and figured out whether their idea will fly as a long-term profitable business. And it's also full of complete crap software (or software that started out as crap and then improved) that makes founders lots of cash because the idea was actually something people want to pay for.
I will also say, yes it takes years for most of these companies.