I was reading through an e-mail from one of the mentors of the New U Entrepreneurship Project.  Below his message was an e-vite he received for an investors eventwhere start-up companies pitch for funds.  The leader of this event was paraphrased talking about his philosophy for starting up a business, and I was reading along when I saw this:

 "If other people think an idea is ridiculous, then that start-up will have a lot of freedom and room to experiment and grow before any competition comes forward. Conversely, if everyone is jumping into a hot sector, that start-up will face a lot of "mindless competition" ("me too" companies) and over-funding in the space ("me too" financing rounds)."

Naturally, this got me thinking about The New U program and other projects I have been fortunate enough to have either created or developed into something substantial.  At NPR, after several years of volunteering as leader, eventually I got to write my own job description as project manager for a program I named  "next generation radio."  How'd I do that?  

I took the time to do something that was being talked about, but not being done.  It's the same now for The New U. Soon, we'll award a small start-up grant to four people I didn't know existed until five months ago.  And, I have a good feeling we'll get re-funded and keep the program growing.  How'd we do that?  The better question is, "Does this program do the thing that isn't being done?"  Yes, it does.

The volatility of the economy means that if you have an idea, now is the time to try it.  And maybe the time for you is especially so because other people are saying your idea won't work or other people think you are going after the wrong market or other people are convinced that professional and economic security is in reporting to a cube everyday.  Certainly not everyone can break away and doing so is going to be difficult, guaranteed.

For those who can break away and are anxious to explore an insane idea, go ahead.  You'll find other ridiculous people out there too and these other people can guide your "craziness."

doug@knowledgewebb.net