One of the great things about this generation of startup activity is that barriers to starting up have come down so far. There is a lot of support for young entrepreneurs, costs of development have come down, there is respect for folks hacking away, etc. This is a very good thing for entrepreneurs, but it’s always necessary to look at the opposite of an idea as well as its limits to truly gain an understanding. I want to explore this in a series of posts, particularly recent opinions of some knowledgeable folks, which address the limitations of the “quick and easy” startup meme. (I suspect that the limit of the meme is when the quick and easy startup activity is not guided by a vision or big problem.)
Bryce Roberts of O’Reilly Alpha Tech asks:
“I wonder. With Startup weekends, Startup bootcamps, Startup schools, Startup incubators, Startup America, and on and on I wonder if the term “Startup” has officially become meaningless.
There was a time when “Startup” meant innovation, rebellion, drive, vision, troublemaking, disruption and choosing a road less travelled. Now, a couple minutes of thought and a couple hours of work at a hackathon and you’re a “Startup”.”
