The Uber of...Crappy Ideas

After selling one of my companies, I ended up taking a consulting and mentoring role at a few start-up organizations in Chicago. One of them was housed at WeWork so I enjoyed getting to integrate into that community. At first, the free beer, fruit infused water (there's nothing better than watermelon water on a hot Chicago day) and the general buzz around the space was very exciting to be around. 

The more I stuck around, the more worried I got. From happy hour mixers to random conversations that popped up, I went from being incredibly enthusiastic about the state of entrepreneurship to exasperated by the myriad of’; well how do I put this without being too crass…

 There are a lot of really crappy ideas out there.

I would say that for every 10 conversations I would have, 3 people could barely communicate what their company’s goal, mission, vision or product was, 1 person did an incredible job explaining it...and the remaining 6 people described their company as a derivative of one of the big tech unicorns. 

It's those 6 people I want to focus on for a second. 

When I say derivative, what I mean is that the conversation went something like this: 

Tom:                             “Great to meet you, what does your company do?”
Unicorn Chaser:            “Well, I guess…I mean the easiest way to put it is that…”
Tom:                             <getting ready to cringe>
Unicorn Chaser:            “…we’re like the Uber of Yelping Instacarts via mobile.” 

 The constant “we are the ______ of ______” comparison has become commonplace in pitching and relating. While there are plenty of great ideas that maybe best described in those terms, I always dig deeper with these folks to get at what they really means. 

What I've found more times than not is that new entreprenuers assume that since other companies have been successful that they can just copy and paste the foundational model and be equally successful. So, when I hear people saying they are the ______ of ______ what I really hear is the outsourced labor market of, leasing communal property of or rating system of...

Again, there may be value to finding the next opportunity to use technology to shake up an industry or marketplace. Yet, just because you CAN make a case for the of doesn't automatically make it a viable business…or that you SHOULD try to fit into that mold.

The other thing I've found with a lot of those wide-eyed entrepreneurs is an unflappable belief in their ability to succeed on their own. To you first time entrepreneurs, no matter what Fast Company or your favorite blog or Insta-Influencer may say about the myth of the solo-preneur — it's just that…a myth. You need to pull together a great team, to surround yourself with mentors and advisors that can show you when you are heading off a cliff or making plan stupid decisions.

So…do this over your next free cup of macha.  

Be honest with yourself if you are creating more crap and noise in the marketplace. Be truthful about what you are creating and if there is a true need. Be steadfast in the desire to make something that is of value or if you are merely recycling someone else's ideas. 

I challenge you to get away from describing your brilliant idea by using someone else's lens or playbook. 

 You are a creator - make something so beautiful and unique that the only way to describe it is through your words, not someone else's.