Garry Tan argues that all good startups must be able to answer, “Why now?” to their idea.
“Why Now?” is the million-dollar question that everyone dreaming of the next big idea needs to answer.
There’s nothing new under the sun, so chances are that any idea you have has already been thought of. It has likely even tried and even more likely failed.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue an idea, though. Having the same idea could means you’ve hit on a common problem. And it could mean that if you can find the right solution, it will be valuable to someone other than yourself.
Past success doesn’t guarantee future performance, and neither does past failure.
But I do agree with Garry Chan’s perspective that we should force ourselves to answer, why now? What’s different now?
What have we learned or discovered? What wasn’t possible before that is now?
What’s your great idea and what’s now making it possible?
