This is one of the most sort of terminologies we hear. All of us have ideas – ideas in our daily life, work, home etc. Then what is “Power of an Idea?” When you read an interview of any successful businessman or when you talk to people who run companies (entrepreneurs), one thing which you commonly hear is the power of an idea. Many aspiring entrepreneurs ask this question in forums – What do VC’s look for? and again, the common answer is “The idea”.
Let us examine this term with few known examples which created history.
We all know that the first attempt to fly was made by Wright Brothers in 1903, and also, most of us think that an airplane was invented at that time. But actually, the first draft of an airplane was made by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15 Century. This was the time an idea was born. After that, after close to 400 years, Wright Brothers dreamed big and brought out the idea of flying and today, we just cannot live without an airplane.
To quote a more recent example, Ratan Tata dreamed of having a common man’s car. He noticed the family of four going on a 2 wheeler without any space to anyone. He wanted to transform the way we travel and today, we know what the answer is. When compared to GE, HM, Honda, Hyundai etc etc, Tata Motors is a small automobile company. But, how could they change an idea of car?
The above two examples make us think. An ‘idea’ is the way you look at things. All of us have ideas, to change the way we live or to create something which can help solve an existing problem. However, the result of the idea is left to the individual who thinks through it. At times, an idea or thought process becomes bigger than the thinker himself.
Another example we can think of is of Mohammad Yunus of Grameen Bank. He started small around 25 years back to provide support to “Bottom of Pyramid” group to enable them to live for themselves. What we see today is a transformation in life-style. Today, many countries in the world would want to replicate the same model to improve living conditions in their region.
Idea is powerful and it can really create history. However, the main ingredient of the idea is the committment of the thinker. In our airplane example, probably Leonardo did not have access to all the information and material required to fly in his time, but when the time came, the idea was re-born. This is the power of an idea.
What VC’s look for in entrepreneurs is their committment to their idea. The idea might not create history, but will it solve a particular problem is what is evaluated.
The first thing you do when you have an idea, is to live it up!