I have been thinking about the explosion of startups, not only in San Diego, but in a dozen cities from Seattle to
Boston to Ann Arbor. At times, I cannot tell the difference between one social media application and the next one. The onslaught of ideas masquerading as “companies” seems to have a feel of “me too-ism” along with an easily transparent, hungry look for a quick flip, for the easy road, for a hope that someone will buy it.
And so as we enter the new year, allow me to offer Rule No. 381:1 — It is as hard to build a small company as it is to build a big one. There are no shortcuts. Or said another way, I would like to challenge the young entrepreneur in 2012 to reach for the bigger idea, to try to solve the more difficult problem, to address the complexity of a puzzle, and not just look for an angry bird.
Read the rest at UT San Diego.