Tip - VCs think less risky ideas are, in fact, the most risky

VCs think less risky ideas are, in fact, the most risky. Ken Howery, a cofounder of PayPal and partner of Peter Thiel of the Founders Fund, makes an interesting observation about small and manageable ideas versus big and crazy ideas. Small and seemingly less risky ideas have very low barriers to entry and very little room for failure, but they also have a low upside potential. By contrast, big ideas have lots of room for failure and experimentation, but, since most people are risk averse, very little competition. Tesla Motors and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is a great example of dreaming big and bold. He believes that the human race may screw up this planet one day to the point that access to another planet will be necessary. The result: SpaceX, the first commercial company to successfully visit the International Space Station. Since a small idea requires the same effort level as a big idea, why ...

Tarang and Sheetal Shah