It has become very fashionable within the startup/entrepreneurship community to claim that business ideas are worthless and that execution is what really matters (e.g. this article). Really? The component of a business that serves as the very basis for its existence and that guides and determines all acts of execution within a business is worthless?

Here is why ideas are not worthless: ideas determine market, and identifying great markets is very hard. A great idea exposes a lucrative market opportunity that is ripe for the picking and has undergone inside-out validation to back up its claim of said market opportunity. Also, Marc Andreessen believes that the market is more important than even the team.

Excellent execution of a bad idea will lead to disaster, because there is just no market. A well-designed and technically-faultless solar-powered flashlight will never sell no matter what. Poor execution of a good idea may lead to a business, because some segments of the market may tolerate a poor product, even if it is just marginally better than existing solutions. It is also probably easier to find good talent to make up for bad execution than to find good markets to make up for bad ideas.

Our conclusion is probably as follows. Ideas alone are worthless – true. Ideas with execution are worthless – true. Validated ideas are worthless – not true. Validated ideas with execution are worthless – definitely not true. Naturally, the next question is, “What constitutes validation?” Validation, at least for B2B businesses like ours, means proving our ability to make money, save money, and/or save time for our customers. That is the only validation that should matter, not vague surveys yielding “I would buy it” responses, Beta sign-ups, first few paying customers, or any other inconclusive yardstick.