Essay · ~12 min read

Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas

Paul Graham · Paul Graham (paulgraham.com) Free Advanced

A counterweight for when you overcorrect into safe, small, derivative ideas. Graham describes why the biggest ideas often feel scary enough that founders avoid even thinking about them, which keeps the field wide open. Read it once you have the basics, to widen your sense of what is worth attempting.

• The most ambitious ideas repel people, so few even attempt them
• Fear, not difficulty, is what keeps many great spaces empty
• You can grow into a big idea by starting from a narrow beachhead