\n\t\t\t\u201cDon\u2019t take market risk \u2014 find things that people want and just do a better job at it. That is the most common way to get to a unicorn company.\u201d\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJames Currier, founding partner, NFX<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

\u201cThis idea that it\u2019s 99% perspiration and 1% idea is not correct, because the right idea has power in it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe right idea at the right time will attract you the right talent, it will attract you the capital \u2014 OK, it\u2019ll attract you the press that will then attract you more talent, more capital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pop culture and tech journalism lionize founders who shoot for the moon, \u201cso most people think of having ideas,\u201d said Currier, noting that unicorns like Lyft, Meta and Alphabet simply \u201ccopied\u201d existing companies. In doing so, they swapped market risk for execution risk, which is much easier to manage.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t take market risk \u2014 find things that people want and just do a better job at it. That is the most common way to get to a unicorn company.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Currier, who was an angel investor in Lyft, DoorDash and Patreon, NFX reviews about 8,000 deals each year, but only invests in around 30. \u201cSixty-five percent of the ideas we see are in what we call sort of the \u2018dead zone\u2019 \u2014 this area will waste your life\u2019s energies if you pursue the bad ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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