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ideas have near zero value, execution is the only thing that matters.

ideas have near zero value, execution is the only thing that matters.

This is laughable, and straight from the VC/Big Tech Co playbook. You know, the kind of places who can more easily spend huge money executing on someone else's good idea.

Of course execution is important. I'd even accept more important than an idea. But ideas are not "near zero value". There's nothing to execute on without them, and unlike "executing", there's no system to repeat it.

You sound like every failed non-technical founder trying to convince an engineer why they get to be the first employee and should be thankful for 5% equity. To reinforce my point, take YC's top 3 outcomes so far:

* Stripe - Paypal but better and dev-focused

* AirBNB - Couchsurfing.com but better and we charge for it

* DoorDash - Seamless and GrubHub but better

Those ideas, on the surface, are all garbage. Yet they had by-far the best outcomes for YC. Why? Execution. That's why YC invests in so many poor ideas -- they're investing in people are likely to be able to execute, not the ideas themselves.

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