The Big Idea

I find it fasinating that everytime friends comes with us to our beach house they ask for help in marketing there big idea. Last year it was an idea for a TV show. This year is was a children's toy. I give some advice. And always add that an idea is 5% there. The other 95% to make it reality is work.

If you are in a company, you can pitch your idea internally and may get support to do it. This was the Enron model of innovation. It got them in trouble because I think there were a lot of half-baked ideas and nobody who could or wanted to do the 95%. I remember seeing one business plan and thinking - I would never invest a dime in this idea - no money to be made. There was also another idea that I didn't understand - nor could they give me a business plan to read - they just wanted us to market it. However, there was one idea I loved. It was August 2001 - the beginning of the end.