John Doerr's Startup Manual (1997)
fastcompany.com
fastcompany.com
It's kind of funny seeing the precursor to web 2.0 style names.
I think his team oriented approach still rings true today. Any two entrepreneurs can form a team, but it takes a special team to drive forward down the right path. The initial product idea almost doesn't even matter, if you have the right synergies and talent in a team, the product will evolve to reach the market. I believe that is part of the philosophy of y combinator.
"Absolutely. Remember, Compaq was conceived at the House of Pancakes. But before throwing in with the group, I'd advise the 28-year-old to think carefully about the business opportunity, the markets, and the technology. And think hardest about the team."
I think the most important part now would be the markets. Market timing can determine if your technology is ahead of the curve or already on the road to being quickly replaced/replicated. Business opportunity is also largely determined by whether there is (A) a market that wants the business and (B) a market that can financially support the business.
Potential customers could theoretically want a business but not be able to afford it due to their own economic problems. This is probably a common occurrence and is one of the reasons we even have economic contractions.
An argument could be made that market timing/identification is more important than the original founding team.
"Three years ago, Doerr was already a famous Silicon Valley venture capitalist. But the event that moved him to global business fame was the arrival of the Internet."