In a philosophical sense, it is not helpful to perceive the difference between &quot;ideas&quot; and &quot;execution&quot; as a binary reduction on two sets. Instead, I view it as the idea-execution gradient.<p>The theoretical limit on an idea-first mindset is &#x27;literally only your idea matters. It doesn&#x27;t matter how you execute it.&#x27; The theoretical limit on an execution-first mindset is &#x27;literally only your execution matters. It doesn&#x27;t matter what the idea is&#x27;. We can represent your stance on this gradient with a rational number coefficient, M. What you believe Matters.<p>If you have a low M, you are idea-first. If you have a high M, you are execution-first.<p>Let&#x27;s assume the existence of a hypothetically Platonic M. By definition, founders of the most successful startups have a Platonic M.<p>My point was, I believed the Platonic M is currently <i>far</i> lower than what the Valley rhetoric advocates for.