The video is dated but still worth watching, especially the end.  The point is, How do you know if you have an idea good enough for a startup? I had done two startups in the last fifteen years. The first one everyone thought it was a great idea, especially the VC's. It required tremendous amount of capital and I was able to secure $65M of VC funding. However, as with most startups in the late-90's, we crashed-and-burned when the last bubble bursted. My second company is completely bootstrapped. The VC's thought it was a terrible idea but fortunately most customers we talked to thought otherwise. After we became profitable, the VC's were kicking down our door wanting to buy a piece of the action. I took the opportunity to start my early retirement (before the bubble bursted in 2007). Lesson learned: listen to Paul Graham but kick it up a notch. Don't just build something someone wants and don't build something someone willing to invest, instead build something someone willing to buy.  Good luck, everyone.