ValidationEmerging Pattern
Pursue ideas that seem bad to others but good to you for less competition
High skepticism from others often indicates an underserved market with less competition.
When to use
When evaluating startup ideas and facing skepticism.
Don't do this
Only pursuing ideas that get enthusiastic validation from everyone.
1 Founder Who Did This
1
Retoolby David Hsu
Most people said the idea was bad. Stripe's John Collison directly called it 'a terrible idea'. Maintained conviction about developer focus while iterating on market and messaging
Result:Built Retool to $3.2B valuation by persisting through early skepticism while remaining flexible on market and positioning
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