[btilly]

Anyone who wants to try to create a new market (as opposed to get into an existing one) should read The Innovator's Solution. I say this because of the excellent chapters explaining all of the ways in which over-investment can kill a startup in a small market which is likely to have a big future potential. (The preceding book The Innovator's Dilemma is also interesting, but doesn't provide any discussion of this dynamic.)

The key phrase that sums it up is, Good money is impatient for profit and patient for growth. Bad money is impatient for growth and patient for profit. Unless your company is sized small enough to find and be interested in whatever existing market can be found, you won't be in a position to grow with that market with the right cost structure to take advantage when the market opportunity grows.

[krmmalik]

Well this comes at an interesting time, since Kublax (UK equivalent of mint.com) just announced it's entering the deadpool today

[ThomPete]

I worked on the original design for Kublax. I think there are many reasons why they entered the deathpool.

I second the Clayton Christensen recommendation. For those of you who want a quick look into his thinking I would recommend his speech "Capturing the Upside" http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail135.html

Also the book "The Innovators Solution" is good.