[vo0do0]

Okie, I think the biggest issues are:

1) Aiming money only, in other words, money as a cause not a consequence

2) Not that will lead to a failure, but will make your life harder. Startups that deal with technology for technology, in other words, are trying to solve problems of the technology itself. You should create something that will bring a better life for the slashdot nerd reader and to the 3rd world 60th years old retired "guy"

Do something that will make people happy, to feel better to waste less time and you'll be starting something with more survival probability.

I don't agree with the derivative idea concept. Google is the worse example you could have used. Before google we had yahoo and a bunch of spider/bot search engines. Their idea wasn't original, they just did something better aiming to solve search problem helping people not to waste their time.

More than just to create a search engine they created a way to make your life easier.

regards

[jamongkad]

I think you're onto something here. What I truly believe is to make something customers want. A sin that I fall in at times is making something customers don't want and by and large letting supply get ahead of demand. Another thing I believe is that if your product is going to do something then it might as well make life easier for the regular Joe instead of the computer nerd. Why? well in my opinion the regular Joe is more likely to belong to a larger market segment.

[motoko]

The _real_ rules are:

1) Don't fail

2) Win

3) Don't not win

Also, see: http://thetravisty.com/Saturday_Night_Live/mov/Sexual_Harassment_and_You.htm