First the team, then the idea

What is key to success? Is it to have a great idea? Or is it to have a stellar team to execute on the idea? Or put another way: Can a great team succeed with a bad idea, or will the ordinary team with the great idea come out on top?

It’s a very good question, and to answer it you almost have to be religious. Because this is ultimately about belief as both models are being followed for start up’s.

However, recent events suggest that the team is the all important factor. At least this is the realization that Cambrian House - a crowdsourcing community - has come to. They have basically decided to throw out their existing model and focus their future on supporting teams rather than ideas.

I think this is the right approach for two reasons. First of all people won’t put their best ideas in the public domain (a few people will, but only a few). Hence crowdsourcing of ideas will always be biased by second rate ideas. Second, if the only thing you have is ideas and no power to execute, you won’t get anywhere with it.

Add to that that when the going gets tough, it’s the people that pull through - not the idea - and you have an understanding of why it is, that the team has to come before the idea, if you want to maximize your chance of success.