Is there a bubble? Rethinking start-up opportunities

In Tech in Asia, Vijay Anand writes that there is no bubble as long as the cheque cashes

There was a discussion recently about whether we are in a tech start-up bubble. With the frothy valuations that some of the companies are getting, it seems fair to say that there is a bubble. Most folk will be quick to add, “But … things are different this time.”

For one, investors have learnt to come up with clauses that will protect them from the downsides.  There are also a lot of folks who are stating that if there is a correction, then it would be for the B2C (Business to Consumer) focusing start-ups that are struggling – or have raised a lot of capital and are still struggling – rather than for B2B (Business to Business) start-ups.
 

The logic makes sense, partly because in the B2B world, things are self-correcting. If you build a business, launch it, and 18 months later you still don’t see any signs of profitability or growth, then you know whether to keep the shutters open, or not. Things can be quite dicey and unclear in the B2C world.
 

 

My theory is: there is no bubble as long as the cheque cashes. No absolute promises can be made, but as long as you are able to cash in the cheque, there is no fault and the world keeps on progressing.
 

It seems fairly simple, but is perhaps an oft overlooked method of how people get ideas to start a company. There might be some truth to this statement: instead of building a product and looking for customers, look for problems and ideate solutions for them. Ideas are only complete if they are part of a solution.

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here. Vijay Anand is the founder and CEO of The Startup Centre, an early stage accelerator that promotes global technology start-ups from India