The ideas you choose to work on – they do matter. A VC will fund a biscuit brand with some revenue but hesitate to back a new kind of software.
Because biscuits are a safe bet – the TAM, manufacturing, and distribution playbook is well understood. You need some brand-building to grab a piece of the established market.
But software is unpredictable – it requires new markets, new behaviors, new risks.
VCs – especially in India – thrive on herd mentality. Their business isn’t about vision; it’s about betting on safe, scalable opportunities. They’ll put money where business models are already proven, or where someone else has put money.
But here’s the trade-off: man, employees don’t get excited about biscuits. People feel motivated when they know they’re solving a real problem that impacts thousands or lakhs of lives.
They need to have thoughts like, “Won’t it be cool if this thing existed in the world,” or “I wish people had something like this to use in their daily life.”
Somewhere down the line, you have to choose the kind of work you want to do; ideas do matter.
Biscuits can get you VC money and popularity. But building something transformative keeps teams motivated, and if done right – can solve deeper problems and make much more money.