I don’t think I’m claiming that the value prop stories of bad startups will be low-delta. Because the delta of the cryobacterium article, multiplied by a million articles, is quite big, regardless of how bad Golden actually is.
Ahh, I should clarify that the Value Prop Story test I have in mind does not let you sum across multiple Value Prop Stories. It functions as an existence proof that the startup idea contains at least one specific case of a big value spike.
Indeed, one of the most common ways startups try to “cheat” the Value Prop Test is by trying to answer it with a bag of low-value-delta examples.
Consider a startup which claims that they will succeed over their competitors because they’ll win at advertising.
Hm, do we know any example of such a startup? I can’t think of one. The reason I ask is because ryan_b explained how most of these indirect advantages do also manifest as Value Prop Stories.
Being “generically incredibly competent” is one of the most important aspects in startup success, then rejecting this type of person makes the sanity check have a lot of false negatives, and therefore much less useful.
I see examples all the time of incredibly-competent founders whose startup is currently failing the Value Prop Story test. My strategy here as an angel investor is to hold off on investing, watch as they keep iterating or pivoting their idea, and invest when I see a Value Prop Story emerge.
Ahh, I should clarify that the Value Prop Story test I have in mind does not let you sum across multiple Value Prop Stories. It functions as an existence proof that the startup idea contains at least one specific case of a big value spike.
Indeed, one of the most common ways startups try to “cheat” the Value Prop Test is by trying to answer it with a bag of low-value-delta examples.
Hm, do we know any example of such a startup? I can’t think of one. The reason I ask is because ryan_b explained how most of these indirect advantages do also manifest as Value Prop Stories.
I see examples all the time of incredibly-competent founders whose startup is currently failing the Value Prop Story test. My strategy here as an angel investor is to hold off on investing, watch as they keep iterating or pivoting their idea, and invest when I see a Value Prop Story emerge.