Originality Isn’t the Signal: Why I Stopped Chasing “New” and Started Chasing “Working”
I spent a decade of my career as a senior engineer and data scientist believing that success was a product of the “lightning strike”—that singular, original flash of genius that changes an industry. When my Silicon Valley startup collapsed and I found myself in the “messy middle,” I tried to pivot based on pure, unrefined passion, launching an artisanal candle business that left me inhaling fragrance oils while my savings accounts slowly bled dry.
I was chasing the “cool” startup dream, but I quickly learned a hard truth that I’ve since built my entire clinical, data-driven framework upon: Originality is not required. Execution is..
In my book, How to Start a Small Business That Actually Makes Money, I argue that the most reliable signal for a profitable business isn’t how “new” an idea is, but how effectively it solves a recurring problem.
The Trap of the “Unique” Idea
Most people struggling to launch a business don’t actually lack ideas; they lack the permission to take the ones directly in front of them seriously because they aren’t “original” enough. We are conditioned to believe that if someone else is already doing it, the market is “full.”
I’ve found that the opposite is true: The most reliable signal that a business idea is worth pursuing is that other people are already doing it and making money. This isn’t a red flag; it is proof of concept. If there are no competitors, there might be no demand. When you enter an existing market, you aren’t trying to “educate” people into needing you; you are simply inserting yourself into a stream of demand that existed before you arrived.
The “Boring” Advantage
My engineer’s autopsy of failed businesses revealed a consistent pattern: the “cool” startups paid for therapy, while the “boring” businesses paid the mortgage.
Reliable profitability is built on three pillars that have nothing to do with originality:
- Real, Recurring Demand: The grass grows back, offices get dirty, and taxes are due every quarter.
- Healthy Margins: You need a gap between price and cost that is wide enough to absorb a bad month.
- Repeatability: You should be able to deliver your service via a checklist, not a “perfect day” of creative inspiration.
“Boring” businesses like commercial cleaning, pressure washing, or specialized bookkeeping work across every economic cycle because they solve obvious fixes to obvious problems.
Positioning Over Invention
If your idea has already been done, the question isn’t “how can I be original?” It is: “Can I do it better, faster, cheaper, or more conveniently for a specific customer segment?”.
This is where specificity becomes your competitive advantage. I’ve seen that going narrower almost always makes you more money. A general bookkeeper is a commodity; a bookkeeper who understands the specific POS systems and tip pools of the restaurant industry is a specialist who can command a 30% premium. You don’t need a new service; you need better positioning for a specific group of people.
The Ultimate Filter: The $500 Test
To separate “hollow fantasies” from “viable models,” I put every idea through the $500 Test. I ask: How would I make $500 from this idea in the next 30 days using only my current resources?.
If an idea requires a “novel” platform or a massive audience to work, it fails. A real business idea has a direct path between you and a paying customer that functions even without a website or a logo.
As I often tell my readers: If you can’t make $500 from an idea in thirty days, you can’t build a business from it in thirty months. The problems don’t go away at scale—they just get more expensive.
Stop looking for the idea that no one has ever had. Instead, look for the unglamorous, recurring needs that people are already paying for. My journey through the “messy middle” taught me that a business doesn’t have to be a great cocktail party story to be a very good life.
If you’re ready to stop “playing business” with logos and start engineering a foundation that actually makes money, join me for the next chapter of this series where we dive into the Five-Conversation Validation Method.
Watch the full episode here:
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