作者：Paul Graham
時(shí)間：2015年2月
原文：What Microsoft is this the Altair basic of?
翻譯：梅晨斐，校驗(yàn)：曾樑
One of the most valuable exercises you can try if you want to understand startups is to look at the most successful companies and explain why they were not as lame as they seemed when they first launched. Because they practically all seemed lame at first. Not just small, lame. Not just the first step up a big mountain. More like the first step into a swamp.
如果你希望了解創(chuàng)業(yè)公司，最有效的途徑之一，就是去翻閱現(xiàn)在那些大公司之前的經(jīng)歷，并且嘗試去理解為什么他們現(xiàn)在的樣子不像當(dāng)初產(chǎn)品初創(chuàng)時(shí)期一樣傻。因?yàn)?，所有現(xiàn)在所謂得成功企業(yè)，當(dāng)初最早的想法或產(chǎn)品原型看上去都是很可笑的。不止受眾面小，真的很可笑。完全看不出下一步將會(huì)發(fā)展成一家大公司的樣子，那時(shí)候看上去像下一步就將踏進(jìn)沼澤的樣子。
A Basic interpreter for the Altair? How could that ever grow into a giant company? People sleeping on airbeds in strangers' apartments? A web site for college students to stalk one another? A wimpy little single-board computer for hobbyists that used a TV as a monitor? A new search engine, when there were already about 10, and they were all trying to de-emphasize search? These ideas didn't just seem small. They seemed wrong. They were the kind of ideas you could not merely ignore, but ridicule.
我們?cè)撊绾谓忉屵@種現(xiàn)象？這些公司是如何發(fā)展成現(xiàn)在的樣子的？人們睡在陌生人家中的睡袋內(nèi)？幫助大學(xué)生追蹤彼此的網(wǎng)站？一個(gè)看上去無(wú)用的單板計(jì)算機(jī)，接上電視機(jī)當(dāng)顯示器使用？一個(gè)全新的搜索引擎，盡管當(dāng)時(shí)市場(chǎng)上已經(jīng)有超過(guò)10款搜索引擎了。這些想法在當(dāng)時(shí)看上去不止受眾小，它們根本就是錯(cuò)誤的想法。這些都是看了就會(huì)被遺忘的想法，而且有些甚至很可笑。
Often the founders themselves didn't know why their ideas were promising. They were attracted to these ideas by instinct, because they were living in the future and they sensed that something was missing. But they could not have put into words exactly how their ugly ducklings were going to grow into big, beautiful swans.
另外這些創(chuàng)始人當(dāng)時(shí)也并不明白他們的想法在未來(lái)將會(huì)有多大的發(fā)展空間。他們通常都是被直覺(jué)吸引做出選擇，但是他們大多以未來(lái)的角度進(jìn)行思考，總感覺(jué)現(xiàn)在市場(chǎng)上缺少了一些什么。但是他們?cè)诋?dāng)時(shí)，往往無(wú)法以語(yǔ)言的形式描述他們那個(gè)時(shí)候的小產(chǎn)品，將如何在未來(lái)發(fā)展成為美麗的天鵝。
Most people's first impulse when they hear about a lame-sounding new startup idea is to make fun of it. Even a lot of people who should know better.
When I encounter a startup with a lame-sounding idea, I ask "What Microsoft is this the Altair Basic of?" Now it's a puzzle, and the burden is on me to solve it. Sometimes I can't think of an answer, especially when the idea is a made-up one. But it's remarkable how often there does turn out to be an answer. Often it's one the founders themselves hadn't seen yet.
大多數(shù)人們第一次聽(tīng)到這次看似荒唐的想法時(shí)都會(huì)嘲笑他們。當(dāng)我與懷揣類似想法的創(chuàng)業(yè)者交流的時(shí)候， 我都不禁問(wèn)自己：“？”。這始終是一個(gè)謎題，而我們只能自己解決。有時(shí)候我無(wú)法給出一個(gè)答案，特別是當(dāng)這些創(chuàng)業(yè)想法都是創(chuàng)始人自己猜想出來(lái)的時(shí)候。
Intriguingly, there are sometimes multiple answers. I talked to a startup a few days ago that could grow into 3 distinct Microsofts. They'd probably vary in size by orders of magnitude. But you can never predict how big a Microsoft is going to be, so in cases like that I encourage founders to follow whichever path is most immediately exciting to them. Their instincts got them this far. Why stop now?
有趣的是，有時(shí)候我們能得到不同的多個(gè)答案。我在與一位創(chuàng)業(yè)者交流的過(guò)程中發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們的項(xiàng)目能夠往三個(gè)不同的方向獨(dú)立發(fā)展。就像你無(wú)法預(yù)測(cè)微軟到底能夠發(fā)展成多大規(guī)模一樣，在這種情況下，我通常鼓勵(lì)創(chuàng)業(yè)者選擇他們現(xiàn)在最感興趣的一個(gè)方向去做。是直覺(jué)將這些創(chuàng)業(yè)者帶到了現(xiàn)在這個(gè)階段，為什么現(xiàn)在要去阻止他們呢？
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