How a company approaches the process of idea generation determines its ultimate success and can significantly reduce the odds of failure. A closed feedback loop converting capital to ideas to profits back to ideas is imperative to gain the insights necessary to launch revolutionary products.

You do not need a great idea to start with; you only need a sufficient margin of (financial) safety and the ability to learn quickly from mistakes to guide you to fundamental insights and great products.

Building this structured idea generation process from day one is also essential to adapt to changing market trends throughout the company’s life.

Microsoft for example did not start with Windows, they started with a single programming language called Basic which was much less likely to fail. Multiple subsequent product iterations funded the huge undertaking that was Windows with sufficient margin of safety.