Make Meaning, Make Mantra

One of the best books I can recommend for start-up founders is Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start.

I read it about 6 months ago, and I thought it was full of sensible ideas, but as is usually the case with such things, I forgot most of it. Most people, me included, read a book like that when they’re thinking about starting something, which is exactly the problem. When I came back to it many months later, having actually done something, those same sensible ideas seemed vital, even ground-breaking.

I think a lot of young web start-up founders aim to create something cool, and then ask themselves many months later ‘what is the meaning of all this stuff?’

It’s amazing how many people struggle to answer that question. But if you think of all the problems that the world faces: global warming, water shortages, educational and health problems, obesity, an ageing population … there is no excuse not to have meaning behind what you do.

So why not start a business around one of these problems?