I’m a bit torn about IdeaSling.com. The site is trying to record ideas into the public domain with the hope that a motivated individual will love an idea they see and make it happen. The concept is romantic and fun, and it will probably be fairly popular, however, I’m highly skeptical that the core goal of the site will ever be reached in any significant way. Over the years, I’ve learned that ideas are a commodity. It’s easy to come up with an idea, but it’s hard to implement one.

As an example, my current company, Investment Instruments, started with a handful of people in a room for a weekend. Over that one weekend, we generated over a hundred ideas which we felt were worth pursuing. We spent a few months working through them to pick the best, and then finally began implementation, which will continue for several years at least. So, from one weekend generating ideas, to a few months evaluating ideas, to a few years implementing an idea, it’s clear where most of the effort is being expended.

Not to say that there aren’t brilliant, paradigm-shifting ideas out there, but they are few and far between and difficult to identify because of their very nature.

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