I've often heard it said (and for that matter, I've often said myself) that when starting a growth company (one that's likely to be looking for investment capital from angels or VCs) the entrepreneur's concept has to be compelling - not just a "want" but a "need" - a "must have" as opposed to a "nice to have". But I have to admit, I occasionally have second thoughts about "need" versus "want".

Then today I ran across VC Don Rainey's blog post: 6 Easy Steps to a Great Idea (Or one that turns out great. Don talks about figuring out what people currently (or will) want, as opposed to what they need:

This is distinctly different than something people currently or will need. People need healthy food but any hour long drive down any Interstate highway in the United States should convince you they "want" crappy fast food. Maybe they "should" want something but that doesn't mean they ever will want it. They want $3 oily, bitter coffee from Starbucks because it is conveniently offered whenever and wherever they want it.

So I had to revisit this whole question of want versus need, and the more I think about it, the more I think Don is right. An iPhone is not a "must have". My old Treo worked just fine. But I decided I wanted an iPhone enough to buy one (and enough to buy a second one when the first one started having problems 2 months after the warranty expired.) And I don't think the sub-woofer I bought a couple of months ago was a "must have" either - but I sure like the way the floor vibrates when the T-Rex footsteps send ripples through the coffee cup in Jurasic Park.

The word "compelling" still works for me. I decided that both the iPhone and the sub-woofer were compelling, albeit for different reasons. So in the future, I'll shy away from the "must have" label, and stick with the need for identifying a compelling need. And with that, it's time to read another post on the new iPad. I have to decide just how compelling that latest tech toy is...