Paul GrahamVerified account

A really successful startup always increases its own market. E.g. the microcomputer market grew after VisiCalc was invented, which only happened because microcomputers existed.

It's very dangerous for those in authority to require proof of the potential of an idea before allowing it to happen. The best ideas always embody this sort of self-growing cycle, but it tends to be impossible to predict, even by the people who have the idea.