In start-up land, companies are frequently compared to babies. Nobody wants to hear that their baby is ugly, but the truth of the matter is that some babies are ugly. Likewise, some ideas are not very good ideas and some companies are not very good companies. Obviously the comparison isn't perfect because you don't kill an ugly baby like you kill a bad company, but that's just the terminology that's used.
I just got back from a business plan competition at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and someone called my baby ugly. Like any good parent, I don't believe them and I'm not quite ready to give up. However, I am a little bit more sensitive now and it might just be the first indication that my business won't stack up when it comes down to it.
Is your baby ugly?
