Just Because a Startup “Could” Exist…

All the reasons why you shouldn’t run with that billion-dollar idea

Joe Procopio
5 min readNov 20, 2023

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On a random Tuesday in the startup press universe, I tripped over another article about another peer-to-peer fashion rental app landing another high-seven-figure seed round from VC investors. And I’m not gonna bury this particular company but… I just want to ask a simple question.

Does the world need this app?

Full Disclosure: I Do NOT Understand Fashion

For the unfashionable among us, fashion rental apps are exactly what they sound like. I’ve got this $500 pair of pants in my closet that I’m never going to wear again, and if you’re among the unlucky people in my size range, you can rent them from me and send them back when you’re done wearing them.

Sounds like fun.

But this is way beyond the scope of my understanding. In my mind, there are tons of perfectly good Old Navys and Marshallses and I think there are even a few JCPenneys left, offering high-quality fashions at a fraction of designer costs.

So, like I said, I’m not going to scream at a bunch of trendy kids to get off my lawn. I’m going to assume they know what they’re doing.

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Joe Procopio
Joe Procopio

Written by Joe Procopio

I'm a multi-exit, multi-failure entrepreneur. AI pioneer. Technologist. Innovator. Humanist. Write at Inc.com and BuiltIn.com. More about me at joeprocopio.com