This is a really good article. There's no exact path, though startup media likes to make you think there is. Raise tons of money? Raise no money? Ad supported? SaaS? Is this trend over? None of it really matters. Go for what you will commit yourself to, put a plan to it, and make sure that you're happy with what it can produce. That's the biggest issue. Many founders will start lifestyle businesses, want to turn them into VC backed ones, and start to mutate what they're working on. During that mutation things go very awry. Know who you are and embrace it.
Great post. This reminds me of Tim Ferriss' description of identifying good business ideas and / or approaches to learning new things (like languages). Three simple questions (which I've defined in terms of business, but they are broadly applicable):
1. Effective - will the business actually make money?
2. Adherence - is it a business you can stick with and commit to over the long haul?
3. Efficiency - will the business make you money in a way that uses time efficiently.
Listed in priority order. Great way of evaluating potential business ideas for me. #2 is particularly useful as a filter, as there are LOTS of ways to make money, but a much more limited set of ideas that you actually want to do long term.
