The Promises and Perils of the Hollywood-Style Elevator Pitch

Hollywood wheeler-dealers are famous for pitching new movies to studios with a formula that combines two successful old movies. Robert Altman’s 1992 comedy The Player fictionalized pitchmen who proposed such fantastic ideas as “Out of Africa meets Pretty Woman” and “Ghost meets The Manchurian Candidate.”

Google has announced that it will become Alphabet, a conglomerate—that old-fangled complex corporate structure popular in the 1970s.

Could the conglomerate structure, as Google is defining Alphabet, represent the boldest and most innovative move yet within the entire class of super-tech companies?

Google is not the first company to confront the dominant-logic problem, which can cause successful companies to self-destruct, but it is doing so in a way that both challenges and appeals to Wall Street.

“Every moment I have with my kids I realize is something I can’t buy back. No matter how much money I make or how powerful I get, I can’t buy time.” – Ryan Carson, Founder and CEO, Treehouse

My enlightened yoga practicing mediating self has my thumbs way up. Think about the positive consequences – the children and friends of these people will be more connected. Their hearts and nervous systems and overall health will benefit from being disconnected from work for three full days per week. How enlightened.

When is the best time to begin thinking about your business model?

Now.

If you are wondering about how your business will generate revenue and profitability to grow, then start if you haven’t already. But first let’s clear up some myths that plague early stage founders and intrapreneurs when they start tinkering with a new idea: