Home / How to Have Good Ideas (August 2026)

I often invest in early-stage founders who recently finished an incubator. Many have a sort of frantic energy - they are trying to do a lot but they also aren't quite sure what they are doing or why. I've felt this way too.

It got me thinking about whether collaboration or solitude is better for coming up with good ideas. I think it's both. Collaboration helps inspire you and it's a great way to learn and work through the idea maze, but it comes at the cost of distraction and group think. Whereas solitude is a great way for your brain to crunch all the data, but the process can be unpredictable and feel unproductive.

Obviously, you have to work hard, move fast, and talk to lots of people to build a successful startup. But I also think it's worth taking the occasional weekend to walk alone in the woods and let your mind defragment a bit. If you do, you might find that the ideas you come back to are simpler and more authentic, and I guess the worst case is that you'll return a little bit more relaxed.