Name: The single biggest reason why start-ups succeed
Uploaded: 2015-06-01T15:13:45Z
Duration: 6 min 30 s
Description: Bill Gross has founded a lot of start-ups, and incubated many others -- and he got curious about why some succeeded and others failed. So he gathered data from hundreds of companies, his own and other people's, and ranked each company on five key factors. He found one factor that stands out from the others -- and surprised even him.

Bill Gross has founded a lot of start-ups, and incubated many others -- and he got curious about why some succeeded and others failed. So he gathered data from hundreds of companies, his own and other people's, and ranked each company on five key factors. He found one factor that stands out from the others -- and surprised even him.

The single biggest reason why start-ups succeed

The single most critical factor in whether a startup thrives or fails is timing, outpacing even the originality of the idea or the strength of the team. In a study of over 200 companies, timing explained 42 percent of the difference between success and failure. Airbnb and YouTube soared because they launched when the world was ready, while other ventures with strong backing lagged due to poor market timing. Even great execution and business models cannot make up for a market that is not prepared.