There are these tempting startup ideas that you would better leave unpursued or pivoting away from fast.

Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel discuss these seemingly irresistible startup ideas that are almost too good to be true—and that's precisely why they likely are—or are they?

They are too good to be true because they might be so called tarpit ideas. Ideas that seem obviously awesome at first, but even appearing to be fantastic opportunities to many, they harbor deep-seated issues that could doom entire venture.

Therefore, you must have compelling reasons to pursue these apparent gold rush opportunities. Tarpit ideas metaphorically represent all projects that ensnare you in situations where you expend significant effort but achieve minimal progress.

I find these ideas fascinating because it often seems not to be the technological advancement that keeps great developments from happening, but rather human factors, as we discuss in the startup idea examples.

Perhaps my interest sometimes appears as default skepticism, but I am genuinely eager to explore these ideas and delve into (yes, I said it…) the crucial question of “Why now?”.

Don’t shy away from the fact that very smart, very well-funded, very determined teams have tried them before. Maybe now is just the right point in time for the idea to find its fitness.