Quiz: Will Your Startup Make It Big?

1. Pick a buzzword/phrase.a) Disruptb) Monetizationc) Design thinkingd) Thought leader
2. What technology will you use?a) Mobile appsb) Artificial intelligencec) Hardware — we’re building a physical deviced) Blockchain
3. Which of the following have you said?a) “You won’t win unless you break the rules.”b) “Privacy is dead.”c) “Form over function.”d) “I’ll handle the business side of things.”
4. What industry/area are you disrupting?a) Some public serviceb) Social mediac) The futured) Finance
5. What exactly are you making?a) Uber for ________________.b) Step 1: Facial recognition. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit!c) The Platonic form of beauty.d) I’m not making anything, the engineers are!
6. How would you describe your ideal engineers?a) Ninjasb) Hackersc) Rockstarsd) Unpaid interns

If you got mostly…

A: Yikes! You disrupted so hard that you broke several federal and state laws in the process, and now both the government and your underpaid workers are suing the hell out of you. Turns out those “inefficient” regulations you were out to disrupt were there for a reason!

B: Dammit, you can’t just go around stealing people’s faces! …Or can you? Somehow, everyone loves your new app, despite all the privacy violations you’re committing, and venture capital firms are pouring millions of dollars into your company! I hate this world.

C: Well, if that isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing product I’ve seen in my life! Too bad that between the exorbitant price and the fact that it doesn’t actually solve a real problem, no one’s actually using it. Back to the drawing — ahem, I mean post-it — board, I guess.

D: There are entire research labs which have been working for years on your idea, and you expect an undergrad who’s just taken the intro CS core to figure it out in a month for no pay?! Sorry, buddy, but schmoozing with your MBA friends isn’t the kind of “networking” that can fix this problem.

Quiz: Will Your Startup Make It Big? was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.