Guillermo Flor recently shared something that caught my attention: "Have you ever thought of starting a startup but keep telling yourself you can't? Maybe you find your excuse here👇" He added that it was based on Paul Graham's "Why not not start a startup," and ended with a simple nudge: send it to a friend who is thinking of building.

That combination hits because it names the real problem. Most people do not lack ideas. They lack permission - from themselves. They collect reasons to wait until life gets quieter, risk gets smaller, confidence gets higher, or the path gets clearer.

I want to expand on Guillermo's point in a practical way: what those excuses usually sound like, what they are protecting you from, and what to do next if you actually want to build.

The real enemy is not failure - it is indefinite postponement

Guillermo's question is uncomfortable because it forces a binary: either you want to start a startup, or you want to keep the idea of starting one.

The idea is safe. The reality is not. Reality includes:

Talking to customers who do not care
Shipping something imperfect
Seeing competitors move faster
Being wrong in public

So the mind generates excuses that feel rational. They are rarely lies. They are just incomplete truths.

If you wait for certainty, you will wait forever.

Paul Graham's framing (and Guillermo's reference to it) matters here: sometimes the best question is not "Why start?" but "Why not not start?" In other words, what are you giving up by continually choosing not to try?

The most common startup excuses (and what they usually mean)

Below are excuses I hear constantly, plus the hidden fear underneath and a healthier reframe.

1) "I do not have the right idea"

What it often means: you want an idea that guarantees a good outcome.

Reframe: you need a problem worth exploring, not a perfect idea. Start with a narrow group of people you understand and a painful workflow you can observe.

Practical next step:

Write down 10 problems you have personally faced at work or in life.
Pick the one with the clearest buyer and a visible cost (time, money, risk).
Talk to 10 people this week who live in that problem.

2) "The market is too crowded"

What it often means: you are comparing your day 1 to someone else's year 5.

Reframe: crowded markets are proof that budgets exist. The question becomes: can you win a niche with a sharper wedge?

Examples of wedges:

A single persona (for example, compliance leads, not "enterprises")
A single workflow step (for example, onboarding, not "HR")
A single distribution channel (for example, Shopify app store)

3) "I am not technical" (or "I am not business")

What it often means: you do not know how to start without a cofounder.

Reframe: your first job is not to build software. It is to validate a customer and a value proposition. You can do that with:

A landing page
A spreadsheet workflow
A concierge service
No-code tools

Once value is proven, building becomes easier to justify - and easier to recruit for.

4) "I do not have time"

What it often means: your calendar reflects your current identity, not the one you want.

Reframe: you do not need full-time time to begin. You need protected blocks and a tight scope.

Try this:

Two 90-minute sessions per week for customer conversations
One 2-hour session on the weekend to synthesize and write a simple offer
A rule: no building until you have repeated demand signals

5) "I need more money"

What it often means: you want to buy certainty.

Reframe: early-stage startups are usually constrained by focus, not capital. Many great businesses start as services, pre-sales, or small experiments.

A simple test:

Can you get a letter of intent?
Can you get a pilot commitment?
Can you get paid to do the work manually first?

Money follows clarity.

6) "I am afraid it will fail"

What it often means: failure feels like identity damage.

Reframe: treat the first version as research, not a verdict. Your job is to run a sequence of small bets that teach you what to do next.

The goal is not to be right immediately. The goal is to learn faster than you lose motivation.

What "sending it to a friend" really signals

Guillermo's line about sending the post to a friend is not just a call to share. It is a reminder that entrepreneurship is social.

If you are stuck in your own head, your excuses get smarter. When you talk to people, reality interrupts the story.

Here are three types of friends to involve early:

The truth-teller: they challenge your vague claims and force specifics
The customer proxy: they resemble your target user and can react quickly
The builder: they like shipping and will pull you toward action

Even one weekly check-in reduces the chance you drift back into postponement.

A simple framework to move from excuse to action

When you catch yourself thinking "I cannot because..." run this sequence.

Step 1: Name the excuse precisely

Not "I cannot start." Instead: "I cannot start because I do not have an idea I am confident in." Precision turns anxiety into a solvable problem.

Step 2: Shrink the commitment

Starting a startup sounds like quitting your job and raising money.

A smaller commitment sounds like:

"I will do 10 customer calls in 10 days"
"I will publish a one-page problem statement and ask for feedback"
"I will try to get one person to pay"

Step 3: Replace guessing with contact with reality

Most excuses thrive in isolation. The antidote is contact:

Customers
Data
A prototype someone can react to

Step 4: Decide what would change your mind

This is crucial. If you do not define success criteria, you can always move the goalposts.

Examples:

"If 3 out of 10 people ask to use it, I will build a prototype"
"If nobody cares after 20 conversations, I will switch problems"

If you are still hesitating, ask the Paul Graham style question

Guillermo referenced Paul Graham for a reason. That essay is provocative because it flips the burden of proof.

Instead of demanding a flawless plan, ask:

What is the cost of waiting one more year?
What skills would I gain even if the idea changes?
What relationships would I build by trying?

Many people do not regret failed experiments. They regret never running them.

Closing thought

Guillermo Flor's post is short, but the invitation is big: stop hiding behind respectable excuses and test your desire in the real world.

If you see yourself in the opening line - "Have you ever thought of starting a startup but keep telling yourself you can't?" - do not argue with the feeling. Run a small experiment this week that makes the question concrete. Then decide based on evidence, not fear.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by Guillermo Flor, Angel Investor | Founder Product Market Fit. View the original LinkedIn post ->