Agreed. Just like everything else, the ideas hold more power based on who they are coming from. Eric is a stellar individual with a trail of success behind him - and I'm not taking anything away from him with this comment, but if I were to go to a set of worthy investors and corporations pitching this idea - I'd be laughed out of the room as naive.
I don't know if this is as true as you think. First of all, I've been laughed out of a lot of rooms for pitching this idea. Hundreds, by now.
Further, although many VC's are indeed herd animals as you seem to suggest, there are a few bold ones who genuinely hunt for new and radical ideas and would be willing to back a first-time founder - if you're willing to do the work.
Thanks for the response Eric. My point is about the audacity of the idea. Specifically, to open a new financial market place of the magnitude it would take to be viable, one would need - 1. significant experience in the space to understand the nuances, what's working, what's broken, etc. 2. Sizable investments and talent for operations (scale, uptime, compliance, etc.), 3. A well thought through G2M strategy (including derivatives, indices, options, day trading, HFT, etc.), 4. A broker network, 5. A true, unambiguous differentiator that is viable, measurable, enforceable, and timely.
