(Part of the One Month to the 1% series of posts)

I was both inspired and dismayed by today’s news that online photo-sharing/photo-filtering company Instagram had been acquired by Facebook for $1 billion.

I was inspired because it was evidence that times are good in the high-tech startup world.  Companies are being built, money is being made, stories are being formed.  A team of about a dozen people went from zero to $1 billion in just over 24 months.

I was dismayed because of the message it sends to young entrepreneurs: “Don’t focus on actual problems, and certainly don’t take big risks to make the world a better place.  You’ll be rewarded handsomely if you just make silly photo-sharing apps.”

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Project status: no progress today.