I've spent my career finding out whether ideas are real.
I'm Maria Chilikov. In over a decade in tech, I've bootstrapped my own company, led product through hypergrowth and exit, and advised founders and the investors backing them. More recently, I've been working closely with early-stage founders and have seen first-hand how dramatically the path from idea to business is changing.
For decades, there was one dominant path to building a company: raise capital, hire a team, build a product, then find out if the idea was viable. That path has created remarkable companies, and it still does. But changes in the market, combined with widespread access to AI, have opened up another one.
More people can now have a genuine shot at building, regardless of their background or network. And more kinds of companies can exist, including businesses that may never have fit the traditional venture model, but still create enormous value for their founders, customers, and communities.
Seeing this shift, together with the growing number of people, from former bosses to students, asking me how to turn an idea into a business, inspired me to create the What If Challenge.
If you'd like to understand why I believe we're entering a new era of entrepreneurship, you can read the manifesto.
Find me elsewhere
- LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/mariakucheryavaya
- Writingcpomethod.substack.com