# Discover new ideas by optimizing for growth

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2013-07-14

essays, paul-graham, startup, uncategorized

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The fascinating thing about optimizing for growth is that it can actually discover startup ideas. You can use the need for growth as a form of evolutionary pressure. If you start out with some initial plan and modify it as necessary to keep hitting, say, 10% weekly growth, you may end up with a quite different company than you meant to start. But anything that grows consistently at 10% a week is almost certainly a better idea than you started with.

\-Paul Graham

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/discover-new-ideas-by-optimizing-for-growth)*