The Bird In Hand Principle: Starting With What You Have

In 2022, 43% of Americans dreamed of starting a business. Yet only 1.5% actually took the leap. What separates the dreamers from the doers?

Ben Silbermann, co-founder of Pinterest, once thought entrepreneurs were as unreachable as Michael Jordan. "I thought that what I should do is I should do business, but I didn't have any idea what doing business was," he confessed. So how did this starstruck admirer become a star himself?

The answer lies in a principle as old as folk wisdom and as fresh as modern entrepreneurship theory: the Bird In Hand Principle.

Certainty over potential: The Bird In Hand principle

Imagine you're walking through a forest. You spot a bird perched on a branch, and another flying high above. Which one would you try to catch? The wise choice, of course, is the bird within reach – the one in your hand.

In business, this translates to starting with what you have, rather than chasing after what you wish you had. The Bird In Hand Principle is part of Saras D. Sarasvathy's bigger idea is called effectuation² – creating opportunities based on your current resources, rather than an imagined ideal.

From cubicle to Pinterest pioneer

Fresh out of college, Silbermann found himself in a consulting job, tucked away in the IT department – hardly the glamorous tech career he'd envisioned. But fate has a funny way of intervening. One day, while idly browsing the internet from his cubicle, he stumbled upon TechCrunch, one of the early tech blogs gaining traction at the time.

As he read about startups like Yelp taking off, something clicked. "I remember having this feeling that this was the story of my time," Silbermann recalled, "and I was totally in the wrong place doing the wrong thing."

It's a sentiment many can relate to with AI today – that nagging feeling that you’re missing out on our generation's defining moment. But here's where Silbermann’s story takes an interesting turn.

Instead of just daydreaming about the tech world, he began to immerse himself in it. He started talking incessantly about tech with his girlfriend. He sought out people who were building and selling products. And in doing so, he discovered something crucial: passion is contagious.

"Even if you don't have a really specific plan of exactly what you're going to do," Silbermann later advised, "being close to people that inspire you is a really good first step."

Silbermann’s next move was to Google, where he landed a customer support role. It wasn't quite product development, but it was a foot in the door. He found himself taking data and turning it into product design recommendations. Yet frustration grew as he realized he was still on the outside looking in when it came to actually building products.

Silbermann kept complaining to his girlfriend about his desire to build a product. One night, she'd had enough. She told him he needed to either put up or shut up.

He needed to decide which bird to catch. Applying the Bird In Hand Principle, meant leveraging his experience in customer support at Google, his passion for collecting, and his belief in the future of smartphones and e-commerce. These were the birds in hand.

He quit his job at Google to build Tote, an app connecting consumers with retailers.

When Tote failed to take flight, Silbermann didn't give up. He took a deeper look, unknowingly applying the Bird In Hand Principle again. Again, he looked at what he had:

1. A deep understanding of collecting as a form of self-expression

2. Technical skills from his time at Google

3. A network of passionate tech enthusiasts

From these ingredients, Pinterest was born – a platform that unified fragmented collections into a single, shareable space.

Start with the bird in hand

The Bird In Hand Principle asks three crucial questions:

1. Who are you?

2. What do you know?

3. Who do you know?

These questions form the foundation of your unique starting point and help you navigate the idea maze of starting a business. They're not just about skills and connections, but about identity and passion. Silbermann's love for collecting wasn't just a hobby – it was a core part of who he was, and it became the heart of his successful business.

But here's the catch: you don't need to know everything to start. In fact, waiting until you feel 100% ready is a recipe for never starting at all. A good rule of thumb is to get about 70% of the information you think you need through pre-work. For the rest, you have two options:

1. Learn it yourself

2. Find people who compliment your weaknesses

This is why successful businesses are rarely solo ventures. They're collaborative efforts that bring together diverse skills and perspectives.

The beauty of the Bird In Hand Principle is that it removes the paralyzing question of "Where do I start?" You start with you – your experiences, your knowledge, your network. It turns your perceived limitations into your greatest assets.

Consider this: What if your "lack" of traditional business experience is actually an advantage? What if your unique combination of skills and interests is precisely what the market needs?

Entrepreneurship isn't about transforming into someone else. It's about leveraging who you already are. Your bird in hand might be just what you've been searching for.

The bird in hand is where your journey begins.

The answers provide you with enough awareness to start building something. It shows you where those ideas connect to your own studies, background, and interest.