This is timeless advice for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists when it comes to funding and starting businesses:

“Make and invest in things that people want.”

Forgetting the money, partners, business plans and stresses of it all – it is nice to be able to cut away all the noise for a second to think about THE important issue in a new venture.

David Hornik has a great post discussing a few key acxioms in “Paul Graham is Today’s Prius.” My favorite part:

Paul notes, the easiest way to make something that people want is to make something that you want. Yahoo! started out as a directory of Jerry and Dave’s favorite links. Movable Type was born out of Mena’s need for a better way to talk about herself. Jonathan started Friendster to find a girlfriend. Zuckerberg started FaceBook to find a girlfriend. Joe and Alon started JDate to find Jewish girlfriends. Ted started Dogster to find his dog a date. If you build something you want, chances are pretty good that someone else with want it as well. That has proven true time and time again — from Apple to Google to Noah’s Bagels.