The startup risk chain - 创业风险链
There are three types of risks involved in any startup: feasibility, value, and viability. 任何创业项目都涉及三种类型的风险：可行性风险、价值风险和可存活风险。
Feasibility risk: Can we actually build it? This is the classic engineering challenge. SpaceX, for instance, faced feasibility risk when developing its reusable self-landing rocket. 可行性风险：我们真的能构建它吗？这是经典的工程挑战。例如，SpaceX 在开发其可重复使用的自降落火箭时就面临了可行性风险。
Value risk: Can users extract value from it? This is the heart of product-market fit. Airbnb was a great example of value risk—most people initially thought it was a ridiculous idea, assuming no one would ever want to stay in a stranger’s home. 价值风险：用户能否从中获取价值？这是产品与市场契合的核心。Airbnb 是价值风险的一个典型例子——大多数人起初认为这个想法很荒谬，假设没人会愿意住在陌生人家里。
Viability risk: Can our business extract value from it? Facebook and Google famously struggled with viability risk early on. They knew they had a product people loved, but it took time and experimentation to find a sustainable business model. 可持续性风险：我们的业务能否从中获得价值？Facebook 和 Google 就曾因可持续性风险而广为人知。他们知道自己拥有用户喜爱的产品，但找到一个可持续的商业模式需要时间和反复试验。
The way these three types of risk interact is critical. Think of them as a chain: Feasibility → value → viability. 这三种风险之间的相互作用至关重要。可以将它们看作一个链条：可行性 → 价值 → 可持续性。
If your product isn’t technically feasible, the other two risks don’t matter. If it’s feasible but not valuable, you’re stuck again. And even if users love your product, you still have to figure out how to make money from it. 如果你的产品在技术上不可行，那么另外两种风险就无从谈起。如果它是可行的，但没有价值，你仍然会陷入困境。而即使用户喜欢你的产品，你仍然需要弄清楚如何从中赚钱。
Source: Excalidraw/Author’s illustration.
