# Find the bottleneck before you abandon an idea

Markdown copy of https://realalpha.app/s/find-the-bottleneck-before-you-abandon-an-idea/ on Real Alpha, the best minutes from long interviews with the people building AI. Cite and link the page, not this copy.

- Speaker: [Anton Osika](https://realalpha.app/builders/anton-osika/) · Anton Osika is cofounder of Lovable. · Founded Lovable, the platform for building apps by chatting with AI, after creating open-source GPT-Engineer.
- Host: [Marina Mogilko](https://realalpha.app/people/marina-mogilko/) · Host, Silicon Valley Girl · Co-founded LinguaTrip and built Linguamarina, an English-learning YouTube channel with almost 9M subscribers.
- Show: Silicon Valley Girl
- Episode: [$13B Lovable Co-Founder: Build a Profitable AI Product From Scratch in 30 Minutes](https://realalpha.app/v/KEAYPqQG2-M/), Sep 22, 2026
- Moment: 24:56 to 27:59 of the episode (3 min), playing on https://realalpha.app/s/find-the-bottleneck-before-you-abandon-an-idea/; the episode from there: https://realalpha.app/v/KEAYPqQG2-M/?t=1496

## Quote

> “I think it's being good at **spotting that bottleneck**. Why is the idea not working yet?”
> — [Anton Osika](https://realalpha.app/builders/anton-osika/) at [27:18](https://realalpha.app/v/KEAYPqQG2-M/?t=1638) · Silicon Valley Girl

## Takeaways

1. Building and testing ideas refines creativity.
2. Check whether an idea can become big enough to pursue.
3. Diagnose the bottleneck before switching ideas.

## About this segment

Anton Osika argues that creativity matters more as execution gets easier, and that building sharpens creative judgment. To decide whether to persist, identify what is blocking progress: customers, marketing, or the product itself.

From “$13B Lovable Co-Founder: Build a Profitable AI Product From Scratch in 30 Minutes”, Sep 22, 2026. [Watch the full episode](https://realalpha.app/v/KEAYPqQG2-M/)

## Transcript

Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.

[25:09](https://realalpha.app/v/KEAYPqQG2-M/?t=1509) And because ideas can be deployed that fast now, do you think ideas still matter these days? Because remember how people used to say, idea doesn't matter because you have to build it. You have to deliver on it. The ideas are becoming more important. I think the creativity is the biggest differentiator as the execution becomes easier. and you can even if you're curious and smart about it you can figure out how do I make lovable run in the background and do work for me when I'm not there so that you can really focus on the next big idea for your business and lean into the creative parts. How do you develop your creativity? Any ideas? I love that question. Do you go to museums? Look at art? Being bored I know is good for creativity but I think every person has creativity within them and the best way to

[26:06](https://realalpha.app/v/KEAYPqQG2-M/?t=1566) improve and increase your creativity is you know sophisticating it by trying to build and by taking your ideas and putting them to the test and when you're doing that feedback loop that's actually when you're the creativity that everyone has becomes more refined and more more applicable and you actually have more useful ideas and when you have so many ideas how do you like when do you stop and tell yourself this is what i'm going to work on just because in this world where it's easy to build ideas and you have so many ideas how do you select the one that is really worth pursuing i still struggle with this so um so sometimes you want to really push through even though with you you realize that the problem was harder than you thought and sometimes you should say hold on with that idea I'm going to take the next idea and then I'm going to take the next idea until you find something that really works.

[27:07](https://realalpha.app/v/KEAYPqQG2-M/?t=1627) The way to do it, I think it's just you learn skill to develop in terms of is this thing, how big can this thing become? And why isn't it working as I want it to work yet? Is it just me being out talking to more people? Is it me being better, have to be better at marketing? Or is it that the product has some bugs and glitches that make people not retain? I think it's being good at spotting that bottleneck.

[27:34](https://realalpha.app/v/KEAYPqQG2-M/?t=1654) Why is the idea not working yet? That makes you become good at deciding, should I continue? Should I take the next idea? Yeah, and I also think the scale, because I read your story how you realized that you're going to build the last piece of software.