When Someday Is Now
October 5, 2026
By Chris Heivly, Managing Director at Build The Fort and Startup Community EIR @ Techstars
Most people have a business idea but never take the first step, and with community support, free resources, and AI now within reach, there's no better time to stop waiting for someday and start.
I do keynotes all over the world, and I have a fun, little ritual I run in nearly every room. I ask how many people in the audience have a business idea, and about 98 percent of the hands go up. It's a beautiful sight, a whole ballroom of people holding a dream in the air like they're bidding at an auction. Then I ask them to keep their hand up if they've taken the first step toward making that idea real. Nearly every hand drops at once, and the room gets quiet in a way that tells me I've revealed something special. “Someday I will work on this idea” is what their silence is telling me.
I used to be that person, sitting on an idea for months and telling myself I'd get to it once things calmed down, once I had more money, once the kids were older, once I knew more. Someday is a very comfortable place to live. It has great weather, no risk, and no one can ever tell you your idea failed, because it never left your head. The problem is that someday has no deadline.
But a lot has changed over the last 5 years, and I think the excuses are running out. It has never been easier to take that first step. There is your community, a group of people nearby who've been where you are and would honestly love to help you get moving. There is a world full of accessible content, which means whatever part of this worries you, whether that's validating the idea, pricing it, or finding your first customer, someone has already explained it, usually for free, and usually better than you'd expect. And now there is AI, which will sit with you at 11 p.m. and help you sketch a plan, pressure-test the idea, or draft the awkward first email you've been avoiding for six months. It's a patient collaborator that never gets tired of your questions.
So the old reasons for waiting — that you don't know enough, don't know anyone, or don't know where to start — have mostly been answered. What's left is the decision itself, and that part is still yours.
The first step doesn't need to be a big hairy monster. Make the call, write the page, or ask the question. Just make it a step that moves your hand from "someday" to "I started."
The next time I ask you to raise your hand, I'd love for yours to stay up. Someday is now.
