I don't think it necessarily means "all ideas are the same". You're right -- some ideas may be better than others, but until they're executed successfully, they're just ideas.

ie: There were multiple ways that Google could have executed their goal of building a search engine (engineering, sales, etc). Even if you come up with a 'better' idea, it may not be successful/valuable if you execute it poorly and make the wrong decisions.

Except google's idea wasn't "search engine". Google's idea was "search engine that uses the PageRank algorithm". PageRank did not encompass all of the value of Google, but it did encompass much of it, and it was unequivocally part of the idea.

What you're effectively saying is that ideas have no value without good execution, which is of course true, but this is very different than saying they have no value, because after all, execution has no value without a good idea.

If the value is in "search engine that uses the PageRank algorithm", then theoretically you can take that idea and execute it to get the same value.

The difference isn't in the idea but the execution - hence the value.

I'm sorry, I don't follow.

EDIT: Oh I see what you mean now. By "you", you actually mean me. No, I couldn't, because Google has parlayed their initial good idea into a monopoly based on network effects, specifically the accrual of proprietary data (clicks) which I have no access to.

The idea was valuable in 1997. It's no longer.

If the value is in the idea, then multiple execution of the same idea should result in the same/similar values. But... this isn't true irl, therefore the differences in value isn't in the idea but the execution

Your error is in concluding that because execution matters, ideas don't matter. But that's erroneous. Both matter.

>when starting a company

i.e. "when executing"

But yes, other things being equal, the execution of a good idea is more valuable than the execution of a bad idea.

To recast what you are saying to remain congruent with the original premise, one might say ideas can have different potential value.

By that rephrasing, execution also only has potential value, since the value is only realized in conjunction with a good idea.

So if you want to keep any useful definition of "valuable", you have to concede that ideas can be valuable.