"A lot of the best tech startups are ideas that have been around for years"

A lot of the best tech startups are ideas that have been around for years but the time is finally right. *

Some people get jaded. “We tried X years ago” and summarily dismiss. But then eventually the time is right and it works. *

Examples include touch computing, virtual reality, and many areas of artificial intelligence. *

Or as pmarca says:

In tech, “I tried that 20 years ago and it didn’t work” is a positive predictor, not a negative predictor