The Death of "de novo.” “De nono.” “Startup, Shutdown.”

These were all headlines considered for this week’s feature on the sharp slowdown in de novo banking, both at home and nationwide. Given an, at-best, anemic economy, a horrible employment picture and rock-bottom consumer sentiment, it’s easy to think we may never see another bank startup again.

Certainly, it’s easy for would-be bank entrepreneurs to look at things as they are and say, “Forget it. I’d just as soon hang on to my money than pour it down the bottomless pit that is a bank startup.” Or, more likely, to pool it with another investor and buy into an already established, and hopefully profitable, bank.

But, as they say, if it was easy, everyone would do it. And in America, few if any great success stories were ever written by those standing on the sidelines.

Conventional wisdom says to buy when everyone else is selling. Easier said than done, of course, but in this case, we can’t help but agree.

Now is exactly the time to start a bank. For every argument against de novo banking, there’s a better counter-argument.

“Regulators are exceptionally strict right now,” opponents say.

An honest startup, with a solid business plan and experienced, respected leadership, should welcome strict oversight. If one has nothing to hide, one presumptively may have nothing to lose.

“The market is oversaturated. We’re all competing for a shrinking pool,” the established players lament.

Since when have successful entrepreneurs been afraid of competition? It seems logical to assume that they think they know something the competition doesn’t, or that they at least have an advantage of some kind – otherwise, why would they be starting up to begin with? New competition, we’ve found, is really only scary to the established competitors.

“The volume of unqualified loan applicants dwarfs quality prospects, so why waste time, effort and money trying to find those that slip through the cracks?” scoff bored loan originators.

Truly, and in keeping with our truism-laden premise, one man’s trash is another’s treasure. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yes, consumers may be tentative these days, and yes, risks abound. But a sluggish American bottom line doesn’t necessarily translate into a slowdown in American ingenuity.

Forget building our way out of this slump, or even spending our way out. The only way Massachusetts, and America, is really going to thrive is by innovating our way out. By doing things differently, and better, than anyone else.

How many times have we heard some variation of the classic “Everyone told me no, but I kept going until someone said yes” American success story? What sounds outlandish or unduly risky today might be tomorrow’s Google. We think, on balance, that betting on American inventiveness is a risk worth taking.

We think the time to start fresh is right now. A bank starting today has never made a failed business loan. Has never had to cut principal balance and lose money on a struggling homeowner. Has never watched the next great downtown development project crash and burn for lack of financing and options.

In short, a fresh start is an exceptionally valuable thing. Without the darkness of previous struggle weighing them down, entrepreneurs, and their would-be clients, are free to look to the sunrise of the future.

Yes, there are challenges. And they cannot and should not be belittled.

But truly, we think the complacency of inaction should be replaced with the optimism of a new beginning.

This is what made America great, and it is what will sustain our greatness going forward.