In the previous article, I wrote about what entrepreneurship is (and what its not), and also highlighted some of the myths of entrepreneurship. In this article, we will look at how to identify Startup ideas by being creative, or through the brainstorming process and finally how to filter through ideas generated in order to choose the right problem worth solving by your business idea.
Finding Startup Ideas
Apparently, for you to be in business, you will need to come up with an idea. And probably the question on your mind is, “how do great entrepreneurs come up with ideas?” There are many approaches to business idea generation which include but are not limited to the following:
- Listing your own frustrations and creating a solution to address them.
It could even be problems in the community you live, or global issues. Consider both the frequent problems and the high intensity problems. - Looking at current solutions and asking, if there is a better way to address a given problem (innovation)?
- Thinking big.
- Listening to customers.
- Getting inspired by existing great startups.
There are many approaches to business idea generation…The only wrong approach is to think that the perfect idea will just come to you already made.
The only wrong approach is to think that the perfect idea will just come to you already made. Great business ideas come from having lots of ideas and thinking innovatively to improve upon old ideas. You might be thinking, “Don`t I need to be creative to have ideas?” Well, like most skills, creativity can be developed and improved. You need to become more aware of your environment and take note of things that aren’t working or where there’s a need. To become more aware of your environment and possible problems that need solving, you could try taking a different route to school or work every day. Try new activities or foods. Good ideas can come at any time. Just be ready to make a note in your phone or notepad.
Feyi Adanlawo, volunteer with Teens Going for Gold Network holding up a throw pillow that was made by participants of Teach a Teen in Lagos.
The Brainstorming Process
Is your goal to improve peoples` lives, to be your own boss, or to change the world? It is important to stay true to your values and enjoy what you do.
To generate Startup ideas through the brainstoriming process, start by asking yourself why you are starting a business. Is your goal to improve peoples` lives, to be your own boss, or to change the world? It is important to stay true to your values and enjoy what you do. Next, pick an industry you are truly interested in. Make a list of problems in that industry. Make sure you are solving a real need and not just trying to think of something cool. Find a balance between being too specific and being too vague. Being too specific is when you try to force a solution you have in mind whereas being too vague is when you create a generic question like how would you solve world hunger?
Remember that there is no magical formula for the perfect idea, but its important to be passionate about what you are working on and feel confident in its potential.
Besides listening to customers who are not completely satisfied with their current products or services, another way to find a niche in a market is to find ways to appeal to customers who are not currently served in the industry. You can also take time to look for under served customers and find their frustrations. During the brainstorming process, try not to filter anything out, write it all down. It might seem silly at the time but trust me, it could lead to something great. Remember that there are NO BAD PROBLEMS TO SOLVE. During the process, do the following:
- Build on concepts – ask “how might this work?” or “why wouldn’t it work?”
- Write down ALL problems – no matter how silly, they can build to something great!
- Go for quantity – this isn’t the time to be filtering yet, that comes later.
Things to avoid during the brainstorming process!
- Thinking that it has
- already been done.
- Waiting only for “quality” ideas.
- Focusing on the solution instead of the problem.
Filtering The Ideas
After you have made a list of 20 to 30 potential problems to solve, you can then filter them down. Check each item roughly against your personal interest (is it something you will be excited to solve?) and potential (would you be solving a real need that has the opportunity to be different from other offerings in the market?) Determine which items on your list score high on both dimensions and narrow it to a few.
You can further review your list by doing some research and getting input from others. If you find yourself leaning towards an idea, even if its not the highest ranked, that’s fine. Remember that there is no magical formula for the perfect idea, but its important to be passionate about what you are working on and feel confident in its potential.
In this article, I talked about strategies for finding startup ideas, including ways to find potential problems to solve through brainstorming, and choose the right problem by filtering. In our next article, I will discuss on how to better understand the needs of your customers through performing interviews and lots more.
