Choosing The Right Idea

One of the big questions for early stage entrepreneurs is “how do I choose the right idea to work on?”.  Given that not all ideas are equal, it’s worth taking the time to get this decision right – which is why we made this guide.

 

The biggest determining factors of success amongst founders are:

1) the perseverance of the founders.

2) the potential size of the market for their idea

Believe it or not, these factors are even more reliable predictors of success than the pedigree of the founding team and the amount of funding those founders receive.

And both of those factors are massively related to the idea the founders chose to create.

Ultimately, if you have a business built upon an idea which fits your personal purpose and aspirations in life, you'll be way more likely stick with that business through thick and thin. You'll live off ramen noodles and risk embarrassment, sacrifice weekends and put your own money into it... you'll persevere with it.

You'll attract people to you who also feel that the idea behind the business resonates with their aspirations and values. Meaning they'll be willing to go "above and beyond" too. Your customers will feel the authenticity of what you're doing, and be more forgiving of you as a result, more likely to support you and buy from you.

And, best of all... when it's all going well, you get to do something you love doing and is truly fulfilling.

So... to choose your idea worthy of turning into a reality, you need to weight it against your personal aspirations, likes and dislikes. Once you've chosen an idea, you then need to think big, get excited and paint a vision of how it will look in it's matured and most fantastic form – so that you avoid "iterating" and instead aim to create something truly remarkable for your first fans.

ACTIVITY

Idea and execution are not independent of each other. A   good   idea   –   one   that’s   in   sync   with   the   founding   team’s   personal aspirations  and  values  –  massively  impacts  their  perseverance,  excitement and   fulfilment. So,   this   assignment   asks   you   to   weigh   your   ideas   from Assignment  II  against  your  written  aspirations  from  Assignment  I.  And  to identify one idea that stands out. Because  that  will  be  the  idea  that  forms  the  strongest  foundation  for  your upcoming startup journey.

Does  that  idea  you  wrote  down  on  the  previous  page really make  you  come alive on the inside? Does  it  inspire  you,  scare  you  even?  Are  you  willing  to  sacrifice  to  make  it  a successful business? Be honest with yourself.

That worksheet was all about making sure you choose the idea that’s most synced with your “why”. If   none   of   the   ideas   you’ve   had   fit   your why well   enough,   then keep ideating. Do not try and start a business that doesn’t fit your why.


The Tribes We Lead – Seth Godin | video

This brief Ted talk from Seth Godin introduces the importance of creating movements by finding "your tribe", a group of people with a common problem looking for someone to lead them and represent them. With the internet-connected state of our world, it's easier than ever to find your tribe for the problems you want to address – making his "Tribes" perspective more relevant than ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=589tH-wtCak

ACTIVITY II – IMAGINE WHAT USERS LOVE

With  your  chosen  idea,  the  idea  that  reverberates  deep  within  you  and  is worth  turning  into  a  reality,  it’s  worth  getting  excited  about  what  you’re creating  before  diving into  the  technicalities.  Imagining  something  truly amazing  that  your  tribe  of  users  will  love  –  will  get  your  potential  tribe  of users  excited  about  what  you’re  building and will  make  you  stand  out  from the  hundreds  of  new  ideas  being  launched  every  day.  Not  to  mention  it’ll inspire you too!

What does your idea look like in reality?

think about what it does, it's primary features, and whether it's exciting to you…

Why are you even imagining this solution?

is there an underlying purpose or bigger vision behind your idea? (hint: there always is)

Who is your tribe?

when you launch your idea, who are the people with whom your purpose, story and product will truly resonate with. As Seth Godin rightly says, Tribes are the most powerful way to create movements and realise new concepts.

How can you make it remarkable and for whom?

Can  you  imagine  your  solution  as  being  10x  better  than  anything  else  out there? Don’t worry about it being realistic; worry about going from Zero to One.



Imagining  something  your  tribe  will  love  is  a  massive  step.  Even  if  it’s  not something  you  can  feasibly  create  in  the  foreseeable  future  –  it’s  something to aim for, something to excite people and yourself with, and something from which you can begin building more feasible versions right now.