How To Generate Good Ideas For Your Startup
If some people are asked to mention the first thing you needed to establish a successful venture. I am sure that many people wold say “money” first. Though money is very important, but the first most important thing that a person needs to start a business is generating good ideas for the startup. According to Harvey S. Firestone. “Capital isn’t that important in business. Experience isn’t that important. You can get both of these things. What is important is ideas”. This is the starting point.
The problem is generating a good ideas for a startup, especially as many of us have been brought up in an environment in which we are made to believe that coming up with good ideas is the exclusive domain of “creative people.” Creative people are traditionally said to be people that are particularly gifted, artistic, imaginative, inventive and the traditional belief is that not many people are like that. However, this is not true as every human being is creative or imaginative to some degree except that you are not conscious of it. Some people may be better in certain areas than others, which may help but id does not mean that those that are not so endowed cannot develop such capabilities if they want. This is why I like what the Bible says that “nothing is impossible to those that believe.
One of the main differences between entrepreneurs and others is that while other people see problems and do not like problems, entrepreneurs see opportunities when they see problems as such problems become a source of generating ideas. In other words, they turn problems into opportunities and through self-belief and confidence, they do not need to know all the answers or how it is going to end. They are motivated to take action to do something about how to solve the problem. Without a problem to be solved, the business idea is just another idea, as nobody is going to pay for what he or she does not need.
Drucker’s Seven Sources of Innovative Opportunity
There are many methods of generating startup ideas which can be found on the internet as this site is not going to go into such technicalities. Many ideas are generated by people when they least expect, for example, there is a musician that was interviewed and he said that he gets his musical ideas while using the toilet. Others may have ideas while driving or while sleeping or while gardening etc., but the most important thing is writing down the idea. Peter Drucker, the father of modern management states “Innovation does not come as a tempest, but with the rustling of the wind” This shows that, contrary to the traditionally held belief, innovative ideas is not only the one leading to new knowledge or the big new thing, but ideas that bring systematic changes such as redesign of a process or a product, a response to the unexpected, or a change in demographics or popular perception. Innovation that generates the greatest impact is not often revolutionary or invention of a new product, but a change in an existing business model that creates consumer demand.
Drucker identifies “Seven Sources of Innovative Opportunity” and is of the opinion that purposeful and systematic innovation starts with recognition and analysis of opportunities. According to him, the first four lie within the business or industry. Though they are basically “symptoms”, but they are reliable indicators of changes that have already taken place or which can be made to occur with little effort. The second set involves changes outside the business or industry.
| High Reliability and Sources Within the Business or Industry | Low Reliability and Changes Outside the Enterprise or Industry |
| Unexpected Successes and Unexpected Failures | Changes in Demographics |
| Incongruities | Changes in Meaning and Perception |
| Process Needs | New Knowledge |
| Changes in Industry and Market Structure |
Source: Drucker’s Seven Sources of Innovative Opportunity
We are are not going to go through the steps in detail here, but it is a very good source for generating business ideas for a startup or new business. There is no difference in principle between innovation and entrepreneurship. Innovation may be defined as successfully exploiting an idea and turning it into commercial value or social value to change lives. This may be something completely new or an improvement to an old thing or process that adds more value to it. According to Drucker, “innovation is specific tool of entrepreneurs…… and they need to know and apply the principles of successful innovation”. This means that the same sources above can be used to generate good start-up ideas.
In his book “Innovate or Die”, Professor Jack Maston of Penn State University states “…ideas are raw material for innovation and must be captured on paper and transferred into Idea Journal.” In other words, he is recommending that if we are interested in turning our ideas into innovation, we should have an Idea Journal, a book or method for recording our ideas. This is the only way of knowing that the idea exists so that it can help us to investigate the idea further and take it through the innovation process. An idea that remains in the head still remains an idea unless it is tested and implemented through the innovation process.
It is also important to point out that a business idea must be backed by passion. The reason for saying this is that undertaking an entrepreneurial venture requires commitment and perseverance to follow it through. So, it is important that your idea matches your personal values and what you love to do as it is what will supply the energy required to see through the venture. Passion is like fire and the lack of it can be demoralising when challenges occur.