How to Check if that Idea is worth pursuing or not
If you plan to build a For-profit business... read this
Business isn’t always about motivations… I really wish it is (though motivations are also very important).
And though motivations may start the Entrepreneur on the path of entrepreneurship and Business building, it would often require a “right” pursuit or a “buildable” idea, to remain in the game and attain success.
And so, this article is to provide some set of tests questions that you can ask yourself, or your teams, when you get an idea you want to pursue, either as a main business or side project, or even features in an existing product.
In business (and in life generally), most resources are scarce and should be effectively used in order to have a long lasting and sustainable business. However, most individuals start businesses with the hope that it will work.
And for me, and from experience… the concept of “Market” for ideas seem to be the most mixed up factor in the rank of factors that determine the validity of an idea
I’ve had people call me and ask which market they can sell their Agricultural products and my first question is “which market did you intend selling to, before you started?” and “how did you know that they will buy on a long run?”
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A large number of Ideas run on what I’ll call an “assumed problem for an assumed market”
Someone wants to ask… Isn’t that what startups are? See a problem and try to find ways to solve it?
well, we’re really not saying the same thing here
A StartUp should really not start on an “Assumed Problem”, rather, it should see a Problem and Check if it’s indeed a Problem to Solve and if there are people willing to pay for that solution
Even Free Platforms have Paying Users… you only might not know who is making the payment
In the earlier Silicon Valley models, companies can start with an assumed problem and figure out who the paying users would be, 2/3 years after they start… investors might keep investing to create the infrastructure, hire talents, fund the runway and many more. But then, times have changed, and PMF is important, just as even VCs are now seeing revenue as king.
So, there has to be a very clear answer to that question of “who is paying for this solution, if you pursue this idea?”
About Continuous Buyers Vs Early Movers
There is much difference between continuous buying and a early mover effect when it comes to business whether in goods and products domain or services.
Some businesses have come into the market place and enjoy ealry mover’s advantage but crashed very fast, but then, you’ve also heard of stories of businesses which sold just a few in the first one year and went ahead until they hit the heights of unrestricted demand.
So, part of your task would be to really size up your idea to be sure if this would be an idea that would produce a product that would be used Once in a year or once in a lifetime… or its an idea that would make up a product that would have Daily or very frequent use and you must not be sentimental about it
If this Idea doesn’t have people who will buy the solution, pay for its value… and have some frequent users of it… you might have an idea that either won’t work, or might not become a big entity.
ASK THEM…. WILL YOU BUY? and WILL YOU PAY THIS AMOUNT FOR IT?
And the next question is… do you have many who can pay the same…
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The second factor in considering if an idea is worth it is… How Big Do You Really Envisage Your Business to Become? Does this Idea have the Potential to be that Great? How many Users do you think it would require to get there and do you think there are enough numbers for it?
But since we’ll often prefer a step by step information on “How To’s”, I’ll share a few nuggets partly from wisdom I gleaned earlier in the days from the likes of Eric Ries, Pat Flynn, Garry Kelle, Jake knapp and my personal experiences.
Before you do anything,
1. Dissect that idea to design your project, Start from the End.
A careful look into your idea will reveal some truths, if it shows, it can’t work, it’s not you that failed, it’s the idea that Can’t meet up.
Here you must look out for the following:
Is there an overall plan (for life, finance, business etc.) that this idea wants to fit in?
I came to understand that the best ideas are often those which fit into some form of life visions
Is this Idea well defined?
Is there much Clarity, or there is still some level of vagueness?
Will this idea bring all the money needed to build it?
Will this start up create all the Network I need for the whole plan etc? Is it good enough to make doors open?
What Problem is this Idea solving? (Though not all ideas will solve a known problem)
Do people want it solved? If they want it solved are they willing to pay for it?
If they won’t be paying and you want it solved, how do you want to sustain it?
What is the life span of this Solution?
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Is this Just an Idea or a Market Opportunity?
A large number of ideas that occur to Many are not sustainable, and listen… even though there is access to venture fund… a sustainable business should be the goal
Can this Business Grow if i didn’t get an investor?
Investments ( while they can and should seed ideas) Should rather be catalysts for a sustainable idea, not the ideas that would require the investment to stay alive
So, your job as the owner of the idea is to check if this is indeed just a market gap or an opportunity.
Opportunities are not guess works.
In Business, an Opportunity is a space in the Marketplace, left consciously or unconsciously by the current players in the market at a particular time and can be monetized directly or indirectly
Opportunities are Time Bound
And so you want to also check your idea… Is the time ripe for this?
What is an opportunity today, might not be an opportunity tomorrow, and in fact, might be a disaster… but Ideas will always remain ideas.
And so the reason why many people are stuck, is because all they have are ideas not opportunities.
We can hold on to ideas for ages, but we can’t hold on to opportunities because opportunities lose their form over time.
So When an Idea comes to your mind what should you do?:
The first step is to go on “deeeeeeeeeep” and “wiiiiiiiiiiiiiide” research.
What are you looking out for?
i. Information at your Mind Level (how vast you are vs the level of knowledge the idea needs)
ii.Personality and Capacity Level (what your personality is vs the kind of personality the business needs)
iii. Resource Level (what you are able to pool vs what the idea needs to be executed)
iv. Geographical Level (where you are vs where the idea can work)
In Summary… I’ll ask you to summarize your test questions to the following:
I’ll summarize it by saying this:
Look for the
why(prupose / Vision),
How (strategy),
When (timing),
Where(Right location),
What(Consumer Expectation),
For whom(market),
By whom (personnel you’ll need),
with whom (human or institutional partnership),
with what (Physical resource),
to what extent? (Market size),
how ready are they for this solution? etc?
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Don’t just assume… ask questions, seek those who would tell you multiple sided opinions, and objectively dissect it
If you can’t see where the growth is, on an excel sheet or on a real growth plan… it might be good to hold on… or put it aside all together however if you intend to have the mindset of “we’ll cross the River when we get there”… that’s also not bad…
let’s all keep winning and don’t forget to share
Thanks for reading through
Olatunde Victor Adeoluwa