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A brilliant idea – rare but surprisingly common if you really think about it. However, in most cases vanishes before ever entering the ideation process…Why?
Well, as someone who has assisted in building 33 companies in the last decade I can share with you the pattern I see.
Life.
It gets in the way. Your idea that just had your brain on fire was put out because someone just liked your post, or you’re already dedicating resources to another side project, no additional money….. the risk…. self-doubt. The list is endless.
That last one triumphs them all. Self-doubt.
“My idea isn’t good enough, where would I even begin.” If you relate to this scenario don’t worry its normal, and makes complete sense. Launching a business is one of the single most effective ways to build wealth if you have the right resources and network.
I am not saying it is easy, of course not. If it was easy your neighbors would all be pursuing it.
After these past ten years of assembling businesses in various sectors, I started to realize a problem. This is where my idea was born, but I didn’t get distracted by “life” because that is where my idea originated from.
I learned from all my business endeavors that the difference from a millionaires idea and the everyday person was…. Focus, persistence, resources, influential business network, and planning.
Let’s get started on how to turn your problem-solving idea into a million-dollar idea…
Ideas are born out of the interaction of different thoughts that spontaneously combine in our brain to deliver that “aha moment!”, a new idea or a new application of an existing idea. In order to give fuel to our brains and have a lot of information so our brain can create those ideas, we need to expose ourselves to different situations, routines, actions, people, knowledge, books, movies, sports, arts, places, and whatever you can think of! If you are only into one category, you will not find amazing ideas. You must diversify your perspectives and get out of your comfort zone. By fueling your brain with new things random thoughts will join to turn into an idea.
Great ideas emerge anytime and anywhere: while driving, exercising, working, chilling, you name it! At the current state of research and development, it is impossible to know when a great idea will happen. You have work on your scouting mindset. This means to constantly be aware of the ideas and opportunities you see and elaborate on them to identify its potential. You will start to be conscious of the ideas and of course, you must write them down so you do not forget them (DO IT! do not lose the opportunity of a successful startup because you forgot the idea!).
Everyone is (usually) in search of financial stability and freedom. The truth is that every one of us dreams or desires to encounter ourselves with a transformational moment that ignites a new path where we encounter the means to reach our goals and dreams. Nevertheless, many of the dreamers do not take action or do not have a strategic view of the path to success, or both. This lack of action and strategy leads to a very foreseeable future: failure. This is simply not taking advantage by capitalizing an opportunity. It takes a conscious effort to step out of our comfort zone and grow by moving constantly forward. Money should never be the goal, pursuing a purpose will give you a strong “why” to take action; and should always be the goal.
The good news is that each day new opportunities arise, and today you have found a transformative one with FWD Ventures. Be part of a global movement that sets ideators up for success. Become an ideator now!
Having an idea is the ignition spark of a process that will take to professional fulfillment. Now that you have an idea, you have to determine the potential of that idea, that process is called validation.
To validate an idea, you have to follow the following steps:
1. What is the problem that triggers that idea?
Here you have to define what is the problem; determine if it is a usual problem people usually faces; if the problem is growing (the number of people facing it each day/month/year is growing);
2. Is the idea (product/service) actually solving a problem?
Once you understand the problem, you have to test the concept and hypothesis you have of the ideas. This will give you valuable information to know if the product/service actually solves the problem in an efficient way.
3. What is your unique advantage?
Are the founders experts and have a true advantage? Are you working with an expert team? (Like FWD Ventures); is the product better and more efficient? Can the product/service and the team build a strong market base of customers so it will be hard for the competition to enter the market?
By identifying these three steps listed above, you will be able to start acting to build a Minimum Viable Product/Service to test the assumptions gathered and once validation is done, you can start building your startup with a greater success rate!
You constantly come up with ideas, nevertheless we have to train our brains to discard them because we are “busy” doing other things. It is time to make a conscious ideation process; for this, you have to expose yourself to information in different fields that enriches your knowledge. By doing this you will gather information that will let your mind have more tools to improve the thinking process and get ready for that Aha! Moment!
In each situation you face everyday, start asking yourself what problems and improvement opportunities you see… this will sharpen your ability to identify and strengthen ideas.
Mind Mapping – Milanote
Save everything that inspires your idea with Collect by WeTransfer
Why are you taking the road to entrepreneurship? Aligning your personal “why” with the “why” of the idea/startup is the sweetest spot an entrepreneur can be stepping on. This is so because when you have this alignment you will have the motivation and passion to endure the hardships of the road. Usually that “why” is the purpose… if your purpose is just the money, stop now… money can be found in many other places apart from entrepreneurship. When your purpose (your why) is higher than money, the money will follow you. That higher purpose can be a passion for solving problems in specific fields; empowering others to reach a state of fulfillment in their personal lives, or professional fields or hobbies, sports, etc. When you connect on an emotional level and your “why” is part of that connection the possibilities of success are far greater and almost guaranteed! …so, why are you doing this? What’s your “why”?
There are two stages in evaluating an idea, the first one is to determine if it really has the capability to get validation and traction. Traction is defined as the momentum gained by the idea/startup gained, the most important measure of traction is sales; but you can measure it in different ways that will also help you determine if the idea has a market fit potential.
The second stage is to evaluate an idea like an angel investor or a venture capital partner; for this you have to go further than knowing a problem, having a feasible solution to that problem, and identifying the advantage you have. You have to extend the criteria to the size of the market, the growth potential, the ability to generate revenue of the proposed business model, the market entry barriers, and the cost-benefit of the investment. Even though you will get emotionally attached to your idea, you have to force yourself to be conscious and truly determine the true potential of the idea.
When you have a business idea, you start to create some hypotheses from your own perspective. To increase the success rate of an idea a market research must be conducted. There are two paths that have to be taken in order to do a proper market research.
The first path is to determine your target audience. A market research is comprised of a set of actions that have to be developed in order to gather information (insights) from the market and confirm your initial hypothesis or create new ones that give you the power to decide if the idea fulfills the following elements:
1. Define your target audience: this means to know who the customers in need (or desire) are for your solution (product/service).
2. Target audience validation: are your potential customers truly willing to pay for your product/service? For this you can conduct validation experiments and determine the desire and willingness to become an active customer.
The second path is to truly know and understand the industry/market you are getting into with your idea and determine the main competitors, their strategies, their financial muscle, what they do right, and what they can improve and their target audiences. You must become an expert on the field in order to maximize the success rate and create great “go to market” strategies.
See what else is out there on the market with Google
General Market Research – Statista
When you create a product/service you must create value to your customers; they must know and easily understand and recognize the value you are offering. When you reach that peak of understanding the value you are delivering, you will be able to capture value from your customer in the form of monetary income; it’s a basic trade where value is exchanged – money for a product/service.
To capture value from your customers you must develop a revenue model. There are plenty of models you can choose from; you don’t have to create a new one, you can copy one from your industry or innovate adapting revenue models from other industries. The most important part here is to determine which revenue model is the one that fits best to your idea/startup and to your customers. For this, the best perspective to select a revenue model is to understand your customer and define how the easiest way for them to buy from you is. Other factors to visualize here are industry standards, distribution channels, and even pricing of the product/service.
The potential to grow is determined by two main factors, these are the state of the market and the ability to seize the opportunities. Regarding the state of the market you have to determine the performance and maturity of the market/industry (if it is growing, stagnant or even shirking) and also the maturity and number of the companies of the companies that participate in the industry; this must lead you understand the market in a deeper manner and know the capital (monetary) and strategic needs that have to be develop to become a benchmark in the industry with your startup. On the other hand, the ability to seize the opportunities will depend on your market/industry knowledge and the skills you and your team have to take over the market and the competition.
The ideal markets are the ones that are entering a growth stage. Growing markets are associated with organic growth, an increase in population or current customers, as well as new customer acquisition. You might find niches in established markets that are in a growing stage, there is also great potential! There is always potential to grow if you can manage your competition, your skills and actions towards the market and customers!
A pitch is a great tool to communicate your idea and what it does. It is the first “moment of truth” in the interaction with a customer or investor, this is the moment when a consumer/investor sees your product/service for the first time and formulates an opinion about it. This should be a “love at first sight” moment; the usual course of action is that you don’t get to that “love at first sight” moment; each time customers and investors are more educated and make fewer decisions on initial impulses. What you have to commit with is to generate interest from your customers/investors in order for them to want more information. A well-crafted pitch will take your startup forward. A well-crafted pitch must contain:
1. Definition of the problem; the pain your customers are having.
2. Explanation of the solution; this is you offering.
3. The customers; who is benefiting from your offering?
4. Advantage, what makes your product/service/startup stand out from the competitors?
It is said that the average attention span of a person is between 5 and 8 seconds; this means that you have 5 to 8 seconds to create an outstandingly good first impression and generate interest in your audience so they consciously ask for more details from you; then when you captivate your audience, you can deliver more precise information regarding their specific interests.
Planning is always critical for any organization regarding its size; nevertheless for startups it is not recommended a bulky plan that will (it definitely will) change from week to week when you are testing concepts, products and services. The idea behind a lean business plan is to have a “live” plan or route that will give you strategic insights in order to “plan–do–check–adjust” (PDCA cycle) accordingly as you move forward with your business. The lean plan is comprised of the following four main items:
1. A short but enlightening description of strategy you will follow to grow the startup.
2. A description of the important tactics/actions to execute the strategy. This includes pricing, marketing, product or service development, financing, and so forth.
3. Key Performance Indicators (KPI´s) and a trackable schedule for reviewing/evaluating the results of your strategy and tactics. Milestones should include responsible individuals, dates, deadlines, number of customers and budgets.
4. Forecasts. The previous steps should lead you to forecasting sales, spending, and cash flow.
Remember, it is important to move with the PDCA cycle… the things that are not measured are not susceptible for improvements.
Branding goes beyond having a name and a logo; it has to have a purpose (as everything in your startup). Branding is a marketing tool, and this tool has two sides. On one hand you have the visual identity, which is a set of rules that states what pallet of colors to use, typography, use cases, logo sizes and many other “material” matters which are aspects considered an extension of a higher strategy. On the other hand there is the most important aspect of branding that is the “emotional guidelines” of your brand; what is your startup´s why? What is the purpose? What is the passion and drive? What makes your startup special? That has to be transmitted throughout your name, logo, tagline, copy, campaigns, and social media. The power of effectively transmitting your vision is an art that requires practice. The most powerful branding concepts come from within aligning the deepest insights from your customers and the drive (purpose) of your startup!
Marketing is the process for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging value with your audience; in simple words: building a relationship where value is exchanged. You may see it as a set of tactics to be performed online, but the truth is that marketing goes beyond online and transcends to the offline field. All startups are different and have their uniqueness; this translates into having different marketing strategies because the values and drives are different from one another. To be successful in the marketing field you have to align your product/service, its price, its placement and its promotion/communication. Being successful is a matter of managing the “plan–do–check–adjust” cycle (PDCA) to create relationships and common goals between the startup and the target audience; this means you have to plan (set goals) a strategy, execute it, revise the strategy to identify improvements, adjust to those improvements and repeat until you fine-tune your strategy with the needs and desires of your target audience. You can find many tactics to implement online, but true improvement will come when you find product-market fit and successfully communicate it to your audience.
Enriching an idea is part of assuring a greater rate of success. Once you have an idea the best way to assure make it strong is by tasting it and making all the necessary pivoting in order to assure that the product/service is sharply aligned with the market. Here is the tricky part because you have to make that improvement while actually taking out to the market the solution you are proposing for a problem. You have to prove your concept fast, learn faster and adapt at lightning speed! …don’t worry, you will get there, it is part of the learning curve all entrepreneurs have to go through, and when you succeed you will become an entrepreneurial Jedi! And of course, that is an ability that once gained will pave the road to better decisions, meaning dramatically improving the success rate!
Move forward in your life to a transformational opportunity that ignites a new path where you encounter the means to reach your goals and dreams. A single idea can have a transformative power for your life. At FWD Ventures we understand the highs and lows of going through the entrepreneurial path, which is why we have created a richer approach to become an entrepreneur. Join us and be part of a group of savvy individuals who like to make transformation happen! Will the next success story be the one brought by your idea? Find out now!
We’re looking for entrepreneurs who want to turn their ideas into a business.
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