Intro

And here it begins - a business idea. Possibly one of the hardest parts of starting a business. You know you want to run a company and build something, but you just don’t know what? Selecting a business idea has some steps but as you begin you should malleable to practice of iterating and getting feedback consistently.

Step 1: Find a problem.

• This problem can stem from personal experience, a known larger problem, a gap in current apps or software.
• Understand the problem in and out. Learn everything there is to the problem. Why is it a problem? For who? How badly is this a problem? What current solutions are there? Are they working? If not, why?
• Document findings and include any links you cam across to reference back to in the future.

Step 2: Find people with the problem.

• Start talking to people with the problem very very early on. The more the absolute better. They know the problem and can express the pain points better than any research done. Ask many open ended questions.
  • Create surveys, conduct short 15min interviews, connect with people that leave 1 star reviews, find Reddit or Twitter rants.
• Analyze the common patterns shared from surveys or interviews.
  • Is the problem only affecting a certain set of people? If so, why? How are they dealing with the problem currently?
• If they are using an existing solution then research everything about it
  • How does and doesn’t it work. Limitations. Pricing.

Step 3: Create initial solution ideas

• Now we can begin thinking about the solution. Start with just brainstorming the large concepts. “If we can make X easier, people will be able to accomplish Y” “People are using X and Y but they don’t help problem Z”
• Drill down into how the solution will be made. What physical or software components will be needed? Is it a easy solution or a long process that requires more pieces or collaboration.