How to come up with an idea for a startup so it WORKS?
Nowadays, startups are the new black. If you have not created one, then you haven’t lived. On cold winter nights, people from all walks of life dream of living in Silicon Valley and generating million-dollar ideas. Well, except for those who are already living there and are generating ideas.
So how do you generate that million-dollar idea? If we knew the secret of success, we would not be writing this article but instead finish our organic latte somewhere under the sun of California.
Nonetheless there are some tips that, in combination with your ingenious mind and a little creativity, can help make something worthwhile. Or at least, worth the investment.
Idea itself
So where should one look? There are two options: either in your everyday life or in your field of activity. The fact is that you will never come up with a clever device for quantum physicists if your knowledge of physics is limited to high school and Wikipedia. But you may know what exactly you need to improve your life or work. By adding a few creative friends and a little alcohol (forbidden by censorship) when brainstorming, you can come up with something useful. Just don’t give your friends a percentage of your startup right away. We all know how it can end up.
Sleep On It
When you have gathered a dozen brilliant ideas and you are sure that one is better than the other, then sleep on them. There is a method called “Night check”. It seems to have been invented in the 21st century, but it was used in fairy tales: “The morning is wiser than the evening”. The next day, the emotional rush from the brainstorming subsides, the alcohol evaporates (crossed out) and of all the ideas, only one is illuminated by bright rays and is ready for further testing for strength.
Strength Evaluation
And now the most important stage. Answer this question:
Will the world be able to do without your startup?
Of course, once they did without phones and humanity somehow survived. But the thing is that the phone has solved a lot of problems, however, a smart knife for peeling potatoes, for example, which counts the number of peeled potatoes, may simply not be needed. Well, why count those potatoes?
Can you bring your idea to fruition?
This question is very important, although it is often overlooked in the hope of good luck. Some ideas are simply technically impossible to implement until the time machine is invented. For the others, you may simply not have enough resources, both financial and emotional. Some startups are very energy-consuming and will not be able to give the expected result in the end. Your motivation may run out sooner than your startup reaches the testing stage.
Target audience
So who will actually use your product? How will it be used? Imagine the process from start to finish. What precedes this process? Does the housewife have wet hands when she flips through your culinary app, how your cat was put in your automatic fur combing machine, or will your smart socks match this season’s trendy shoes?
Startups are created in offices and garages, but they are used by living people in their homes, cars, subways, and streets. And for a startup to be successful, you need to become such a person yourself.
Is the game worth the candle?
If you have successfully passed the previous stages, then do not rush to run to investors, looking for a dwelling in California along the way. Now we have reached the most boring stage — calculations. You need to figure out whether your startup can at least theoretically become profitable. For starters, you can use Google, ask random companies about prices for their services, or even ask friends. Determine what parts of the process you can do yourself and what you want to delegate.
Ultimately, you have to determine:
Product costs (at least very approximate)
What will be the selling price (if it is a device)
What will be the process of monetization and approximate calculations of profits and terms (if it is software)
And then just simple mathematics. If under ideal conditions the profits are large, then first lower the bar to real conditions, then add a little more emergencies, and if the numbers still motivate you, congratulations, you have a chance to create a startup that will work.
Turn to Embrox
And when you already have “that” idea, then just turn to us. We will do the rest. Each of the six stages of NPD. NPD forms the core of our activities. We take the product from an idea to mass production. And in a very short time, you will be able to hold the finished device or click around the app.