How to Crack One Big Idea to Ignite a Startup?

What is an idea?

According to me, An idea is “A thought which if managed, organized and driven in a right direction can help you to achieve your objective.”

You can have an idea for something new or something which is already present; you know how to do it better. The idea is a well-planned thought to make things work according to you.

One of the biggest problems is when you come up with an idea, either someone already does it or not at all feasible. Let me give you a simple example, what if your automobile gets re-filled with the fuel while you have a burger at Burger King? No going to the fuel station? Sounds cool enough you to go for it, wait, sorry it is illegal in this world. You can not carry any fuel in open.

So, in this article, we will cover some points that can help you crack the big idea for a new startup.

01. Category

Identify the category; you would like to go for. Forget about the market trend or the vicious competition, just go by your heart here. Pick a category you have knowledge or feels confident about and finalize it. Make sure; the category has a strong potential along with your keen interest. Even if you don’t have in-depth knowledge about the category, don’t worry.

02. Research

An exhaustive research is vital, break down the research into primary and secondary research. Select a research methodology and start working on it. It might take 3-4 weeks to conduct proper research. The work starts after you have collected the data. Now, you have to take out the key insights for that category. Create an excel sheet to take down all the data and create relevant charts to make things simpler. These insights will help you to understand the gaps in the category you chose.

03. Stakeholders

Now analyze who all are the interested parties in that category. Map out a detailed tree diagram for all the people involved. Create profiles and detailed personas for each of them. Add your research valuable insights and brainstorm with few over the same. As the stakeholders can be your potential target audience, you need to see which group lies wherein the category.

04. Target Audience

Out of those stakeholders, narrow down the people you think have a spending behavior on product and services. Excellent buying capabilities can make things easier for you. Create character sketches and map day to day activity by interviewing those similar people around you. You need to create the buyer persona for a possible business that you don’t know till yet. But, one thing which is common is spending power. Calculate that and we are closer to your big idea.

05. Mapping Spends

After creating good buyer personas, map where is your persona spending money. Try to create a timeline of their daily routine and make the point of purchase. So for example, buying gum while going to the office is a single point of purchase. Map similar scenarios which your persona might be doing.

06. Map Products vs Service

Now when you did the spending study, you might have got a ratio for Product and Services. Now, you can decide which one you want to go for.  This is the first stage of ideation; people get the idea here which is the right direction for them. Take your time, analyze the profit and match it with your personality and pick one.

07. Idea Seeding

A simple exercise of mismatch is a good way to start ideation. SO, essentially put two random things together and analyze what can you do with them. For example – Pen & Wheels – Two random things? Now think can you make a product or create a service out of it. Let say I would deliver a pen on wheels so that a transit stationery can be my next business. A simple exercise but an effective one.

08. Brainstorming

Time to call some friends for a coffee party. Call 3-4 people from various category and sit down in your drawing room with a white board. Throw them different things at them and discuss a potential business idea. Motivate them, tell them they can be the next Steve Jobs. Note down each and everything what they say, suggest and disagree. Throw your random ideas and ask them why will it not work. Ask them, what would they like to buy or experience as a service. Remember, they will give you great insights and a top view of your potential idea.

09. Breaking Down Coffee Party

Now after they have gone leaving many insights, it is your turn to analyze and crunch it down. Bring all thoughts together and think, this is the most important time. Put everything on a single board and view it from a distance. There you will spot the next big idea for your business. A tested process with a research of Cambridge supporting the data.

Congratulations, now you have a great idea for a new venture. Pen down the model and everything will start to fall in their places. Take out the revenue model out of it and discuss it with your friends.

Take feedback and make changes, believe in your idea and start working to make it work. Keep on adapting and evolving; no one gets it right on the first try.

You will fail, fall and loose, but it is all about getting back and hitting back.

Try new things and explore your mistakes. You won’t go broke with few investments. Hire intelligent people; they will make things easier for your life. Create long-term plans and a tactical approach to achieving it.

Just remember, 90% of new startups fall because of lack of focus and poor planning. Hope for the best and plan for the worst. People usually are motivated in the start but become lethargic which ends their entrepreneurial journey.

So, go on follow these steps and crack the next big idea for your new startup!