4 ms·

What would you say to those who have an entrepreneurial spirit but struggle with idea generation?

by 40acres 10y ago

_ao789 10y ago
As an entrepreneur you should look for gaps or things that could be improved first.
ronack 10y ago
Team up with someone who has a good idea but struggles with implementation.
- riklomas 10y ago
  This, but make sure they have enough skills to be useful in the long term!
riklomas 10y ago
Look for problems. It's hard to sit and think of ideas, even if you do, most of the ideas will change on contact with potential customers. Look at what you're strong at and what you enjoy. If you're seeing customers struggle with other businesses solutions, then there might be a way to solve that problem in a better way. Being a good listener helps - get the feedback loop going as quickly as possible. Don't take anything personally if a customer doesn't like what you're doing. They could be right. Iterate on the initial idea. Don't spend too long building the first version of anything as it'll probably look different in a year.
- wikwocket 10y ago
  I think this is good advice. It's better to see first-hand pain points that businesses experience as opposed to looking for an "idea" i.e. dreaming of a solution and then trying to find a matching problem that it solves. If you start up with an "Uber for X"-tier idea, you may spend half your time educating people that they could use your solution. On the other hand, it is difficult to watch a non-techie business worker perform their daily tasks for a few hours without seeing something that could be improved. A macro here, some workflow automation there, etc. Find a theme and you may be able to build something that solves a lot of problems.
riklomas 10y ago
Also, don't call yourself an "entrepreneur" - it's a bit like being calling yourself "hilarious" or "handsome" - it's what other people call you, rather than a job title.
- amackera 10y ago
  Interesting! I like this logic. However... what should one call oneself?
  - riklomas 10y ago
    Depends! CEO is fine, business development is good too.
    - brianwawok 10y ago
      Is it even legal to call yourself CEO if you aren't a C-Corp? A basement LLC with a CEO always makes me laugh. How about Owner or Founder?
      - riklomas 10y ago
        CEO of a LLC is legal if you're in sole control of the company but yeh, owner/founder is fine too. I used to call myself Founder when the company was just me.
      - pc86 10y ago
        Of course it's legal, but the "C" stands for "Chief" which has a pretty strong implication that there are non-Chief Executives in the company. If you're not at a position to have full-time employees whose sole job is to manager managers, it's unlikely "CEO" really fits.

What would you say to those who have an entrepreneurial spirit but struggle with idea generation?

by 40acres 10y ago

What would you say to those who have an entrepreneurial spirit but struggle with idea generation?

_ao789 10y ago

As an entrepreneur you should look for gaps or things that could be improved first.

ronack 10y ago

Team up with someone who has a good idea but struggles with implementation.

riklomas 10y ago
This, but make sure they have enough skills to be useful in the long term!

riklomas 10y ago

Look for problems. It's hard to sit and think of ideas, even if you do, most of the ideas will change on contact with potential customers. Look at what you're strong at and what you enjoy. If you're seeing customers struggle with other businesses solutions, then there might be a way to solve that problem in a better way. Being a good listener helps - get the feedback loop going as quickly as possible. Don't take anything personally if a customer doesn't like what you're doing. They could be right. Iterate on the initial idea. Don't spend too long building the first version of anything as it'll probably look different in a year.

wikwocket 10y ago
I think this is good advice. It's better to see first-hand pain points that businesses experience as opposed to looking for an "idea" i.e. dreaming of a solution and then trying to find a matching problem that it solves. If you start up with an "Uber for X"-tier idea, you may spend half your time educating people that they could use your solution. On the other hand, it is difficult to watch a non-techie business worker perform their daily tasks for a few hours without seeing something that could be improved. A macro here, some workflow automation there, etc. Find a theme and you may be able to build something that solves a lot of problems.

riklomas 10y ago

Also, don't call yourself an "entrepreneur" - it's a bit like being calling yourself "hilarious" or "handsome" - it's what other people call you, rather than a job title.

amackera 10y ago
Interesting! I like this logic. However... what should one call oneself?
- riklomas 10y ago
  Depends! CEO is fine, business development is good too.
  - brianwawok 10y ago
    Is it even legal to call yourself CEO if you aren't a C-Corp? A basement LLC with a CEO always makes me laugh. How about Owner or Founder?
    - riklomas 10y ago
      CEO of a LLC is legal if you're in sole control of the company but yeh, owner/founder is fine too. I used to call myself Founder when the company was just me.
    - pc86 10y ago
      Of course it's legal, but the "C" stands for "Chief" which has a pretty strong implication that there are non-Chief Executives in the company. If you're not at a position to have full-time employees whose sole job is to manager managers, it's unlikely "CEO" really fits.