3 ms·

Selling "Idea Generator" services to startups (Sam Altman says you need)

From Sam's talk below. Anyone do this or know how to get into it and charge for it for someone who's unique ability is innovation? Prefer to work with lots of companies instead of just one. From Sam Altman's - How to Succeed with a Startup Video: You need at least some idea generators. There are a handful of people in any company that has gone on to be really successful that I've been able to work with who are just really good at coming up with lots of ideas. You don't have too many of these people because that's more ideas than a company can follow through on, but having some people within a company that are just constantly throwing out new ideas, most of which will be bad, it turns out to be super important to have on the team.

MattGaiser 3y ago
I know of a few startups that kind of do this. MindSumo does it for corporate clients in the form of open innovation challenges (disclaimer, I am their top ranked solver and have written PR pieces for them in the past). They are really light idea generation. There are similar companies in various niches, from product design with Eyeka and Desall to grand challenges with HeroX to highly technical challenges with Wazoku. It is hardly lucrative though. I make a few thousand a year from it. It isn’t lucrative for the companies either. They have very small teams and keep being bought and sold and repackaged. Would love to know if there is a way to make more.
- theowensgroup 3y ago
  Thanks for the response. The number of companies that fail due to lack of innovation or ability to iterate, you'd think this would be a bigger thing. Like most things it's sometimes harder to see the solution when you are in it, rather than from the outside.
  - verdverm 3y ago
    It's typically more internal culture and politics that gets in the way. That is hard to consult or contract around. I tried as an employee at IBM, but it was like banging your head against a brick wall. They even wanted, promoted, and supported these efforts, but the bureaucracy and entrenched powers doomed it all

MattGaiser 3y ago

I know of a few startups that kind of do this. MindSumo does it for corporate clients in the form of open innovation challenges (disclaimer, I am their top ranked solver and have written PR pieces for them in the past). They are really light idea generation. There are similar companies in various niches, from product design with Eyeka and Desall to grand challenges with HeroX to highly technical challenges with Wazoku. It is hardly lucrative though. I make a few thousand a year from it. It isn’t lucrative for the companies either. They have very small teams and keep being bought and sold and repackaged. Would love to know if there is a way to make more.

theowensgroup 3y ago
Thanks for the response. The number of companies that fail due to lack of innovation or ability to iterate, you'd think this would be a bigger thing. Like most things it's sometimes harder to see the solution when you are in it, rather than from the outside.
- verdverm 3y ago
  It's typically more internal culture and politics that gets in the way. That is hard to consult or contract around. I tried as an employee at IBM, but it was like banging your head against a brick wall. They even wanted, promoted, and supported these efforts, but the bureaucracy and entrenched powers doomed it all