First through the door, gets the arrows in the chest.

Always dreamt of having your own business but for whatever reason it hasn’t eventuated? You’re in a very large club of people who love the thought of having their own business but have never taken the plunge. The reasons are vast, but often it’s just that you can’t find an idea that’s compelling enough to make you seriously contemplate the precarious jump from your day job to self-employed.

We all have different forms of inspiration for our ideation. Books, blogs, meet ups, articles, podcasts, social media and countless conversations with like-minded peers might spark the flame of creativity when we’re stuck because generating compelling, unique and viable ideas on demand isn’t always easy. Sometimes the best trigger is a poor customer experience.

So how to develop an idea now that’s worthy of a bold resignation?

 What is ideation all about and how do I approach it as an entrepreneur?

 Ideation is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas where an idea is understood as a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete, or abstract. Ideation comprises all stages of a thought cycle, from innovation to development, to actualisation. Ideation can come naturally to some while others need a process to help formulate new concepts. Some find it fun and others find it a huge challenge. Ideation can be conducted by individuals, organisations, or crowds and I do subscribe to the theory that large groups, with proven new venturing models, working on a high volume of ideas are more likely to produce higher success probability compared to an individual with a handful of promising prospects. As such, ideation is an essential part of the formal design process, both in education and practice, and some of the formal innovation models can certainly channel creative thinking and help generate ground-breaking ventures. The key is high volume to mitigate the high rate of new venture failure.

 According to the Interaction Design Foundation, ideation is the process where you generate ideas and solutions through sessions such as sketching, prototyping, brainstorming, brainwriting, 'worst possible idea' discussions and a wealth of other ideation techniques that have become our corporate buzz words today. However, most people don’t actually know how to run these models or sessions. Ideation is also the third and crucial stage in the Design Thinking Process which has gained notoriety over recent years. Although many people might have experienced a 'brainstorming' session before, it is not easy to facilitate a truly fruitful ideation session. It's very easy to throw up a large volume of poor ideas that can’t be commercialised.

For teams in companies, it can be highly energizing but also stressful as mentally it represents a process of ‘going wide’ in terms of concepts and outcomes and it can feel very flakey at times with limited progress. Democracy and collaboration can produce the best result but not without discomfort, delays and confusion.

“Ideation provides both the fuel and also the source material for building prototypes and getting innovative solutions into the hands of your users.”

– d.school, An Introduction to Design Thinking PROCESS GUIDE

Whilst there is much theory to examine, when it comes to formal models and innovation processes many of them are geared for existing teams who are fundamentally trying to uncover the next killer product.

As a entrepreneur, it’s a much less sophisticated and a far more agile and unstructured process. There are some simple and practical approaches that may help you to uncover and develop a new idea if you don’t have the appetite, skills and resources for the formal models outlined above.

Here are my top 5 practical methods for new venture idea discovery.

1-   Take an existing idea on the market but do it better !

Is there an existing product(s) on the market that has potential but is lacking something? What is that something? Is it a feature set, pricing, the commercial model, go to market, the messaging, marketing or other aspects of execution? It’s hard to find new ideas, so often the best thing to do is look for markets and solutions that interest to you for whatever reason and come up with a way to compete and disrupt that market with a more advanced 'me too' solution. Consider markets where you have some experience and expertise as a preference but don’t be restricted by the mainstream view that you need experience in something to be successful. People with that view are stuck in the mainstream for a reason and they are most likely still working for the man. Sometimes the 2nd and 3rd to market can be the ultimate winners in the long game. Sometimes 'First through the door gets the arrows in the chest' – just ask the team at Yahoo. Have a look around for a new proposition in the market that is ground-breaking and study their mistakes. They can waste a lot of time and capital paving the way for your 2nd to market and better refined solution.

Experience has shown that the best ideas are most often found among the last 33 percent of ideas generated. That’s why it's important to stretch people's thinking and generate lots of ideas. Alex Osborn in his breakthrough book, ‘Applied Imagination’, developed a series of questions that spark ideas during divergence. Bob Eberle categorised these questions in his book ‘Scamper’ - Games for Imagination Development, and created the Mnemonic, SCAMPER to make them easier to remember.

Substitute

Combine

Adapt

Modify

Put to other uses

Eliminate

Rearrange

Anyone who is thinking about taking an existing idea and making it better should spend time understanding the SCAMPER principles. It may help cut through and help nail your angle, USP, differentiator and general approach on an existing product or venture.

2 - Where is the pain?

Often the best new ventures spawn from the experience of pain. So many successful entrepreneurs say they experienced frustration as a consumer and used as an inspiration for a new venture that aspired to solve that problem. Great entrepreneurs are inherently great problem solvers. Whilst most people complain about a problem, the serial entrepreneur is listening for triggers for their next big idea. Start tuning into problems and frustrations. Think about things in your life that cause a degree of frustration or pain. It's likely to be a problem for many others as well. Solving that problem could represent an exciting new business opportunity and your chance to disrupt an existing market.

3 - Acquire

The other good option is to buy an existing business that is either the exact business you wish to run or can be modified to deliver the solutions you wish to take to market. This can be a challenge to find a business that’s right for you at the time you are seeking to acquire. Think about a service or product you consume or are aware of that makes you think “If only that product could do X?” Maybe you have a vision the current business owners don’t have or you see a technology, partnership or solution working in one market that could be adapted quickly for a totally new market. Once you have identified some prospective targets for acquisition, then it’s time to reach out to the owners for a conversation. Every business is for sale at some stage.

4 - Disrupt

Which markets have experienced very little change in the last 10-20 years? This market may not have high appeal for many reasons but often this is where the gold can be found. Find a traditional and mature market and come up with a way to turn it on its head. Not easy to do but UBER, NETFLIX and countless others have proven that even the most mature and legacy markets can be transformed with lateral thinking, innovation, technology and highly disruptive business models. Doesn’t just have to be legacy and mature markets either. Today's disrupters are tomorrow's victims and they may be busy taking arrows in the chest whilst you plot your moves to capitalize on their shortcomings and 'in market' lessons.

5 -  Partner Up

Maybe a friend or contact has also been pondering an idea and needs someone to help them get it to market? Maybe a colleague might also get excited about your idea and can add value? I have written previously about the proven advantages of having Co-Founders. The benefits are real and significant. Keep an eye out for others who are pondering ideas and have an appetite to start a business. Sometimes 1+1=3. Find a potential partner with a promising idea and see if together you and perhaps others can transform that idea into a scalable enterprise.

Whatever you do or whatever stage your are at, it all starts with an idea. Everything else comes downstream from a concept that might solve a challenge, fix a problem, reduce pain or shift and create a new market. If you have an idea that’s interesting, then you’re off and running with the early stages of potential commercialisation. If you have the entrepreneur itch that you want to scratch but can’t settle on an idea, then consider these above tips and it may help you uncover your 1 way ticket to career and financial independence.

Author

Doug Hawkins

Business Transformation, Innovation and New Venture Commercialisation Specialist