Problems, problems everywhere

Most people I know that want to start a company (including myself 15 years ago) think that the idea is the most important thing. Some believe so much in this that they are even afraid to share their idea in case people steal it.

In reality, the idea is not the most important. You can create a successful company with a crappy idea/product (think paper straws or McDonalds) and go bust with an amazing idea ( look up Iridium Satellite Network).

The main thing is execution. It's solving a problem that customers are willing to pay you to solve, in a profitable and repeatable way.

That's it.

It's not how many millions someone raised, it's not inventing the next big thing, it's not making patents, or business cards, or go to market plans.

If you want to start a company, look for a problem you want to solve, figure out if people are willing to pay you to solve it, and see how much you need to charge to make it in a profitable way.

So instead of generating business ideas, look at all the problems around you that need solving. And I'm sure you will find lots of problems to solve.

If you think about it, all businesses around us solve someone's problem, or they would not exist. Now there's not a lot of chimney cleaners, because it's no longer a common issue, but 100 years ago you would see them everywhere. But you do see a lot of online marketing companies because companies don't know how to sell online, or dating apps because we no longer have large social circles (in the physical world).

Here's some free business ideas: fix/improve loneliness of elderly people; reduce stress of people; help people make more money (or save money).

Any one of this has lots of money waiting for whoever solves it.

So, just go and find problems.

Questions to ponder

These question come Tony Robbins and I've repeated it so much to myself over my life that it's already in automatic. I use it when I get a bad surprise.

Question: What's good about this?

A lot of times we get hit with bad news, or are stuck in a problem. In those situations our tendency is to focus on the problem and complain about it, making it bigger and bigger until it's all consuming (or maybe it's just me).

This question shifts the attention away from the problem and into a solution mode.

Examples: I just got learned I have high colesterol (as an example...I'm fine). My answer to the question would be great that I found it out now so that I can address it before it becomes a much bigger issue than it is today. It automatically transforms a problem into a blessing.

Or learning that we just lost a major client (this one is actually a real example). The good about this is that it allows me to learn that our offer is no longer as aligned to the market needs as it once was and we are working to fix it, with the help of the customers that we lost.

Mental Model

Think as an Owner (principal), not as an Employee (agent).

Incentives are what makes people and companies move. They can be financial or not, but if you understand the incentive, you understand the behaviour.

The corollary of this, is that if you design the Incentive, you design the behaviour. Design it well, and everyone is aligned. Design it badly, and be prepared for a world of pain.