1. Creating Seamless ideas
A key part of understanding what makes a great market
opportunity is knowing about who the competition are and
what do they do well. Competition is nothing to be scared
of if you deal with it in the right way – actually you should
be more worried if there is no competition!
Come on, let’s get started.
3. From
the big
Apple has more
cash than the us
government
In 2011, one report put Apple’s cash
reserves at $76.4bn. More than any other
company has ever had! What will it
do with the money? What could
it do with the money?
4. Meet the
cronut
This is the ‘Cronut’, a Croissant-Donut
hybrid created by the Dominique Ansel
bakery in downtown Soho, New York.
This company continues to redefine
what it means to be a bakery, with
every new product.
To The
Small
6. Sustainable
building designs for
downtown Calcutta
These are new sustainable building designs
proposed to Architecture Week, for
downtown Calcutta, India. New building
works have to be cost effective,
sustainable, fast to build and
for multiple occupancy.
From
the urban
7. This drone delivers
medication
Andreas Raptopoulos, CEO of Matternet,
builds a drone capable of delivering
medicine to remote, inaccessible areas of
Africa. An eight-propeller drone can
carry 2kg and travel 10km in good
weather.
To The
remote
8. From The
Weird
Meet
Stompy
This is Stompy: Designed in America,
Stompy is an open-source, 18ft wide,
4,000 pound, 6-legged hydraulic robot
that you can ride around town.
9. A window
of whiskey
This is ‘The Porthole’ created by product-design
company ‘Crucial Detail’ and is
the most elegant cocktail mixer on
the market.
To the
wonderful
10. Keep learning and make something happen
You could take any idea you’ve
had so far and make it work.
11. Your idea will adapt every time you speak to someone
Ideas need to change and adapt in order to become relevant to the real world. One of the worst things you can do is
be closed down to any suggestions or ideas from other people.
This is a good thing.
12. you talk to trustworthy people
You wouldn’t be talking to them if you didn’t think they
could offer you a good opinion or support.
1
Ideas are personal
Ideas come from your own knowledge, skills and
experience and wouldn’t be suited to anyone else.
2
Feedback is critical
You need to seek feedback and adapt your idea based
on the responses people give you.
3
Should I be worried
about someone stealing
My idea?
It’s a common question and we would say no.
Obviously it is a consideration and a risk, but it’s
a risk worth taking. These are the reasons why:
There is no such thing as a perfect idea
Without talking about it and adapting your idea, it will
simply never become an idea that’s ready to launch.
4
13. But will it work?
Let’s look at the Corkscrew
SEAMLESS canvas
14. IS IT AN INTERESTING,
SHAREABLE IDEA?
WHICH LEGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL OR SOCIAL
ISSUES COULD YOU BE AFFECTED BY?
WHY IS IT
ACHIEVEABLE?
HOW DO YOU KNOW
THERE’S A MARKET
OPPORTUNITY?
WHAT MAKES IT
SCALABLE?
IS IT ECONOMICALLY
VIABLE?
Can you explain
your idea in ten
words?
Do you have any
good visuals?
Who is your
focused target
audience?
Can you start it
& test it cheaply?
Do you know your
prices - are they
competitive?
Do you know
your fixed &
variable costs?
You have the
skills to do it
You have some
connections that
can help you
along the way
The technology
or hardware
you’ll need is
in common use
You have a fact
or two which can
explain how big
the market is
you have a clear
unique selling
point & competitive
advantage
Which legal issues could you
be affected by?
Which environmental policies
will you use and why?
Are there any ethical or
moral concerns?
How will you protect yourself
against the worst case scenario?
What happens
when your
workload triples?
What’s your plan
for expansion?
15. SEAMLESS CANVAS
Time to practice - we’re going to give you a number of businesses with a
copy of the SEAMLESS Canvas. Your job is to work out how hard they
would be to set up based on the SEAMLESS model shown above.
Picture yourself starting
1 each of these businesses
Use the Seamless canvas to find
reasons why you would or
wouldn’t set each company up
2
Find as many relevant
considerations as possible 3
16. Things to
takeaway
Keep seeking feedback on your idea
Be flexible - allow your idea to adapt
1 Be open to changes and be flexible. The reality is the idea
Seek regular feedback – you don’t have to take it on board,
but try to understand why they said what they did.
will keep changing even as you start and run the business.
2
Use the seamless canvas to check
3 if your idea is going to work
Check early and cover yourself against the negatives.
Setting aside the time now will save you an awful lot of
problems later on.
Abercrombie and Fitch? Probably not. Companies don’t have to exist to solve a problem – it could also be a want or desire, like most fashion or luxury companies!
Problems could be a good place to start with your own business.