Will Your Business Idea Fly? Identifying Useful, Workable and Quick Hit Ideas

Idea
Identiﬁcation

Will
Your
Business
Idea
Fly?

http://emagine-‐group.com
Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

“There
is
nothing
more

powerful
than
an
IDEA
whose

time
has
come.”

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

We
all
know
this
phrase
in
respect

to
politics
and
social
change,
but

have
you
ever
thought
about
it

from
the
business
point
of
view?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Ideas
are
the
basis
of
the
new

digital
and
knowledge
based

economies.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

For
decades,
business
ideas

required
huge
capital
investment

to
setup
factories,
distribution
and

sales
engines.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Now,
the
best
ideas
can
be

implemented
with
3
–
4
driven

individuals.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

But
the
idea
must
be
the
right

idea…

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Three
Types
of
Ideas

Useless,
Workable
and
Quick
Hit

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Useless
Ideas

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

A
Useless
Idea
is
something
that
is

dreamed
up
but
the
entrepreneur

has
no
personal
understanding
or

experience
in
the
business
they
are

proposing.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

When
you
don’t
have
the

experience
to
back
up
the
idea,

you
are
dependent
on
other

people
to
make
it
successful
and

personally
have
no
buy-‐in
with
the

venture

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

That
makes
you
–
replaceable
–

and
that
is
not
a
viable
idea
for
a

venture
capitalist,
angel
investor
or

bank.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

VCs,
Angels
and
banks
only
invest

into
ideas
where
the
person
sitting

in
front
of
them
has
a
personal

buy-‐in
with
the
venture

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

They
are
either
the
vision
that

drives
the
organization,
the
force

that
runs
it
or
the
intelligence
that

builds
it

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

The
world
is
full
of
idea
men,
very

few
of
them
can
deliver
on
their

ideas.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Examples
of
a
Useless
Idea

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

A
farmer
starting
a
manufacturing

plant
that
produces
auto
parts

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

An
MBA
starting
a
game

development
house

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

A
plumber
starting
an
electrical

business.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

I
think
you
get
the
idea
–
if
you

don’t
have
any
real,
measurable

experience
in
the
industry
that
you

want
to
start
–
you
have
the
wrong

idea.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Workable
Ideas

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

A
Workable
Idea
is
something
that

will
take
time
and
eﬀort
to
develop

but
will
be
proﬁtable
once
stable.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

These
ideas
are
the
basis
of
the

knowledge
economy
because
they

will
continue
to
grow
and
develop

as
the
venture
grows
–
in
other

words,
they
don’t
stagnate

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

VCs,
Angels
and
banks
love
these

types
of
ventures
because
they
are

able
to
invest
into
the
initial
start-‐
up
and
reap
their
returns
during

the
growth
stage

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Allowing
them
to
cash
out
–
or

capitalize
–
when
the
venture
is

mature
with
very
high
returns
on

their
investments.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Software
Development
Companies

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Consulting
Firms

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Research
Houses

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Technology
Planners

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

These
are
all
ventures
that
take

time
to
build
and
become

successful,
but
will
continue
to

expand
and
develop
over
time

increasing
their
product/service

oﬀering
with
each
expansion.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Quick
Hit
Ideas

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

A
Quick
Hit
Idea
is
one
that
will

generate
revenue
from
day
1
of

operations.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

These
ventures
are
typically
called

quick
hit
ideas
because
they
return

the
investment
immediately
but

the
returns
are
minimal
at
best.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Experience
doesn’t
matter
because

you
are
only
looking
to
capitalize

on
a
temporary
need
in
the
market

and
know
that
you
will
be
“out
of

business”
once
the
need

disappears.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Quick
hit
ventures
are
also
low-‐
experience,
low
intelligence

businesses
–
and
I
don’t
mean
that

to
be
rude.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Take
for
example,
your
local

general
store
–
what
does
he
oﬀer

that
the
general
store
next
door
or

down
the
street
doesn’t?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

In
other
words,
the
revenue

generation
of
this
idea
is
limited

until
someone
opens
another
store

in
the
area
that
cuts
into
their

limited
customer
base.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

So
now
that
we
have
identiﬁed
the

diﬀerent
idea
types
–
how
do
we

judge
our
own
ideas?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Idea
Prooﬁng

Determining
If
Your
Idea
Will
Last

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

People
will
give
you
a
lot
of
ways

to
judge
your
idea,
but
most
of

them
are
not
useful
from
the
point

of
view
of
“idea
prooﬁng.”

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

What
is
Idea
Prooﬁng?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Idea
Prooﬁng
is
something
we
do

at
emagine
to
determine
whether

an
idea
is
viable
and
feasible
or
not.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

It
is
not
diﬃcult,
but
it
requires

removing
the
emotion,
excitement

and
passion
of
the
entrepreneur

from
the
equation.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Ideas
can
not
be
judged
based
on

what
the
entrepreneur
says,
but

how
it
looks
on
paper

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

So
what
are
we
looking
for?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
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Enabled

Does
it
solve
compelling

unserved
need?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Every
entrepreneur
thinks
they

have
the
million
dollar
idea,
but

deciding
if
it
really
is
starts
with

this
question
–
what
need
does
it

solve?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Ask
people
if
the
need
you
see
is

really
a
need.
Society
is
the
best

judge
of
the
idea
because
they
are

your
future
customers.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

But
here’s
the
trick,
you
can’t

explain
the
business
idea
to
them
–

only
the
end
result
product/service

you
will
provide
them.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

If
they
can’t
see
it
from
that,
your

idea
is
not
going
to
work
without
a

lot
of
work,
education
and

marketing
–
all
of
which
means
the

need
is
not
really
there.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

How
much
money
will
you
need

and
how
will
you
use
it?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

This
is
a
big
question
because

capital
is
what
makes
businesses

run
and
grow.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

If
you
need
too
much
capital
or

can’t
explain
how
the
capital
will

be
used
to
build
the
business,

attract
the
customer
or
grow
it,

your
idea
may
not
be
the
right
one.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

What
are
you
oﬀering
and
how

does
it
work?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Exactly
what
product/service
are

you
oﬀering
and
how
will
it
work?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

You
must
be
clear
with
this

deﬁnition
because
if
you
are
not

clear,
how
do
you
expect
anyone

else
to
understand
it?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

We
have
talked
to
people
with

great
ideas
and
what
could
be

outstanding
products,
but
they
are

unable
to
explain
their
product/
solution
in
simple

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Our
test
–
if
you
can’t
explain
the

product/service
in
15
words
or
less,

you
are
not
clear.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

More
importantly,
if
it
takes
more

than
2
minutes
to
explain
how
to

use
it
–
it’s
game
over.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Customers
don’t
read
manuals,

instruction
booklets
or
websites
–

they
either
understand
how
to
use

it
or
call
you.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Who
exactly
is
your
customer?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

The
answer
to
this
question
is
not

everyone
–
no
product
or
service

has
ever
been
designed
for

everyone’s
use.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

You
need
to
be
able
to
deﬁne
who

will
buy
your
product/service.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

B2B,
B2C,
B2G,
Fortune
500,
SME,

NGO,
Men,
Women,
Housewives,

Bachelors,
Students,
Athletes….

And
the
list
goes
on
and
on….

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Another
question
you
have
to

answer
with
this
question
is
–

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Is
there
a
speciﬁc
situation
that

will
drive
the
purchase
or
use
of

my
product/service?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

The
more
precise
you
are,
the

better
you
idea
proof
your
idea.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

How
will
you
provide
your

product/service?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

One
of
the
biggest
questions
is

HOW
you
plan
to
win
customers
–

what
is
your
strategy
for
product/
service
delivery?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Do
they
need
to
come
to
your

oﬃce
or
shop
to
buy?
Will
you
go

to
them?
Can
it
be
bought
and

installed
online?
What
hours
will

you
keep?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Who
is
involved
in
your

venture’s
success?
Who
are
the

stakeholders?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Every
entrepreneur
would
like
to

believe
that
they
can
do
everything

–
we
are
all
Superman
when
it

comes
to
our
ideas,
but
that
is
not

possible.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Of
course,
the
entrepreneur
must

have
a
strong
foundation
of

experience
and
stability
in
their

professional
life,
but
who
are
the

other
key
resources?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

The
ﬁrst
way
to
destroy
your

business
is
to
hire
friends
because

they
are
friends
and
you
like
to

hang
out
together
–
hanging
out
is

very
diﬀerent
than
working

together.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Business
relationships
are
very

stressful
and
can
destroy

friendships,
especially
if
you
have

to
ﬁre
a
friend…

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

But
does
that
mean
you
don’t

hire
friends?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Of
course
not
–
it
just
means
that

you
must
be
very
clear
about
the

skill
set
and
abilities
of
your
friend

before
hiring
them
–
this
is

business.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Who
will
be
your
competition?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Ideas
are
great
things,
but
you

have
to
look
at
the
whole

environment
before
deciding
if
the

idea
is
viable
or
not.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Competitors
go
a
long
way
to

helping
you
understand
if
your
idea

can
succeed
or
not.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

There
are
no
businesses
that
have

no
competition
–
that
idea
only

exists
inside
an
entrepreneur’s

head.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

If
there
are
a
great
deal
of

companies,
you
will
only
get
a

limited
share
of
the
existing
pie.
If

there
are
few
competitors,
you

need
to
understand
why.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Talk
about
your
competitors,

understand
them,
ﬁgure
out
how

your
business
will
be
better
and

how
you
will
beat
them
–

otherwise
get
ready
to
fail.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

What
makes
your
venture

special?
What
makes
you

diﬀerent?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Startups
are
risky
for
investors,
so

they
want
to
know
what
will
make

you
successful
compared
to

everyone
else.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Does
your
business
have
a
unique

skill
set
or
knowledge?
Proprietary

methods?
Unique
brands
that

aren’t
available
anywhere
else?

Innovative
technologies?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

The
thing
that
makes
you
diﬀerent

will
usually
make
you
successful

because
it
changes
the
way
the

consumer
does
something
–
or

what
we
call
revolutionizes
service

delivery.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

These
are
all
questions
that
we
ask

when
we
idea
proof
a
venture

before
investing

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Anywhere,
we
have
hesitation
will

cause
us,
and
any
other
VC,
to
stop

and
think
–
even
if
it
is
days
before

the
check
is
written.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

VCs
have
to
be
sure
before
they

release
the
money
to
the

entrepreneur
because
getting
it

back
is
very
diﬃcult.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

We
also
use
a
Buyer
Utility
Map

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

This
6
x
6
table
is
one
of
the
best

tools
we
have
for
determining
if
an

idea
will
be
successful
or
not.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Why
is
this
a
great
tool?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

The
Buyer
Utility
Table
forces
you

to
look
at
your
business
idea
from

the
view
of
the
consumer
to

determine
whether
the
idea
will

work
or
not.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

So
let’s
look
at
both
sides
of
the

table

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

The
Six
Stages
of
Buyer
Experience

Purchase
How
&
where
do
they
get
it?

Delivery
Can
it
be
delivered
to
their
home
or
oﬃce?

Use
How
do
they
use
it?

Supplements
Does
it
require
any
special
or
addi@onal
items
to
use?

Maintenance
How
oBen
will
it
need
to
be
serviced
or
checked?

Disposal
What
does
the
consumer
do
with
it
when
they
are
done?

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

The
Six
U7lity
Levers

Environmental

In
today’s
world,
everyone
is
environment
friendly
–
is
your
product?

Friendliness

Fun
&
Image
Does
it
improve
the
consumer’s
image
or
give
them
more
enjoyment?

Risk
Is
there
any
risk
involved
with
product/service
usage?

Convenience
How
easy
is
it
to
carry
and
store?

Simplicity
How
easy
is
it
to
use?

Customer

Does
it
improve
their
produc@vity
in
any
part
of
their
lives?

Produc@vity

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

You
now
have
a
basis
for

understanding
how
to
idea
proof

your
venture.

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Next
Lecture:

The
Business
Model

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Readings
for
Next
Week:

Knowing
a
Winning
Business
Idea
When
You
See

One

Launching
a
World
Class
Venture

The
Questions
Every
Entrepreneur
Must
Answer

Brand
Focused,
Socially
Active,
Digitally
Enabled

Will Your Business Idea Fly? Identifying Useful, Workable and Quick Hit Ideas

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