Finding and Testing Your Startup Idea
By Henrik Scheel, Founder of Startup Experience
Avg. read time 2 mins
I’m going to share a secret with you. It can look from the outside like every entrepreneur woke up with a brilliant idea, told a friend, the friend became a co-founder, and they built a hugely successful company around that exact idea.
In reality, the only way to create a brilliant company is to start with an imperfect idea and test it so that you can pivot it into something truly great. If you wait for the perfect idea, you may never get started.
I recommend using the Lean Startup Method for this process which emphasizes a customer feedback loop to test your business idea. It will save you time and money, which are two of the most important resources for any business just getting started.
Customer Feedback Loop
When you have identified a problem that you want to solve for a specific customer segment, the first and most important step is to research the problem by talking to your potential customers. It can be as informal as chatting with people at a coffee shop, or you can set up formal focus groups. But most importantly, I recommend that you, the visionary for your solution, conduct these customer interviews yourself.
Ask Them Questions
Ask them questions to make sure the problem actually needs solving before you start building a solution. This insight can be invaluable. You may find that a different customer audience is a better match, or that a change in your strategy will make your solution a lot better.
Create a Prototype
To minimize risk, consider creating a prototype of your solution to include in your customer interviews. This can show you how your future users will interact with your product and what you may need to modify to be successful.
Test Your Market
Through this process, you are testing your market to help validate that there is a demand for your solution. Making sure there is a market for your solution is a big part of what will ultimately make your business successful.
TAKEAWAY
The more you learn in the beginning, the faster you can achieve success.
