startup ideation in 4 steps
DESCRIPTION
gravitytank hosted the Founder's Institute Chicago Startup Ideation event on June 24, 2014, where Associate Partner David Sonders shared insight on ways to root your innovative new business idea in problems that need to be solved. For more info, visit the blog post at http://www.gravitytank.com/think_say/saunders_startup_ideation_bootcamp_recapTRANSCRIPT
GRAVITYTANK
gravitytank X founders institute | 24 June 2014 | PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
startup ideation
gravitytank = Dave Sonders =
Founder Institute =
@gravitytankinc @dsonders @founding !#pitchbootcamp
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90+people
RESEARCHERS
STRATEGISTS
DESIGNERS
OPERATIONS
IL chicago
2000-present
CA san francisco
We are an innovation firm.
gtxscoutalarm.tumblr.com
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foodxstartup.tumblr.com
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A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.
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Every gravitytank project is a startup.
startup ideation
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The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. It's to look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself. - Paul Graham, “How to Get Startup Ideas,” Nov 2012
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The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common... 1) they're something the founders themselves want, 2) that they themselves can build, 3) that few others realize are worth doing. !- Paul Graham, “How to Get Startup Ideas,” Nov 2012
“
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a problem you have = a real problem
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An arcade game that’s also a kegerator...
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A social network for dog lovers...
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startup ideation noticing
Much less about “thinking up” an idea, more about noticing a gap in the world.
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1. GOTB
get out of the building talk to real people (friends and family count!)
experience other solutions first hand (be the customer… shop, buy, use)
document the user experience, especially where it breaks down
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2. FIND YOUR IDEAL USER
find your ideal user & attack their problem like a pit bull ! not a demographic group... a single individual
who desperately needs your product
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2. FIND YOUR IDEAL USER
"who wants this right now? Who wants this so much that they'll use it even when it's a crappy version one made by a two-person startup they've never heard of? If you can't answer that, the idea is probably bad." - Paul Graham
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3. GET TANGIBLE
make it or fake it “fake” = special effects
hand sketching, storyboards, animations, clickable mockups, "looks like" prototypes, frankenstein prototypes, etc.
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3. get tangible
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4. TRY STUFF OUT
experiments > research
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4. TRY STUFF OUT
research big companies commission huge market research studies to carefully assess an opportunity
they are slow, expensive, and don't get you any closer to understanding how people are actually going to behave
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4. TRY STUFF OUT
experiments1. make something... either a version of the actual
product or something that simulates its benefits
2. put it out in the world... someone choosing to buy your product is the ultimate form of feedback
3. measure your results
4. learn from your experiment
5. rinse & repeatbuild
measurelearn
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1 green VW beetle 20 users online calendar pen and paper in glovebox key hidden under the cushion on the founder’s porch
MVP {minimum viable product}
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1 GET OUT OF THE BUILDING
2 FIND YOUR IDEAL USER
3 GET TANGIBLE
4 TRY STUFF OUT
thanks @dsonders @gravitytankinc