How To Go From Idea To Startup?

September 8, 2021

Startups arise from creating a solution to a problem. Although there are several ways to generate ideas for startups, the main mechanisms in ideas are either a solution to a problem or filling a gap in human life. Generating authentic startup ideas is another issue that should be discussed in another blog post (Adam Grant’s Udemy course on Developing Original Ideas might be useful to watch for original ideas), but focusing on how to move from concept to startup is a much more significant point. Execution is the most crucial point when it comes to startups. Thus, considering how to go from an idea to a startup should be the primary focus. It would help to care about these vital points before building your startup.

Customer Research

You probably picked a problem and thought about possible solutions to this problem while you intended to found your startup. However, your solution is almost precisely not the suitable one. First of all, there exists a target group for your solution who experiences the problem intensely. They might find your idea (solution) useless while tackling the problem. Perhaps, you know something is wrong with the situation. To understand the target group’s needs correctly, you should conduct customer research for them. Be careful that you must not talk about your idea or your solution while conducting these sessions. Keep in mind that you are talking with them to understand how they experience the problem, how far they feel the pain, whether it must be solved as soon as possible, or whether the problem (that you think it might) exists or not. The other important point in going from idea to startup appears here: Maybe, the problem you picked does not exist, and people do not experience it. This may result from misunderstanding, and there is a greater likelihood that you can notice your mistake while conducting customer research or MVP. Don’t forget that one of the top reasons startups fail is trying to solve problems that do not exist.

MVP

You have already come across the concept of MVP if you spent time in entrepreneurship or startups. It is the shortening of “Minimum Viable Product,” and it might be a great tool to understand whether your solution works or not. Suppose you realized that you picked the right problem, but your answer is not the best (of course, it might not be the best at the beginning, and you must work harder and harder to achieve a product-market fit). In that case, you can start with minor improvements to your solution to build your actual product. This process continues forever; products are constantly changing: Learn, unlearn, and relearn.

However, if you notice you misunderstood the problem, you must pivot your solution before building the actual product.

Do not forget that MVP is not an actual product. You don’t have to spend a lot of time on it. It should be as uncomplicated as possible. The only aim for MVP is to test whether your solution works or not.

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