The #1 company-killer is lack of market.
- Marc Andreessen
Find answers to these questions:
Who will buy it?
Where are they?
Have you talked to them?
Have you talked to people who know about the business?
Will you buy it?
Who already sells it?
Who is the best at it?
What are the gaps/problems still unaddressed? (cheaper, lagging behind in a particular important area)?
Why did no one ever thought of this (your idea) before? is there something you don't know?
Who can tell me more about it? (experts, people with experience in the industry)
What are the assumptions, risks, and unknowns?
What skills would I need to acquire to successfully run this business?
How excited am I about this idea?
And, how will you make money? (revenue model, user base, profit margins etc)
You have to find a small market in which you can get a monopoly, and then quickly expand.
- Sam Altman
- Go to where the customers are and ask them: Ask them on the street. Ask them via focus groups.
- Write about the idea on your blog, or via your YouTube channel ask for people's thoughts on the idea.
- Read existing business information and research on this topic.
- If someone has already done it
Instead of saying 'They already did it', you say 'They already did it, but it could be better'.
Find the 'better.'
There will always be a first to market.
Google wasn't the first search engine.
Create your own category in that market and then expand from there.
Tesla motors went after the electric cars market.
- Taking on a bigger competitor/s
Can you take them on cost (cheaper)?
Is the market large enough market for multiple players and variety?
Is your product/service better/easier to use?
Are you faster than them with marketing and operation innovations? (The leopard is faster through the jungle than the elephant)
- Protecting your idea:
Google search on the key words related to your idea - search patent offices (of your country as well as U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at www.uspto.gov).
You may protect your ideas through patent, as well as copyright, trade secret programs, or NDA’s, but not that much.
Thank you for reading.
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