QUOTES OF THE DAY
"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way." - Mark Twain
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” - George Bernard Shaw
“To invent you need imagination and a pile of junk.” - Thomas Edison
"Creating opportunities means looking where others are not" - Mark Cuban
SUMMARY
How do you come up with a compelling business idea? This is one the most critical questions that every hopeful entrepreneur wants to answer.
Most students believe that the first step in your journey is ideation -- the process of generating new ideas to solve specific problems. However, innovation does not start with ideation. Rather, you should start ideating only once you've identified a problem that's worth solving. In other words, coming up with new business ideas (value proposition) is pointless if you don't understand what your customers are going through.In fact, most successful entrepreneurs come up with new business ideas by drawing on their past work experiences, often starting businesses in the industry they've worked for a decade or more. In other words, most successful entrepreneurs not only acquire skills, connections, knowledge, and resources while working in a specific industry, but, even more importantly, this experience gives them an opportunity to understand the frustrations and problems customers in this industry face.
In this section, we will look at the most common sources of inspiration for finding potential business ideas and creating a vision. We will highlight the importance of trends and then look at what makes a business idea an opportunity worthy of pursuing.
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT AS YOU DO THE READINGS
1. What are the most common sources of inspiration in the discovery phase? Give an example for each category.
2. Why are teams so critical to execution of ideas? What kind of qualities you should look for in team members?
3. How can you capitalize on macroeconomic and industry trends? Give an example.
4. What about social and demographic trends? Give three examples.
5. How can you take advantage of technology trends? Give three examples.
6. What about government regulation trends? Give three examples.
7. Discuss other types of new technologies (specialized technologies, novel business models, follow the leader? Give one example for each. Which one is the most promising model?
8. What makes an idea a viable opportunity?
9. How did the founder of Flyby came up with his idea?
10. Is the Flyby business a sustainable business model?
11. Can you increase your luck? If so, how?
12. What makes things cool? Are cool things purely subjective?
13. What is MAYA? What is the underlying principle of MAYA? Give examples of some cool designs.
14. What are 3 NASA inventions we use in our everyday live?
15. Describe an experience you had while traveling or engaging in a new activity. Identify what the experience was and what elements you later incorporated into your life.
REQUIRED READINGS/VIDEOS
- (14 pages) Hornblower & Rohan (2008). Identifying Venture Opportunities. Stanford Graduate School of Business. Case-323 [read here]
- (3:24 min) How to be an entrepreneur [watch here]
- (4:06mins) What makes things cool [watch here]
- (4:18mins) 4 Awesome NASA Inventions You Use Every Day [watch here] [infographic]
- (11:39 min) The little risks you can take to increase your luck [watch here]
OPTIONAL MATERIALS
- The world in 2030? by Dr. Michio Kaku [watch here]
- 7 Amazing Origami Inspired Innovations [watch here]
- The Most Googled Product in Every Country [read here]
- Brains, planes, and automobiles: 3D printing is changing the way we make… everything [read here]
- How a janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos [read here]
- Spikeball Hit Over $1m in Annual Revenue With 0 Full-Time Employees [read here]
- The Epic History of Vans Shoes [read here]
- Why Is WeWork Worth so Much? [read here]
- Here’s What The Future Looks Like When Freelancers Make Up 40% Of The Workforce [read here]
- The Story of How Venmo Was Started [read here]
- The Founder of a New Amazon Competitor Explains How They Did $3 Billion After Year 3 [read here]
- (7 pages) Furr, Dyer, and Nel (2019) When You Moon Shots Don’t Take Off. Harvard Business Review. [read here]
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Take Quiz 4: Identifying New Venture Ideas (due Sep 20 at noon on Canvas)
2. Start working on Trends Analysis [read directions here]
3. Classroom Discussion: Identifying a New Venture Opportunity
Come to class prepared to propose a business idea and get feedback from your classmates.
Be sure to think about the following: (1) what is the idea, (2) who is the customer, (3) what is the need/problem, (4) how do you make money, (5) what makes your idea unique, (6) and does it offer appropriate return (given the required investment).
Make sure to think about (1) the underlying trends (i.e., at least 5 data-backed trends) that are fueling the market, (2) the market dynamics (how big is the market, how much is it growing), (3) the key pain points (current problems and pain points that future consumers are facing) [make sure to be specific – e.g., instead of saying “people are getting older” you can describe the impact of aging on specific aspects of people’s lives—from new financial needs to accessibility]; (4) the opportunity that you foresee in this market.
Try to evaluate your idea based on: (1) creativity, (2) feasibility, (3) profitability, (4) and sustainability.