✴️ #7 How to Find an Idea

Personally, I prefer to consume content over audio. Even when I read, I listen to the corresponding audiobook at 2x speed because it helps me retain information. So here’s an audio version of me reading the newsletter, just in case you’re the same way 🙂 

📈 Lesson: How to Pick an Idea

Ideas and projects are a lot like science experiments.

You start out with a thesis - a best guess at the way things are. In the case of startups, the guess involves 3 things:

1. How people do something

2. What I can do to make it better

3. If the current —> better difference is worth paying for

The actual scope of this search is huge - infinite in fact. Not only are there an infinite number of problems, problems and solutions are fractal. For example, if you want to help real estate agents engage leads, you will soon find commercial and residential agents have different needs. If you then choose residential, there will be a difference between agents in London and Shanghai.

The way I’m doing it is simply picking a direction and doing all I can to learn more about it.

There are two large dimensions to this problem set.

1. Problem urgency

2. Problem-founder fit

There are two things that I know are true in this search:

1. There is a problem that exists somewhere that someone is willing to pay for.

2. I will do what is required to fix that problem. If it requires a skill that I don’t yet have, I can develop it by working with people for free, or working with someone else who does have that skill.

The assumption I made was that founders would want to hear more from their users. Here is the problem I found:

• You either care about users or you don’t

• If you care, you have systems in place to hear from users

• If you don’t, my service doesn’t matter

• The benefits of user conversations aren’t clear (closeness to users isn’t a clear metric)

• “Great” user conversations require an intimate knowledge of the product, development pipeline, and broader strategy goals

After a very helpful conversation with a founder-turned-investor, it seems like communities might be the way to go. This person also led me to the Web3 space, where communities seem to be very common. Here are the steps I’m taking:

• Reaching out to people in my network to learn more about the Web3 space

• Speaking to community managers to discover common pain points, success metrics, customer profiles, as well as project scopes and time commitments

With this information I can start to look at what the business might look like, and craft an offer to send out to potential customers.

🔗 Software: Kick in the Butt Bot

I sometimes get too soft on myself - I made a quick chatgpt plugin to help you get that swift kick in the butt whenever you need it 😅 

Please Note: I am not responsible for any emotional damage caused by any kicks in the butt!

What’s Next?

Talking to founders has made it clear that they don’t need what I have. I’m working my way into some crypto/web3 networks, since they seem to have a built in need for communities!

That’s all for now!

Remember to keep learning, have fun, keep moving forwards! Inch by inch is how we win.

Cheers,

Ben

X | Youtube