Identifying opportunities
So many times we come across people who desire to start on their own. But most never start! Primarily because they couldn’t find ideas to start a venture, which they feel are unique, sustainable, scalable, etc.
Of course, there are other problems even if you have an idea – we shall keep that for a later post.
Over last couple of years we have always been on the look-out for promising ideas but its been rather difficult. It doesn’t work that one fine day you sit & decide to think and you will succeed in finding one! In our cases, its always more of a discovery than a conscious effort that one comes with across a promising idea. Though, there are no sure shot ways to find an idea, we have attempted to categorize different approaches. Here it goes -
- Solving a real world problem – This is the best way to zero-in on an idea. If one is solving a problem, providing an engaging solution that users/customers find compelling, the idea has a large probability of success. Google happens to be the top-of-mind example here.
- Identifying a target group and developing a service for them – If one has a target group in mind with some homogeneous characteristics, he/she can study them closely and see where the gap can be filled. Here, one may not be solving a problem, but if the target group is large enough for a product/service that people in this target group are willing to pay for, you still have a business model. See the mushrooming of theme restaurants, movies made for multiplexes in Urban India and you will see what we are talking about.
- Bringing a technology solution to the masses that provides better solution/replacement of existing stuff – This is a tad difficult to make a business in. Because one has already a competition and there is a benchmark product already available in the market that people refer to. Think of Solar Energy devices for mass usage, Novatium’s network computer model in this category.
The above is something we have categorized based on our debates and discussions while identifying ideas. One doesn’t need to follow an approach to find business ideas, but we shall still experiment with the above to see whether we are getting any better. After all, structured thinking have its advantages 
