_The challenge of managing an embarassment of riches isn’t easy — it has been known to bring down an empire, or two. Still, San is lucky, he is passionate about more than one idea and needs help figuring out how to prioritize his efforts. Can Found|READ’s community offer him advice?_
I have a simple question. As an entrepreneur how do you keep the urge to pursue multiple projects in check?
* What if you’re high on 2-3 original ideas?
* What if each one can make people’s lives easier?
* What if the time seems right for more then one of your ideas?
* Who knows, somebody else may think of one of them, too, and come out with your idea first?
* Do you prioritize your ideas and risk sitting on one of them for too long?
Do you put some your oh-so-ripe-project on the backburner for a week or two?
Just wondering and maybe seeking some helpful advice.
This is the classic struggle of the hyper-imaginative entrepreneur. The reality is you must select one (unless you have some disciples to run with your other ideas). Cultivating an idea into a successful company is simply too time consuming to attempt to execute multiples businesses at once.
So what to do with your other ideas? There are 3 options. Evaluate them and decide if you should change horses (a serious topic on its own!), donate your ideas to the community and hope someone else might pick it up and run with it, or protect the idea legally and try to use it later. This latter might end with slapping some other poor entrepreneur with a patent violation suit – a rather unsavory business model.}
Talk to a mess of people (preferably the target market for each idea) and ask them to sign up to use it/buy it today. If you need to (to communicate the idea) whip up some mockups/screenshots.
Then attack ONE idea based on how much people want it and/or are willing to pay for it.
Remember that no one wants to make someone feel bad, so your feedback will be skewed positive.
Here are some other bonus tie-breakers:
1) Go with the idea that people like to talk about. Something controversial or something that would play well (on an ongoing basis) on communities like Digg, Reddit, etc.
2) Take the idea that casts the widest search engine indexable net of content (SEO + lots of indexed pages = free traffic).
3) Take the idea that is searched for most out of the three. Go to Google trends and run through a few queries to see which are seems most popular (SEO + popular terms = free traffic).
4) Pick the one that doesn’t rely on targeted advertising as a business model.
5) Which idea could you get to market faster or cheaper?
6) Post the ideas somewhere (here?) and ask for responses/feedback. Please, please, don’t tell me that you don’t want to do this because the ideas are too good/clever and you’re afraid they’ll get stolen.}
Every entrepreneur I know is on to 2 or 3 ‘original ideas’:) including myself. All of your ideas should makes peoples lives easier – if not – probably good criteria for elimination. Someone else thinking about the same idea?… if you don’t honestly believe that there is at least 3 others thinking about the same or something similar you are being naive. This is a good thing as it will help drive you to market.
I write all my ideas down in a notebook and let them digest for often long periods of time. Often letting the idea sit, will help evolve your thinking to a better product/business model etc.
Try and write a short executive summary, or pitch. The easier you can describe the situation that you are making ‘better, faster, cheaper’ the more likely others will get excited about it.
Share your ideas with people whom you trust their opinion and that they will give you constructive feedback on the idea. Preferably someone who might have some knowledge in the field you are looking at.
Whatever one you choose be prepared to fail the first time, and get ready to work through this. Its not that the idea is bad, it may just need some iterations. A startup idea I worked on for 9 months last year fizzled due to a number of reasons. I actually still think there is a business with it, but we definitely had the wrong spin the first time.}
Sanchit these are very good and relevant questions.lately i found my self coping with these very questions…
The best advice i can give you is this:
Try to appreciate the right timing for each of the ideas to break into the market!!! sometimes you will have no choise to wait and someone will go public with your idea but hey that’s business and enterprising.
Good luck and always keep thinking!!!}
If you’re fortunate enough to have more than one good opertunity come your way, my advice is to take a good hard look at your bed – and kiss it good bye. Get yourself a comfy chair – tell your friends if they want to see you they’ll have to huddle around your desk while you work – and get busy.}