wasabi ventures academy: find an idea for your startup
DESCRIPTION
The first topic that any new entrepreneurial effort has to tackle is the idea generation. In a nutshell: What problem will my company solve? This class will cover brainstorming concepts, idea selection, and early problem solving formulation. The goal at the end of the class is that a participant will be able to identify 1 to 3 ideas that have a reasonable chance to turn into a company. This is part of the Wasabi Ventures Startup Foundations Training program, if you are interested in going through the WV Academy visit http://academy.wasabiventures.com or email [email protected]TRANSCRIPT
WV Academy: Finding Fundable, Executable Business Ideas
An Innovative And Dynamic Approach To Venture Capital And Incubation
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures
All ideas suck. TK
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures
It is all about execution. TK
What Are Ideas?
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures
We are talking about business ideas
They are a solution to a problem
They are NOT a business
They DO NOT have to have a business model
They have to be something you care about and understand
Where To Get Your Idea
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures
*** NOTE: This is only true if you are building a “fundable” company. Lots of great non-fundable ideas for businesses turn into great businesses. But that is a different presentation!
Ideas Should Be Personal
You should have personal experiences that allow you
to identify them
Ideas need to be definable
In 2 sentences, can you describe the problem and your
solution?
Ideas need to be able to change the world***
Can an idea turn into a solution for a large
problem?
TK’s 4 Week Trick
Take the next 4 weeks and pay attention…
List all of the things you wanted to do and couldn’t do easily
Ask yourself these questions:
Sit down with a mentor(s) and vet the list
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures
Why couldn’t I do this?
Why couldn’t I find a solution?
Was anyone else also trying to do this?
Would I pay to have made this easier?
Build A Simple Pitch Deck For Your New Idea
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures
1
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Decks help you hone your message
Makes it easier to talk to strangers
Doesn’t have to be pretty but has to answer the 3 absolute essential questions
This deck is not about raising money, it is about telling a story and getting smarter.
The 3 Questions
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures An Innovative And Dynamic Approach To Venture Capital And Incubation
What makes your market attractive?
What makes your product/service a killer app?
Why are you uniquely qualified to do this?
Market Attractiveness
If Yahoo, then Google; if MySpace, then Facebook
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures An Innovative And Dynamic Approach To Venture Capital And Incubation
10% of a $1B Market = $100M/year = IPO, baby
Financials will do anything for an advantage
Don’t bother creating a new desktop OS
SIZE
WILLINGNESS TO TRY NEW THINGS
OPENNESS
SUCCESSFUL ANALOGOUS STARTUPS
The Killer App
Magic Like nothing that came before (iPad)
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures An Innovative And Dynamic Approach To Venture Capital And Incubation
A major pain (especially in the wallet) Aspirin, not vitamin (VMware)
A new crack (cocaine, not plumber) Viral and/or addictive (Facebook, Angry Birds)
An affordable indulgence/convenience Same, but not the same (Macbook Air)
Unique Qualifications
An Innovative And Dynamic Approach To Venture Capital And Incubation Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures
Relevant, successful prior
experience
General startup experience
Team has the complete set of required skills
The first…the leading…the only…
Relationships with key market players
Academic degrees
Unrelated prior experience
“I Have No Ideas!”
DON’T PANIC!
WV has over 200 to choose from!
If you are selected to be in our EiR program, we will give you some to choose
from.
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures
Academy.wasabiventures.com @wasabiventures
If you are interested or know some
interested in the class, email