After Eureka!7 questions to test if it’s

really a good business idea.

simon kirby | opine consulting | www.opineconsulting.com | © Opine Consulting Limited, 2010

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Market attractiveness?

Customer needs?

Proposition?

Competitor lock-out?

Profitability?

Feasibility?

Strategic fit?

01Market attractiveness?1. What’s the size and

value of the market? 2. How much of it is

realistically available? 3. Is the market

changing, growing, shrinking or consolidating?

4. Are there any changes or discontinuities that could transform the market in your favour?

“I have determined that there is no market for talking pictures.”

Thomas Edison

02 Customer needs?1. Are my customer

needs clearly defined, strong and unmet?

2. Are there unvoiced customer needs?

3. What’s it worth to the customer to meet those needs?

 “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

Henry Ford •

03 Proposition?1. Is the proposition

clearly defined?2. Does it meet strong

customer needs? 3. Is it different?4. Is it interesting?

 “One thousand songs in your pocket.”

Apple (the first iPod)

04Competitor lock-out?1. Is it patentable? 2. Can I use or build a

powerful brand?3. Are there any scale

economies and can I get big quickly enough to benefit from them?

4. Do I bring a distinctive capability to the innovation?

5. Can I build exclusive partnerships?

 “One thousand songs in your pocket.”

Apple (the first iPod)

05 Profitability?1. What businesses are

comparable? How much do they make and what are they worth?

2. How risky are the cost and revenue streams?

3. How many revenue streams does the innovation generate? [the more, the better.]

 “Growth is the scoreboard, not the game.”

Gary Hamel

•

06 Feasibility?1. Who needs to be

asked what to understand if it can be done?

2. Are there precedents that suggest it’s feasible?

3. Can I do it at reasonable cost and risk?

”one must look at things from the simplest, most practical point of view. ”

Fyodor Dostoevsky

07 Strategic fit?1. What core

competency would the venture deploy?

2. How does it fit or leverage brand or distribution strengths?

3. Does it use proprietary processes, skills and know-how?

~ Passion …“Irrational passion is the key change agent of our economy." Seth Godin

~ Story…“Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure.”

Albert Einstein