startup ideation in 4 steps

GRAVITYTANK

gravitytank X founders institute | 24 June 2014 | PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL

startup ideation

gravitytank = Dave Sonders =

Founder Institute =

@gravitytankinc @dsonders @founding !#pitchbootcamp

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90+people

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IL chicago

2000-present

CA san francisco

We are an innovation firm.

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foodxstartup.tumblr.com

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A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.

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Every gravitytank project is a startup.

startup ideation

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The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. It's to look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself. - Paul Graham, “How to Get Startup Ideas,” Nov 2012

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The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common... 1) they're something the founders themselves want, 2) that they themselves can build, 3) that few others realize are worth doing. !- Paul Graham, “How to Get Startup Ideas,” Nov 2012

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a problem you have = a real problem

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An arcade game that’s also a kegerator...

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A social network for dog lovers...

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startup ideation noticing

Much less about “thinking up” an idea, more about noticing a gap in the world.

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1. GOTB

get out of the building talk to real people (friends and family count!)

experience other solutions first hand (be the customer… shop, buy, use)

document the user experience, especially where it breaks down

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2. FIND YOUR IDEAL USER

find your ideal user & attack their problem like a pit bull ! not a demographic group... a single individual

who desperately needs your product

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2. FIND YOUR IDEAL USER

"who wants this right now? Who wants this so much that they'll use it even when it's a crappy version one made by a two-person startup they've never heard of? If you can't answer that, the idea is probably bad." - Paul Graham

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3. GET TANGIBLE

make it or fake it “fake” = special effects

hand sketching, storyboards, animations, clickable mockups, "looks like" prototypes, frankenstein prototypes, etc.

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3. get tangible

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4. TRY STUFF OUT

experiments > research

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4. TRY STUFF OUT

research big companies commission huge market research studies to carefully assess an opportunity

they are slow, expensive, and don't get you any closer to understanding how people are actually going to behave

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4. TRY STUFF OUT

experiments1. make something... either a version of the actual

product or something that simulates its benefits

2. put it out in the world... someone choosing to buy your product is the ultimate form of feedback

3. measure your results

4. learn from your experiment

5. rinse & repeatbuild

measurelearn

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1 green VW beetle 20 users online calendar pen and paper in glovebox key hidden under the cushion on the founder’s porch

MVP {minimum viable product}

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1 GET OUT OF THE BUILDING

2 FIND YOUR IDEAL USER

3 GET TANGIBLE

4 TRY STUFF OUT

thanks @dsonders @gravitytankinc