Startup series 1 - Generating a business idea

Beyond Growth | Startup series | How to generate a great business idea

Last edited on:

Aug 1, 2023

Author:

Jordy Oost

This series of articles is crafted to help entrepreneurs and team members of early-stage companies grow their business. The insights are based on experience, literature and evergreen content written by leading experts in the startup arena.

In this first part, we'll explore the art of ideation and provide you with industry advice and insights from personal experience to help you with your ideation process.

1️⃣ Startup series - part 1 - Generating a business idea <— You are here
2️⃣ Startup series - part 2 - Validating your business idea
3️⃣ Startup series - part 3 - Identifying your ideal customer profile
4️⃣ Startup series - part 4 - Choosing the right marketing channels

Who am I?

I am someone who loves helping early-stage B2B companies market their products and grow their business. I launched my first business at age 18, built my first profitable webshop in my early 20s, and later developed my skills in revenue operations and growth marketing for startups and scale-ups.

In this first part, we'll explore the art of ideation and provide you with industry advice and insights from personal experience to help you with your ideation process.

Who am I?

On generating ideas in general

In the video above writer and researcher Richard St. John makes the case that great ideas can come from surprisingly humble beginnings. When it comes to ideation in general I don't want to limit you to a focus on "business" only.

Start training your idea muscle by generating and writing down ideas in the most simple way possible. Cream will rise to the top eventually.

1. Have a problem --- think of a possible solution
2. Listen --- it's like wifi for ideas
3. Look around --- observe and look for problems you can solve
4. Start writing down every idea

On generating ideas in general

On generating business ideas

Before jumping into ways to come up with, or improve, a business idea I need to share a remark: Usually the first idea you start working on is only a stepping stone towards a better idea.

“Don’t wait for a brilliant idea to start as an entrepreneur - your first non-brilliant idea is usually the stepping stone towards a better idea.”

That being said, let’s start with some personal notes about generating a business idea:

As said earlier, don’t wait for a brilliant idea - your first idea is usually the stepping stone towards a better idea.
Pay attention to problems you encounter - many entrepreneurs created a solution to a problem that we’re encountering during daily life
Use the things you’re good at as a starting point - whether these are certain career skills or hobby’s and passions you have
Execution is key - While ideas are important, execution is equally if not more

On generating business ideas

Before jumping into ways to come up with, or improve, a business idea I need to share a remark: Usually the first idea you start working on is only a stepping stone towards a better idea.

“Don’t wait for a brilliant idea to start as an entrepreneur - your first non-brilliant idea is usually the stepping stone towards a better idea.”

That being said, let’s start with some personal notes about generating a business idea:

As said earlier, don’t wait for a brilliant idea - your first idea is usually the stepping stone towards a better idea.
Pay attention to problems you encounter - many entrepreneurs created a solution to a problem that we’re encountering during daily life
Use the things you’re good at as a starting point - whether these are certain career skills or hobby’s and passions you have
Execution is key - While ideas are important, execution is equally if not more