Everyone has that one friend that says “I don’t have any good ideas.” Let me tell you something, most people generate a lot of ideas and you can’t believe that none of them are good ideas. The problem that most people face is differentiating poor ideas from the great ones. If it was so easy, everyone would be millionaires. Below are the three guidelines I look at when I’m looking at the feasibility of any product I’m working on.

1. Build a product that solves a need.

A lot of people want to build the next Facebook, Google or LinkedIn. I’m telling you now, there isn’t anything wrong with dreaming big but, a lot of being in the right place and right time played a huge role in their inception. An important lesson that can be learned from the birth of these startups is build a product that solves a need. Specifically, solve a need that affects you personally because you would know your solution when you see it. Mark Zuckerberg originally built Facebook as a way to stay connected with his friends. Yes, MySpace existed, but it wasn’t considered cool or exclusive like Facebook. Focus on building a product that you would pay someone else to solve.

2. Keep it simple and don’t try to reinvent the wheel.

Build a product that anyone can understand. It’s easier to sell and more people can relate to what you are solving. It’s easy to see why the Pebble was successful and raised a record $10 million on Kickstarter. Pebble was the first smart watch designed with the perfect balance between functionality and design. A new invention doesn’t have to be the next big thing, a simple cat toy named SHRU raised $170,000 on Kickstarter. The product is successful and all it does is moves back and forth autonomously, as well as shake and make cute sounds. Simple products that don’t reinvent the wheel can and are successful.

3. Try to exchange funds with your target market as soon as possible.

If you’re building a product that you know someone would purchase, immediately try to get someone to pay you for building it. Even if it’s an idea or a prototype, as long as it solves a need, someone should be willing to pay. Exchanging funds is a business fundamental, and there is a significant difference between having someone pay you $1 and agreeing they will buy your product. There are multiple ways of validating if your target market is willing to exchange funds with you:

1) Sell your product idea to your friends, family and random strangers to see if anyone would pre-order your product for a $1

2) Post your product idea on Kijiji and see if anyone responds

3) Create a landing page and gather sign-ups (this works better for software based products)

Closing Thoughts

Finding a great idea requires a lot of weeding out of poor ideas. Here at MAKO, we strongly believe that anyone can be a successful inventor. With the right people at your side, we believe your product ideas can and will succeed in the mass market.

About the Author

Jonathan Ku
@jonku_

Jonathan Ku is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for building products from the ground up. He holds the role of Manager of Strategy with MAKO Invent, a full service, end-to-end North American product development firm.