Is your idea valuable?
In the previous article, I talked about how to figure out if your idea already exists as a company. You should only proceed with this next step if you’ve done the research mentioned in that article and decided to proceed with your idea.
Today, I’m going to tell you some techniques you can use to figure out if your idea is actually worth anything (read: is there a substantial number of people willing to pay for it besides you?).
People are willing to pay for value, and value takes many forms.
Value can be in the form of tangibles such as saving them time or money, or it can take the form of intangibles such as entertainment, status, nostalgia, etc.
The thing about value is it’s completely subjective — each person who receives value from your startup will not receive the same value in the same way. Each person may receive some common benefits such as time savings, but some people may love using your product because its design reminds them of something special to them whereas others may not be fans of your design because it reminds them of another site they really dislike.
That may seem like a silly example, but don’t forget that the users of your product will be people (like you and me), and we people have traits that can make us a bit hard to predict as consumers — emotions, subconscious prejudices, insecurities, longings, etc.
Again, value is completely subjective to the person receiving the value.
Quick exercise: grab a piece of paper or a napkin and write three different types of people who may use your product, categorized by age/gender/occupation. You can even give them names if you’d like. Now, for each of these three imaginary customers, write down all the things you can think of that you think would make each person value your idea. Be sure to not only write down tangible benefits they will receive (which will likely be the same or nearly the same for all of these customers), but the intangible benefits (such as emotions). You can even give each customer a backstory that explains why they would receive these subjective, intangible benefits.
What did you come up with? Reply with a picture of your napkin! I’d love to see what you came up with.
Is the idea of intangible benefits a new concept for you? I’d also love to know that. Comment below and let me know! And as always, feel free to ask any questions you have! I won’t share your questions without your consent.
’Til next time,
— J
P.S. My pick of the week: This amazing Turkey Crust [Keto-Friendly] Meatza. I discovered this recipe a few weeks ago and OH. MAN. Last week, I literally had this for four days. If you’re keto (or if you’re not and you just love good food), make this pizza. It has less than 10g of carbs per serving, but I substituted the tomato sauce for spicy garlic wing sauce (Kroger brand) to bring it down to < 2g of carbs for the whole pizza (because I eat the whole pizza in one sitting). Trust me, do this. Now.
