To generate project ideas — learn from Art

Startup Lab
Aug 26, 2017 · 2 min read

Among aspiring founders, it is common to look for the “perfect” startup idea, that fits all the criteria they think a successful startup must have. But if you look at any other creative field, you will see that it’s the worst approach you can imagine.

Aspiring painters don’t strive to invent new artstyles in their first projects, they focus on understanding theory, learning, copying experts, and producing a lot of work to gain skill. Aspiring screenwriters do not try to write the “perfect” screenplay, and the ones who do never end up writing anything.

Most creative people understand that the quality of your project depends on your skill, not on having a brilliant initial idea. You can’t directly control your skill, and you can’t force yourself to generate a brilliant million dollar epiphany, especially if you’re newbie. What you optimize for is learning, and practicing, and then, the quality of your ideas is a side effect of you being a skilled artist.

So if you’re just starting out — focus on building and launching a lot of projects. Try to create a mockup exploring an idea every week, and to launch a prototype every month. That’s what many indie game developers do, and it’s a great approach for us to learn from.

So copy experts, practice building a lot of things, and focus on becoming an expert at generating projects in general, because this is the process you can directly control. Let the successful business be a natural side effect of you producing a lot of things and being good at it.

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Startup Lab

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Insightful ideas and actionable advice for aspiring founders. https://startuplab.io

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