Founding a startup takes courage, vision and a little bit of crazy. In this new series, u:Plug co-founder Ivan Jelusic talks about his experience in becoming an entrepreneur.
Written by Ivan Jelusic and Maja Zivkovic
What defines a startup? Some would say a startup is a newly founded and still developing small tech company. Yes, startups can be that, but what the essence of what a startup truly is has more to do with solving problems and less to do with the official business model. A great startup always has an idea behind it — an idea that has great potential and usually, a risk factor.
What’s a good starting point for coming up with an idea? We as consumers are surrounded by problems. Both small and big problems surround us every day and yet very few of us actually notice them. Problems are the single best starting point for creating great products and services because these products solve a problem consumers haven’t yet realized they had. And that is what makes an idea marketable.
u:Plug was created from an existing problem –a big number of gadgets, too many cables and too little power sources. After realizing the problem, a few sketches were created and the idea of u:Plug was born.
There are no good or bad ideas in general. New products can be divided into two categories — the ones that solve a tangible problem and the ones that add value to a process, service or an already existing product. Think of it this way — an idea has potential if it solves your own struggle or problem and you yourself would use the product or service every day. If the idea is something that you cannot relate to or by default don’t know much about, it’s probably not a good idea for you to realize (though it might be for someone else). Remember — not all great ideas end up making millions and not all bad ideas fall apart.
Potential, however is not enough. In physics, potential consist of variables. They depend on each other, they relate — they collaborate. The same goes for business. In the beginning the potential of an idea is important, but it all comes down to the problem your idea solves. The problem is what makes a product successful, not potential.
Once you’re completely sure about your idea, you want to start making it happen. To start, you should simply talk about it to other people with the same problem your product is trying to solve. There is no better consultant for your product or business than the consumer who has the same problem your product is solving. Before typing even a single line of code, you must discuss your idea with a relevant amount of people facing that problem.
Design thinking as a problem-solving protocol that ensures the creation of a product in a way that will make sure its features match exact user needs. As a program which consists of brain and mind mapping, intensive interviews, cross sectioning and problem solving, it will help you identify the people who have this problem, as well as to find the patterns within that target group. By knowing who your customers are, you will be able to correctly set the parameters of your product — the price, color, features etc.
Starting something new is difficult, especially when it is as challenging as entrepreneurship is. You must first be prepared to learn how to listen — it is crucial for your product, your business and for you as an entrepreneur to grow, develop and improve. If you listen, you will not only have a better understanding of the problem you are solving, but will have a much better chance of making a user a customer. So go ahead — make your idea happen. Because the future of tomorrow belongs to the one who listens today.
