So …. I have an idea
For those of you who don’t know my background (I am assuming only my mum will be reading this but just in case) — I do not have a technical background. I don’t have a startup background. I fell into things entirely by accident. People tend to like that. It makes them feel comfortable that I am yet to know all the buzzwords. So I get the phone call every couple of weeks. It starts with the person reaching out and telling me they have an idea. Now they don’t know what to do next. What did I do? I love this call because it helps me to reflect on how much I have picked up over the last year. So here is what I tell them.
*disclaimer — nothing I am writing here is original or my individual genius. It is a mish mash of reading and experience. If you are looking for some buzzwords — it is part design thinking, part lean startup, part getting kicked in the balls continually*
Don’t have an idea — have a problem
Problems are where the great journey starts. For Knokal the problem was my sister not being able to find the right service providers for her company. My idea was a social network for small businesses. It was a dog of an idea. But the problem was a real problem.
See if others have this problem
This is where it gets interesting. Does anyone else have this problem? Do they have similar problems but articulate them or think about them in a different way. This is where you think about who else might have this problem and voila — you have started to identify your target market. So what do you next? You buy 20 coffees.
You use those 20 coffees as a chance to speak to people. And by speak I mean listen. Try not to ask too many questions (past about 10 open ended questions you have prepared) and just listen. Don’t try to rule the conversation, let your people go off in whatever tangent they want to. The best ideas are usually in the tangents. During this coffee you try to keep the conversation as free as possible whilst taking notes. Keep asking about pain points — hardest part of your day, job, life etc. DO NOT TRY TO SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS. As my wife keeps telling me — I want you to listen to my problems not try to fix them. This is not about solving the worlds issues, its about knowing what they are. Do not answer any question with a solution. Keep the dialogue going.
Try to find the common problems
Once you have survived the rounds of coffee and amateur therapy it is time to see what you have. Take all of your notes, put them all on post it notes and start grouping the issues together.
Do they have the same problem you identified ? If they don’t, put your pre-conceptions to one side and see what other problems people are having. Out of the 20 people you had coffee with, was there a common problem that was linking all these companies? Did the same couple of problems keep coming up? Once you have those problems you can start looking at possible solutions. I bold possible because just because you know a problem it doesn’t mean you know the solution.
Starting on a solution
This is where you use all those wonderful relationships you made over coffee to your advantage. Ask them — “this problem keeps coming up when I speak to people. How would you fix it?”. Take notes. You now have 20 product ideas to help you start building your product. Keep asking questions rather than giving solutions. No idea is a bad idea. Coffee friend #3 may be 80% of the way there — you just need 20% of coffee friend #14’s idea to create something beautiful.
At the start of this adventure — there was no way in hell my social network for small businesses was going to have content or a directory. I give you 2 guesses what are Knokal’s most popular features. I was right about the problem and dead wrong on the solution. But I learnt. I learnt from the best because my customers are the best.
Next post I will walk you through our product journey
