Just How Much Is Your App Idea Worth? Let’s Find Out

In my several years as a technical consultant to budding entrepreneurs and startup founders, I have come across more “billion-dollar ideas” than I can count on my fingers (and toes). It is very common to hear people go on and on about how valuable their idea is. These conversations tend to be peppered with terms such as “million-dollar”, “one of its kind”, “100% original” among others.

But exactly how much is your idea worth? What separates a “good” idea from a “bad idea”? And how can you transform yours from the former to the latter?

I belong to the school of thought that says “Ideas don’t carry any value”. This statement almost always manages to offend those who thrive on conjuring up “original and billion-dollar” app ideas every single day. But I’ll still stick to it — here’s why.

An idea is at its best “a viable seed”. And viable seeds are worth nothing if they don’t grow up to be plants/trees.

What Makes A Good Idea?

Saying you have the world’s most amazing startup idea is like “telling” your spouse that you love them more than anything else in the world without ever showing it through your actions.

Hence, your “billion dollar idea” is worth exactly $0.

Now the above doesn’t mean that all ideas are born equal. Yes, there are no 100% original ideas that are guaranteed to make you bank. But there, certainly, are bad ideas. Bad ideas are like bad cookies — they crumble the moment you prick them. Bad ideas are unabashedly unoriginal, not well thought out and un-pivotable.

I know, right now, you’re like “Jeez, we know bad ideas are…well, bad. But what’s a good idea?”

The single most important characteristic that makes an idea “good” is that it should deliver a value. It should introduce an improvement — a good idea should make something faster, stronger, easier, more accessible, more efficient, more elegant…this list goes on. And it should also stand enquiry.

Turn Your Bad Idea Into A Good One

Every single day I talk to people with ideas who falter as soon as I ask them some follow-up questions. I like to tackle things from a “problem-first” perspective. If it’s an Uber-like idea, the first question can be “how will you tackle the safety of your passenger?” or “how will you regulate your fleet of taxis?”. A good idea usually stands firm against at least some of these questions. Now, the answers shouldn’t always have to come from “them” (idea generator) only — an idea is still good in my books if I, myself, can propose a viable solution to it.

Simply put, good ideas are articulated, well-discussed, and backed by a vision to transform them into action.

Just like people, almost all bad ideas are also redeemable. One common misconception is that unoriginal ideas are always bad ideas. No, they are not. Case in point, Careem — an Uber-like service that caters specifically to the Middle East. It’s not an original idea — but it has been made a success via effective execution and good marketing.

And these two factors contribute a lot in turning bad ideas into good ones. It is not unusual for products/services, that seemed a great idea on paper, to falter miserably in the actual market. An idea that is shaped using in-depth market research, crafted to perfection by skilled engineers, marketed using the right tactics and then maintained through diligence and a customer-first approach has very high chances of success.

Should I Stop Coming Up With Ideas?

Note that I didn’t say “guaranteed to success” — that’s because there is no such thing as guaranteed success. Case in point, Google+ — all you can ever do is make sure you work on things you can to reduce the possibility of failure.

“I like to think of ideas as potential energy. They’re really wonderful but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action” — Mae Jemison

No, absolutely not. Ideas are vital to progress. Just stop calling them “billion dollar” ideas. And for the love of God, stop saying “I can’t share my idea else someone will steal it”. No one can help you turn your idea into a good product if you can’t share the same with utmost transparency. Also, anyone can steal your idea once you launch your product. And when done correctly, the “copycats” can often trump over the “originals” (looking at ya, Instagram Stories).

So polish your ideas a bit more, discuss them with others, and start the journey of turning them into reality today.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on March 4, 2018.