Someone Said Your Idea is a Dead End. Now What?

As entrepreneurs, we look to develop innovative business ideas in order to offer a product or service that will shift the industry. This can be tough because of course, you need to come up with something original. To top it all off you are up against the all the other Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg hopefuls also looking to make a dent in the world with their stroke of genius. Starting a business requires a ton of capital for you to either build or implement your idea. Unless you are Elon Musk who sold his first two companies netting 160 million, only later to fund his next idea SpaceX using that money…. you’ll need funding from somewhere else. That involves you going through the strenuous task of pitching your idea over and over to investors and other funding organizations. This is the part where most entrepreneurs hit the wall and wonder why they ever started. “Your idea won’t work “or “no one will buy your product.” These are the soul crushing words entrepreneurs hear on a daily basis and early on these once motivated individuals drop out of the race to success. Okay so one, two or even ten people said your idea won’t work. Should you throw in the towel? Absolutely not! I always tell myself if Howard Schultz gave up after being rejected by banks 242 times there would be no Starbucks. Even legends who changed the world like Steve jobs faced rejection at his idea of the personal computer. People will give you a hundred different reasons to walk away, but a real entrepreneur is the one who searches for answers when faced with doubt.

Market Research is Key

The fact of the matter is that great ideas comes from the problems you faced. The good news is nine times out of ten there are many more people facing the same problem and are looking for a similar solution. How do I know this? Well, you shared the same issue as your target market, only you were smart enough and had the initiative to figure out a way to fix it and share the answer with others. But for all intensive purposes, lets say that’s not a good theory to lay the foundation for your next steps. In fact, you should always assume that it isn’t enough to just say people will like your product. Prove it!

Ask Yourself

Great! Now that you have your idea which was carefully planned and pampered like your first born baby, think of all the reasons you want to abandon it (figuratively of course). Before developing the product or service, many others, including myself spend a good chunk of time coming up with all the possible ways it could go wrong. You may be surprised with the problems you discover. Understandably, it takes a great deal of energy and enthusiasm out of you. However, I am sure you would much rather come across a problem now rather than later down the road, when your time and money is on the line. I myself have found this incredibly helpful and I have developed my skills as a critical thinker which has made me a more honest business man.

Ask Business Professionals

Getting a second opinion from others about your idea can be scary because of what they might say. I suggest starting with friends and slowly branching out of your comfort zone. Personally, I started out by reaching out to my mentors. This allowed me to gain valuable feedback, but in a more approachable environment. Eventually, you will find it easier moving towards seeking suggestions and advice from business professionals, who are ultimately the ones who give you more helpful and meaningful feedback. On the other hand, some young entrepreneurs are hesitant to talk about their idea because they fear that listeners might hijack their entire plan altogether. While this is understandable and something definitely to keep in mind while conversing, innovators need to understand that they are just providing an outline of what the business is about. You are not, by any means handing over the full blueprint to anyone. Trust me, I have benefited greatly from seeking feedback. In fact, I can say just about every single person I have conversed with has contributed something new for me to think about while I develop my ideas.

Ask Your Buyers

As the common phrase goes, “the customer is always right.” Turns out it’s very true. Why not get the opinion of the people who are actually going to buy or use your product? Conducting your own primary research may sound complicated, but it can be as simple as standing out in public and talking to consumers to see what they think about your idea. Most people would rather collect the information through online surveys because you can just do it while sitting down and eating a bag of Doritos. However, this method comes with it’s own set of disadvantages. One major drawback is the fact that the ratio between the actual response rate of the survey versus view rate (the number of people who see that your survey is available to complete) is very low. We have all done it! Received or opened a survey only to close the tab or ignore it, unaware of what it is in regards to. Another limit to online surveys is the lack of person to person interaction. Most of the time when gathering information, you may find it helpful to talk to the person directly. This gives you the opportunity to address questions that may arise while conversing and it will encourage consumers to participate in longer, and arguably more informative discussions. However, despite these issues I still strongly recommend using the online survey method because it does target the few people who you do not come across in person. Be sure that this method of information extraction is used as a compliment along with other methods and not your primary source. 

Comparing this to an in-person encounter, in terms of response rate, most people will stop and hear what you have to say. In addition, participants will find it easier to give you better feedback because most would find it more time efficient to talk rather than write or type out their thoughts and suggestions. One great example of this is through focus groups. This is where you invite a select group of people to converse in a guided discussion to gain feedback about your product. Remember, consumer feedback is the most important type of feedback you are going to get. With that in mind, don’t be afraid to start from the drawing board and re-work your idea, based on that feedback you received. A business is always an undergoing progress. No one will get it right the first time. Take Steve Jobs for example. It was not the Apple I that became the future of home computers. It was the Apple II.

The Solution

You might be thinking… This is great and all but, how do I prove to the investors, on paper that I have a product that will sell? How do I prove it without actual sales? Or even without an actual product developed? The answer is support. You need your future customers to back you up and stand by you. If you convince them that your product is right for them they will want to buy it, when you release it. For now, with your limited capital, something as simple as collecting signatures can work. Perhaps you can start using social media to communicate your business. Which would eventually lead to building momentum into a strong social community that supports your business. With this strategy you will have a Facebook page with likes and Instagram followers, which serves as quantifiable data you can display. Even gathering written statements from the consumers you talked to earlier or from your social media sites can boost your initial investors confidence. If you’ve ever taken economics here is something that you thought you would never hear again. Supply and Demand! The concept being, if there is a demand for your product you are most definitely going to get sales. Again, you just need to prove to the investors that there is a demand, that people believe in your idea and that there is a market in which you can grow and scale.