The economy while slowly on the rebound is not by any means recovered. However, this hasn't started the slew of start-ups that inevitably occur as the result of a downturn. Mainly started by laid off workers or people who see a hole in the market some of these start ups should eventually carry us out of the current recession. Here's the keyword in that sentence: "some". A start-up launched today has 32% survival rate after 8 years. That's scary for any entrepreneur to hear and I don' t want this post to serve as more gloom and doom. I just want to tell you why your idea sucks.
1. If your start-up was so amazing, why didn't you start on this path sooner? Great first question to ask yourself. Why didn't you take the leap while you were still secure in your other job? If the answer is "I didn't think it was good enough." Then you might as well continue looking for another job. You can't build a start up around a desperate idea. It's almost always going to fail.
2. Do you know the industry? Or have you hired someone that does? You don't want to go into any industry blind. Your plan/idea should clearly identify a hole in the market and exploit it. Utilize an expert or acclimate yourself to the industry. Failure to this could be catastrophic.
3. For Web-Start ups: Can your site be widgetized? Does it need its own platform? This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Why should you build a destination based site when you are trying to create something that would be a fantastic supplement? It just doesn't make any sense. You should never try and improve on something that doesn't need to be improved upon. The only defense I've heard for this? Privacy concerns. Fail.
4. Can you market it? Most non-marketers don't think this way. However, as a marketer I look at a product and I can tell you within 10 minutes whether it has a chance at succeeding or failing. I can tell you in two minutes if you are going to fail.
5. Is your idea a need or a want? Think seriously on this one and ask a variety of different people (who won't steal your idea) their opinion. Can you survive? Does your idea hold water?
Made it through that gauntlet? Congratulations, we might actually hear from you again. If not, it's time to go back to the drawing board or start looking for employment. Can you think of any others?
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tagged as bad idea for a start up, bad start up, failure to launch, start up fail, start up marketing, start up strategy, startup launch
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I think your point on can one's idea be widgetized is so true. I still hear so many people talking about walled garden/destination sites/social netowkrs and why bother spending a majority of one's time trying to market a new destination site and spend more time integrating with a network that has already been built i.e. facebook, twitter.
If anyone has an idea and wants to get some constructive criticism (us telling you how you can make your idea suck less) we would love to have you on Pokin' Holes at dartboston!
Stuart,
Some really great points here and ones that we should consider with Scribnia.
Sometimes it can be more than these points though. Sometimes you can have a great idea but not approach it correctly. Other times you can have a mediocre idea but if you approach it right, you can find success. Sometimes what starts out as a mediocre idea can help you test the waters and understand the market better until you can refocus your idea in a better direction.
I like the concept of a need or want though. I think that this is where finding a niche that “needs” and building off of that is important.
Dave
Cort raises a great point. Want free consulting essentially? In the Boston area? Come to Pokin' Holes.
You can tell someone in 2 minutes whether they're going to fail? I support an objective assessment of whether an idea sucks, but your hyperbole and generalities take all the wind out of the topic of this post.
As far as success is concerned, it doesn't matter if it's a need or a want as long as it registers high enough on one of those scales. No one NEEDS a $6,000 Armani suit, but do you believe Armani's business is doomed to fail? Certainly the vast majority of people buying Kindle's don't NEED them, but is the idea going to fail because of that?
Perceived need. Perceived need. Perceived need. Armani didn't start out making $6,000 suits. They have just achieved such a high level of quality/recognition that they are able to charge that amount. I'm not disputing supply and demand.
The kindle will likely fail. Will it spur future progress and lead to something better though? Absolutely. That's why Amazon is marketing it (also it cuts down on their overhead if they can achieve widespread adoption.)
The two minutes thing? Yeah, probably a bit much. However, you would be amazed at the level of ineptitude demonstrated at conferences/shows. Some people there are amazing. Others couldn't tell their head from a hole in the ground.
Stu: 10 to the 4th! Great stuff!
JT
You can tell someone in 2 minutes whether they're going to fail? I support an objective assessment of whether an idea sucks, but your hyperbole and generalities take all the wind out of the topic of this post.
As far as success is concerned, it doesn't matter if it's a need or a want as long as it registers high enough on one of those scales. No one NEEDS a $6,000 Armani suit, but do you believe Armani's business is doomed to fail? Certainly the vast majority of people buying Kindle's don't NEED them, but is the idea going to fail because of that?
Perceived need. Perceived need. Perceived need. Armani didn't start out making $6,000 suits. They have just achieved such a high level of quality/recognition that they are able to charge that amount. I'm not disputing supply and demand.
The kindle will likely fail. Will it spur future progress and lead to something better though? Absolutely. That's why Amazon is marketing it (also it cuts down on their overhead if they can achieve widespread adoption.)
The two minutes thing? Yeah, probably a bit much. However, you would be amazed at the level of ineptitude demonstrated at conferences/shows. Some people there are amazing. Others couldn't tell their head from a hole in the ground.
Perceived need. Perceived need. Perceived need. Armani didn't start out making $6,000 suits. They have just achieved such a high level of quality/recognition that they are able to charge that amount. I'm not disputing supply and demand.
The kindle will likely fail. Will it spur future progress and lead to something better though? Absolutely. That's why Amazon is marketing it (also it cuts down on their overhead if they can achieve widespread adoption.)
The two minutes thing? Yeah, probably a bit much. However, you would be amazed at the level of ineptitude demonstrated at conferences/shows. Some people there are amazing. Others couldn't tell their head from a hole in the ground.
Stu: 10 to the 4th! Great stuff!
JT
Stu: 10 to the 4th! Great stuff!
JT
Stu: 10 to the 4th! Great stuff!
JT
Stu: 10 to the 4th! Great stuff!
JT
You can tell someone in 2 minutes whether they're going to fail? I support an objective assessment of whether an idea sucks, but your hyperbole and generalities take all the wind out of the topic of this post.
As far as success is concerned, it doesn't matter if it's a need or a want as long as it registers high enough on one of those scales. No one NEEDS a $6,000 Armani suit, but do you believe Armani's business is doomed to fail? Certainly the vast majority of people buying Kindle's don't NEED them, but is the idea going to fail because of that?
Perceived need. Perceived need. Perceived need. Armani didn't start out making $6,000 suits. They have just achieved such a high level of quality/recognition that they are able to charge that amount. I'm not disputing supply and demand.
The kindle will likely fail. Will it spur future progress and lead to something better though? Absolutely. That's why Amazon is marketing it (also it cuts down on their overhead if they can achieve widespread adoption.)
The two minutes thing? Yeah, probably a bit much. However, you would be amazed at the level of ineptitude demonstrated at conferences/shows. Some people there are amazing. Others couldn't tell their head from a hole in the ground.
Stu: 10 to the 4th! Great stuff!
JT