Starting the Generator

When I first started attending Startup Weekend events, I just wanted to help people build interesting things. I came at it with more of a “hackathon” mindset – using the skills I currently had to build Web and social media presence for the new startup, as well as learning new things that I could add to my toolbelt for future events. After attending a couple of events and watching others get in front of the crowd and pitch something interesting, I decided to give pitching an idea a try at Startup Weekend Iowa City 2016. The event was focused on fashion, so my idea involved utilizing crowdsourcing to pick outfits for the fashion-challenged. The idea ended up going nowhere after the event, but I now had a new skill under my belt: generating startup ideas.

At the next Startup Weekend I attended in Decatur, Illinois, I pitched the precursor to Cider Finder. I ended up placing second at that event, and I finally was on to something. Coming up with ideas to pitch at events didn’t seem as daunting as it once did. However, I’m relatively outgoing and don’t mind getting up in front of crowds to speak. Many attendees have difficulty or a fear of public speaking, and one of the questions I receive as a Startup Weekend Facilitator is how some folks are able to get up and pitch two or three ideas at an event, and they have difficulty thinking of just one idea.

I’ll start with the simple answer: ideas for solutions are based in real-life problems. Every single person has unsolved problems, no matter their situation in life. Think about all of the things you do each week – at home, at work, and in between. Think of all the annoying, slow, or expensive tools you use to complete your daily and weekly tasks. Could you design something – a cheaper tool, a better process, a piece of software or automation – that would drastically improve your quality of life? These are your points of friction, and all successful businesses come from solving or eliminating points of friction. Don’t worry about the eventual solution when you are contemplating the problems in your life.

Have you worked in different industries or sectors of the economy during your career? Has something worked in one job but is not used or considered in another? There might be an opportunity to port a solution from one industry to another. Is there a new regulation in your line of work? There might be an opportunity to build a business around adapting to that new regulation in your industry. Do your coworkers or direct reports constantly complain about a process in your industry? There might be a way to solve this problem with relative ease by transferring technology from another industry to yours, and a business can be built around these processes.

You can always prepare in advance for ideation events like Startup Weekend. Much like Startup Weekend, the first step is to get out there and talk to people! If you’re a big fan of networking and social events in your local entrepreneurial ecosystem, talk with people you’ve never met and are different than you in some way about the problems they’re having in workflows and around the house. You may already have a list of annoyances in your daily life, but there might be obvious things you’ve missed when you briefly step away from your personal point of view. Make sure you keep track of folks who reveal major problems or annoyances – these could be your first customers in the future.

If you have trouble talking to strangers, don’t fret! As I mentioned earlier, every person on Earth has minor and major annoyances in workflows on the job and processes at home. Every time anything is slow, annoying, manual, or overpriced, keep a running list no matter how big or small the annoyance. Personally, I have dozens of little notebooks that I’ve picked up at trade shows and conferences that just gather dust in the bottom drawer of my desk at home. I try to put these little notebooks to good use, carrying them in my work bag until they are full of ideas and notes. Even though I’m not planning on starting something new anytime soon, I keep a few ideas on hand just in case I wind up facilitating a Startup Weekend event with exceptionally quiet or introverted participants. Injecting an idea or two into the mix is one of the best ways to break the ice at these events, and a couple of people will usually get up and pitch something when they see the process is completely painless.

Once you fill up a notebook, feel free to go through and weed out some of the weaker ideas. Sometimes, an idea sounded great at the time, but on further examination turned out to be pretty weak. Don’t be afraid to toss ideas or give them away to people – ideas carry no value in themselves, but only gain value once activated. Four different people could work on the same idea, and four different businesses would be built, all at different levels of viability. (This is why I stress to Startup Weekend participants that even if someone “steals your idea,” it’s the one who develops the idea into the most viable business that comes out on top.)

It’s perfectly fine to jump on a team without pitching an idea at your first Startup Weekend. However, the best way to learn how to ideate is to put yourself out there and pitch something! Entrepreneurship is a learn-by-doing trade. I provide a lot of resources on different aspects of startup and business formation and try to remove many of the bumps and wrinkles new entrepreneurs face during the initial stages of growth. However, the most resilient founders and businesses use the knowledge gained on the theoretical side and jump head-first into uncharted territory.

If you want to practice your ideation skills, join me in just under three months for Startup Weekend Iowa City, November 20-22, at the EntrePartners Innovation Center. Our Startup Weekend event is probably the safest place to try new things and learn new skills like pitching ideas that you’ll find anywhere in the Midwest. Get registered, show up ready to contribute something, and grab a frosty beverage when you arrive. It’s always a fun time, and you might just walk away from the event with a new career trajectory!