Living Entrepreneurship Blog / Babson Entrepreneurs

What To Do With a Really Big Idea

Entrepreneurs have ideas, sometimes lots of ideas. But how do you get from idea, to an actual business opportunity? Oftentimes many entrepreneurs think they have a great idea, create the product/service, but don’t think about the other dimensions of the business. On October 2, the Butler Venture Accelerator had a lunch and learn session on idea modeling to learn a different approach on what to do when an idea pops up.

Alex Bruton's Really Big Idea Sketch Pad

Using Alex Bruton’s Really Big Idea Sketch Pad, participants took an idea and assessed whether it was a feasible opportunity. Here are the components that were considered:

  • Who are the people? Who are the people running the company? Who is the customer?
  • What is the core competency? What do you do best? What is your strength?
  • What is the offering? What is your product/service?
  • What is the value proposition? What value can you provide to customers? What pain are you solving?

Once these parameters were analyzed, everyone agreed that the idea that was presented, was an actual business opportunity.

This framework can be used for any idea. But what’s after? Take your idea to the next step. Go out, talk to the customers you primarily identified, collect information from them. Design and implement small tests to see who your customers actually are, what your channels are and if you are actually bringing value. See if your idea is feasible, you never know if your really big idea could be the next really big business opportunity.