Does it scratch your own itch?
“Best startups generally come from somebody needing to scratch an itch.” – Michael Arrington (Founder, Techcrunch)
Most entrepreneurs will tell you to “scratch your own itch.” This means start by solving your own problems and creating products or services that make your life easier or better. If someone else were to tell you about this idea would you want to use it?
It is much harder to solve someone else’s problem than your own. If you can solve one of your own problems, you will be a far better judge of whether your idea is any good or not. When you know that your idea has already made a big difference to your life then it’s much easier to persuade future customers.
2) Will someone pay for it?
“An idea is just an idea until you have a paying customer attached to it.” – Wil Schroter (CEO, Fundable)
Will someone buy it? Would you?
If you haven’t started to have these types of conversations now is the time. Talk to your friends and family, they may not be your target audience but at least you can perfect your pitch. You really want to have clear evidence that people would value this idea enough to pay for it.
3) How big is your market?
How many people are affected by this problem? How many people care enough about this problem to want it solved? Research how big your target market is and how much impact your solution could bring. Can you find any benchmarks from existing businesses in this market?
You can also use free tools like Google trends, Google Keyword Tool or Facebook’s free ad manager to gauge the interest level in your market niche. You can check out the App store and see how hot your app category is and what the top grossing apps are. You can set up an inexpensive landing page that helps test the interest in your idea before committing to building a mobile app.
4) Who is your competition?
I’m amazed at the number of times that people have told me their big idea, without being aware of the existing competition.
Do you know if someone is already doing something similar to your idea? It doesn’t matter if the answer is yes as long as you know how your idea will be better. However, to blindly enter a competitive market without first assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your competition is risky at best. Understanding both your customers and your competition helps any startup better position themselves for success.