Why hasn’t it been done already?
Unless one does not go through the logical and emotional journey of discovering this answer, you are almost always destined to regret going down this path without the diligence it deserved.
There are 3 possible responses to this question
It’s Been Done… I Just Don’t Know Of It
Happens in 20% of the cases in my experience.
- Spend whatever time you can in finding them.
- Experience them as a customer.
- Experience them as a competitor.
- Talk to people who have experienced them.
- Don’t settle before you know everything about what is it that they are doing and how you are going to be different.
It’s Been Done And It Failed
Happens in 79% of the cases in my experience.
- Find out why it failed, as if your life depends on it. And it does.
- You will be fascinated by what you find – market conditions, unfavorable economics, market size, customer adoption, technology non-readiness.
- The goal here is to make your solution work, when their failed. Doing it better is not good enough.
- Repeat – Doing it better is not good enough!
It’s Never Been Done Before
Happens in 1% of the cases. In my experience, it’s never happened:
- I am, on an average, no smarter than the world.
- So what I have thought of – is something that millions would have already thought of.
- Don’t give yourself more importance than you deserve. Go back to points 1 and 2 above.
The sharpest, most successful brains will tell you to not care two fucks about the world when starting up. Let your passion be your force.
The same brains would have spent countless hours figuring why the world is the way it is. And how, what they are doing, is going to change the way the world is.
[This post by Ankur Warikoo first appeared on LinkedIn and has been reproduced with permission.]
