Not all ideas are born equal — you already know that.

When talking about ideas for startups, I refer only to those which have a good potential to be profitable.

It’s easy for me to speak — having all this experience… but what about those who didn’t spend their whole career in startups?

A good idea is not just a solution to a problem — it’s a feasible solution to a bothersome problem.

The “feasible” part seems hard to estimate, especially when you are not a lifelong techie.

Throwing AI on it isn’t always a solution because it has limitations that might not be obvious until encountered.

How do you recognize your good startup ideas?

Step 1 — notice an impactful problem

It should be something annoying enough for people to be willing to pay for a solution and ubiquitous enough (meaning big target audience).

Example of such problems: Maps for a specific need, not covered by GoogleMaps, like caravan parkings, breastfeeding locations, and pet-friendly places.

Step 2 — write down your solution

Write it down like a recipe — ingredients (like an app or a website) and preparation steps. If you can map out the logical steps, then it should be easy to develop.

Pay special attention to the logic behind decisions the software should make (the parallels of ‘salt to taste’) — some of those can be done by AI, as long as you don’t expect it to be smart.

Step 3 — do the money math

Rank the complexity of your solution recipe 1-10. Rank expected frequency of use 1-10 (10 is daily, 1 is once).

Estimate the amount of people who have the problem. Rank the effort required to reach them as a group 1-10 (ads are 10; don’t say ads).

You don’t need a calculator for the next step; you need your gut feeling.

Look at the numbers.

Complex solution, small audience that’s hard to reach — probably not worth the effort.

Simple solution, big audience that’s somewhat represented in your social circle — probably a gold mine.

Frequency of use is the tie breaker. Products that are often on someone’s mind are those who sell by word of mouth. Eventually.

Want my help in evaluating your idea?