Tips to generate startup ideas

Generating ideas is a tricky topic because startup ideas are subtle, but you can train yourself and become an idea-generating machine. 🔍 What should you know about ideas? 1. You don't need unique ideas; only a few ideas are truly unique. 2. You don't need a brilliant idea; good-enough ideas work well. 3. Ideas morph over time. Initial ideas are almost never the same as the final product. 4. Most good ideas are very un-sexy. 5. Your idea doesn't have to be the next big thing; small businesses are killing it. 6. If others think it's too hard, that leaves a gap for you 7. You'll be putting a lot of time into the idea, so make sure you enjoy it. 8. The competition is good. It means people want the product. 9. Always start with questions: what problem it solves? 10. Don't rule out ideas that are already executed; seek niche improvement 11. Most companies succeed not because they have a unique ideas, but because they are consistently well executed 12. Many ideas come when you least expect them, be sure to write them down ASAP 💎 How to generate Ideas 1. Think about a product that you love but is not available in your location/region 2. Write down what your team is best at (skills, industry knowledge, ...) and think of ideas that you would have an unfair advantage in executing. All these ideas have automatic founder/market fit. 3. Think of things you wish someone else would build for you. 4. What would you be excited to work on for 10 years, even if it didn't succeed? - remember, consistent quality work can lead to huge success even with OK ideas. 5. Think of things that have changed in the world and ask yourself: what is possible now that was not possible before? Good example is Covid, Blockchain, AI, and ML. 6. Make a list of recently successful companies and consider if you can make new variants. A good example is companies replicating the tech of successful giants for smaller players: Shopify made it possible to create 'Amazon' for your own small shop in just a few clicks. 7. Talk with experts in a particular field and ask them about their problems. 8. Make a list of industries and think about which is the most broken, then think about how you can solve that. An excellent example of this is a YC company called LendUp, which is a replacement for payday lending. And part of the founding story of LendUp is that the founders just noticed that payday lending was a broken and scammy industry. 💎 More general ways to ideate: 1. Do boring stuff throughout the day. Most ideas are born when you do things on autopilot. 2. Meditate - get used to thinking about nothing. 3. Start writing. Write anything; just don’t stop. It helps you think about things you would not have thought about otherwise. 4. Do brainstorming sessions with your friends. What is your strategy for idea generation?