I have quite the opposite problem, too many problems to solve, and not enough time/resources to build everything. I figured I could describe my thought process, and maybe it will help you come up with ideas too. It's a pretty basic three step process; 1. choose a topic (or industry, or domain, or space, or whatever you want to call it) that you personally enjoy, or have deep knowledge/experience. 2. on a white board, write down all the different aspects or components that comprise whatever topic you choose, and next to each component, write down a person or role that's associated with each component. 3. take each association you've built and look for two things from the person's and/or role's perspective; within the context of the topic, look for a pain point and/or a new capability. In my opinion, the key is being able to rationalize things from other people's perspectives. Building the associations is a good exercise that will get the brainstorming going. Choosing a topic you personally enjoy or have deep knowledge/experience will provide you with insights and unique perspectives that you can leverage to build something of value. Some of my best ideas were the result of correlating these insights and perspectives with the pain points and/or capabilities identified above. Hopefully this thought process will help you come up with some killer ideas!
Regarding the problem I'm experiencing, I've been experimenting with a new approach that is similar to the Idealab approach used by Bill Gross. Understanding the effectiveness of focusing on one project at a time, this experimental approach is to validate ideas, protect their IP, and then build teams to execute independently. So while I work on one Project at a time, the team(s) I've built can execute other Projects (and resulting Products/Businesses). The value that I'm providing is the validation of each idea with potential customers, as well as the protection of any associated IP (via patents). The team would, of course, own the majority of each Business and I would take a small percentage. The way I see it, an approach like this is great because of two reasons; one, it's great practice for me in terms of team-building and customer validation. two, I get to watch these crazy ideas be executed, resulting in new Products that would make life better for everyone (me included!). It will be interesting to see how this works out! If you would be interested in checking out some of these Projects, let me know!
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I have quite the opposite problem, too many problems to solve, and not enough time/resources to build everything. I figured I could describe my thought process, and maybe it will help you come up with ideas too. It's a pretty basic three step process; 1. choose a topic (or industry, or domain, or space, or whatever you want to call it) that you personally enjoy, or have deep knowledge/experience. 2. on a white board, write down all the different aspects or components that comprise whatever topic you choose, and next to each component, write down a person or role that's associated with each component. 3. take each association you've built and look for two things from the person's and/or role's perspective; within the context of the topic, look for a pain point and/or a new capability. In my opinion, the key is being able to rationalize things from other people's perspectives. Building the associations is a good exercise that will get the brainstorming going. Choosing a topic you personally enjoy or have deep knowledge/experience will provide you with insights and unique perspectives that you can leverage to build something of value. Some of my best ideas were the result of correlating these insights and perspectives with the pain points and/or capabilities identified above. Hopefully this thought process will help you come up with some killer ideas!
Regarding the problem I'm experiencing, I've been experimenting with a new approach that is similar to the Idealab approach used by Bill Gross. Understanding the effectiveness of focusing on one project at a time, this experimental approach is to validate ideas, protect their IP, and then build teams to execute independently. So while I work on one Project at a time, the team(s) I've built can execute other Projects (and resulting Products/Businesses). The value that I'm providing is the validation of each idea with potential customers, as well as the protection of any associated IP (via patents). The team would, of course, own the majority of each Business and I would take a small percentage. The way I see it, an approach like this is great because of two reasons; one, it's great practice for me in terms of team-building and customer validation. two, I get to watch these crazy ideas be executed, resulting in new Products that would make life better for everyone (me included!). It will be interesting to see how this works out! If you would be interested in checking out some of these Projects, let me know!
I would love to see some of the projects!