Ideation for start-ups

REGINA BVUDZIJENA

To create something new, ideation is required. In setting up, successful start-ups there is need to think through an idea and craft a proper implementation process. Today marks the first of a series of our step-by-step guide to help start-ups create the best products or services that will stand the test of time.

It is often reported that 4 out of 5 start-ups’ fail because when they were created they focused on solving the wrong problem. This is where the problems start for many start-ups. Without doing a proper homework and due diligence of an idea many start-up founders spend a lot of money building something that will not succeed.

Finding the right opportunity can be the hardest task for any start-up and trying to find the right problem to solve requires exceptional ideation techniques, which are very important, as the life of a start-up is entirely dependent on sustainability through addressing a real need, and have having a growing or sustainable market.

So what is ideation anyway? Ideation is the creative process of generating new ideas. This process is completed through a variety of ideation techniques, such as brainstorming and prototyping. If done right, ideation helps founders determine the real problem that needs solving and ultimately how to solve it.

Many people agree that there are so many problems that are begging for solutions in our economy. From health to the agricultural sector, solutions are required that increase production, or lower health costs.

These sectors require innovative solutions. Start-ups step in to solve such problems by creating solutions that never existed before.

Ideation plays a critical role in the design thinking process—a concept popularised by global design firm IDEO. The goal of design thinking is to empathise with customers, uncover the non-obvious pain points that they are experiencing, and learning more about how the current solutions in the marketplace are not meeting users’ needs. It is often in those gaps where start-ups can spot the best opportunities and then map a way forward on how to formulate services for people in need of it.

The tone on sustainability for such start-ups would already have been set when they begin to solidify the problem—not as they see it, but as customers experienced it.

Generally, if you are looking for better ways to ideate, you need to have a variety of people involved; it helps to look at things from a different vantage point.

This is one thing that most Zimbabwean start-ups are scared of doing, as they are scared that their ideas will be stolen. Contrary to this widespread belief, ideas flourish and mature in the public. I encourage start-ups to openly discuss their ideas with anyone who cares with a listening ear. It is through listening that we pick even better ways of addressing problems. The most outlandish concept could be the right solution, or at least inspire and influence you to the path.

Ideation techniques to try
There are several other ways you can source new ideas that take less time and investment, but are still effective. Here is a look at five ideation techniques you can test for your start-up:

Brainstorming
The main goal is to leverage the power of your network to build on each other’s ideas. It is one of the most recognisable ideation techniques, and an activity you might already perform in your start-ups. There are ways to make brainstorming more effective.

You want to make sure the team involved is diverse, but you also want to limit the brainstorm to five or seven people. The smaller the team, the more focused and effective the conversations.

Only the people you need will be in the room and those employees will feel more responsible for generating ideas; their voices will not be lost in a large crowd. This is relevant to both 1-day-old start-ups and those that have been running for a couple of years.

Method 6-3-5
Method 6-3-5 is a form of brainstorming in which six people write down three ideas in five minutes. When the five minutes is up, team members pass their sheet onto the next person, so that their peer can build off their ideas. This activity is completed in silence to avoid any one employee from dominating the discussion or idea generation—democratising the process and placing each employee on a level playing field.

Prototyping
Creating a physical representation of your idea—prototyping— can help during ideation. Prototyping can help you visualise how your product will work, as well as enable you to gather feedback from internal and external stakeholders’ sooner in the development process. In the virtual world, we now have great wire framing software to mock up mobile applications and this can help startups to prepare and perfect products. Start-ups do not want to be lulled into a false sense of security by creating a prototype that looks more like a final product and start moving so fast they stop seeking input from customers. They also do not want to over-prototype, or rather; keep iterating until engineers feel like they have developed the “perfect” product. One too many virtual design rounds can come with high project development costs.

Five Whys Analysis
Start-ups are encouraged to ask why five times and be able to convincingly answer why? These questions are asked with the goal being to get to the root cause of the problem. Simply start with a problem statement, such as, “Our website didn’t launch on time.” From there, ask “why” that problem happened and, if the response does not identify what you addressed in your problem statement, ask “why” again. Repeat that step until you stop getting useful insights.

Storyboard
Through storyboarding, start-ups can develop a visual story related to their problem or solution.

The activity allows them to illustrate their prospective customer and scenarios in which he or she might interact with the start-up and how. Storyboarding enables teams to bring situations to life and outline the future impact of their solutions.

In the future, we will look at these Ideation techniques in more detail. You can read more about these and get better insights.

Bear in mind that this process is important and will help you make sure that your start-up is on the right track from day 1. This week I also want to challenge start-ups to try out these techniques on some of the problems we are facing as a country. Feel free to share with us at Tech Hub some of the ideas you might have and let us collaborate and help build some prototypes together.

If you want access to space and the internet reach out to us at rbvudzijena@brieftechonline.com or http://cowork.co.zw or Whatsapp 0718924393. We are fully committed to giving profession advice and direction to start-ups.