Always take a global view.
The Entrepreneur Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question “How do you come up with a new startup idea?” is written by Jeff Reid, founding director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative.
There’s a misconception that every startup founder wakes up in the middle of the night to an idea striking like a bolt of lightning. Most of the time, though, it doesn’t happen that way. Most startup ideas can’t be traced back to a single “Eureka” moment. Instead, most ideas evolve gradually and in stages.
Rather than waiting for a lightning bolt to strike, here are three ways to come up with a new startup idea:
1. Look for a problem in your day-to-day life
Rather than searching for an idea, search for real-world problems. As students, Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru, all 2007 graduates of Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, noticed a shortage of healthy food options near campus. It was a personal problem for them. Three months after graduation, Sweetgreen was born. Nearly a decade later, Sweetgreen has 40 locations across the country and has garnered national media attention.
If you hear yourself or someone else complaining about something, it might be a problem worth solving. An industry or hobby in which you have expertise is a great place to start.
See also: What to Do When Someone Criticizes Your Idea
If you haven’t yet found a problem in your daily life, be more analytical and methodical about the process: 2. Look for fundamental changes and trends in industry, regulation, or consumer behavior Industries and markets are constantly changing in small and incremental ways, but […]
