The document provides principles and considerations for generating business ideas. It discusses that entrepreneurship is a practice, not a science or art. Good business ideas address a clear customer pain or market need, have a value proposition for a critical mass of customers, and can evolve over time. Ideas often start from personal pain, market gaps, interest, or industry insights. The document also discusses opportunity assessment, expanded thinking about related business opportunities, business modeling questions, and designing with the user experience in mind.

1. Stephen Daze
Dom Herrick Entrepreneur in Residence and
Visiting Professor
uOttawa, Telfer School of Management
Idea Generation
for Entrepreneurs

2. Fundamental Premise
Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art.
It’s a practice.
- Peter Drucker
“ ”
Generating business ideas is nothing more then practice
surrounded by some core principles.

3. 3
Foundation Elements of Entrepreneurial Idea Seeking
Innovator’s DNA:

4. Idea Generation Principles
1

5. 5
Idea Generation Principles
A Good Business Ideas Generate Enough Revenue.
They have a value proposition for a critical mass of addressable customers.
Value
Proposition
Critical Mass
Addressable
1. There is enough pain for someone to pay for a
solution; and,
2. Relative to competition.
Big enough market to matter.
I can reach them with my revenues greater than
expenses.

6. 6
Idea Generation Principles
B
Ideas evolve over time
(eg. Facebook, Blackberry)
Ideas evolve over time or start as mistakes
Start as mistakes
(eg. 3M Sticky Notes.)

7. 7
Idea Generation Principles
IKEA- Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943
at his Uncle Ernst’s kitchen table. IKEA was
basically an acronym of his
name Ingvar Kamprad and Elmtaryd, his
family farm and the village Agunnaryd. At
first the business was typically mail-order
and included only small household goods
such as picture frames, wallets, nylon
stockings, pens and wallets.

8. 8
Idea Generation Principles
Nintendo: The Nintendo Corporation’s
domination of the gaming industry didn’t start
with their first video game console. They have
actually established themselves 70 years before
the first video game came to life, in the 19th
century when they brought back the popularity of
card games to Japan. A new card
game, Hanafuda, was invented, by Fusajiro
Yamauchi (Nintendo founder) which used
images instead of numbers, making it difficult for
gambling.

10. 10
Idea Generation Principles
Netflix: The genesis of Netflix came in 1997 when I
got this late fee, about $40, for Apollo 13. I
remember the fee because I was embarrassed
about it. That was back in the VHS days, and it got
me thinking that there's a big market out there.
So I started to investigate the idea of how to create
a movie-rental business by mail. I didn't know
about DVDs, and then a friend of mine told me they
were coming. I ran out to Tower Records in Santa
Cruz, Calif., and mailed CDs to myself, just a disc
in an envelope. It was a long 24 hours until the mail
arrived back at my house, and I ripped them open
and they were all in great shape. That was the big
excitement point.

11. 11
Idea Generation Principles
C Ideas can come from anywhere, most often we see good
business ideas starting with one (or more) of the following:
Personal Pain
I have a problem that needs solving.
120,000
customers
80
countries
$1B
valuation

12. 12
Idea Generation Principles
C Ideas can come from anywhere, most often we see good
business ideas starting with one (or more) of the following:
Market Gap
A critical mass of customers are looking for solution.

13. 13
Idea Generation Principles
C Ideas can come from anywhere, most often we see good
business ideas starting with one (or more) of the following:
Interest
I love this so much, I can see myself working on it 24/7.

14. 14
Idea Generation Principles
C Ideas can come from anywhere, most often we see good
business ideas starting with one (or more) of the following:
Insight
I understand the industry and see where it is going.
1998 2013
$1.37B

15. 15
Idea Generation Principles
D
Ideas are truly innovative when you invent brand new solutions
and industries rather than make an existing one a bit better.
Guy Kawasaki: “Jump the innovation curve.”
Guy Kawasaki on Innovation (4:14 – 6:47):

16. 16
Idea Generation Principles
The best business ideas satisfy most (or all) conditions
- If your current idea doesn’t, look to evolve it sufficiently such that it does.
Good Business Ideas
Necessary conditions:
a. Can make money (or not loose it): has value (value proposition) to a critical mass of
addressable customers.
And
b. Evolve over time.
c. Usually start with one or a combination of:
o Personal pain (I have a problem that needs solving.)
o Market gap/need (Others will pay for a solution.)
o Interest (I can see myself doing this 24/7.)
o Insight (I understand the industry and the trends.)
d. Jump the innovation curve.

17. Opportunity Assessment
2

18. 18
Opportunity Assessment
Opportunity Assessment Considerations
1 Idea
• What is the pain or gap hypothesis?
• What is the potential solution (v.1)?
• Do you have some advantage?

19. 19
Opportunity Assessment
Opportunity Assessment Considerations
2 Market
• Who is the typical customer?
• What is the size of that market?
• What does the competitive landscape look like?
• Are there channels to the market?
• Do you have an advantage?

20. 20
Opportunity Assessment
Opportunity Assessment Considerations
3 Any Big Issues
• What key resources are required?
• What are the rules; regulations required?
• Any big logistical issues?
• What risks: economic, political etc?
• Any big concerns?

21. 21
Opportunity Assessment
Opportunity Assessment Considerations
4 Revenue Model
• Who pays you; how do you get paid; how do
you make money?
• What are the big costs?
• What is your pricing plan?
• Any advantage?

22. 22
Opportunity Recognition and Leveraging One's
Experience

23. Other Considerations
3

24. 24
Other Considerations
a. Expanded Thinking: Business Opportunities
What are the businesses
associated with coffee?

25. Any more?

26. Coffee Marketing Chain
Smallholder Medium-sized farmers Large farms and
estates
Trader
Manufacturer
Trader/Agent
Manufacturer
Domestic roasters
Wholesalers and retailers
Domestic consumer
Cooperative union
Auction/Brokers
Exporters
Importing consumer
Production Initial
processing
Collection
Initial processing
(wet)
Assembling
Curing
(hulling, grading)
Intermediation
Shipping
Roasting
Distribution
Consumption

27. 27
Other Considerations
Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no
vehicles.
Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner,
creates no content.
Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory.
And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation
provider, owns no real estate.
Something interesting is happening.
b. Introduction to Business Modeling
Tom Goodwin,
Sr. Vice President of strategy
and innovation at Havas Media

28. 28
Other Considerations
b. Introduction to Business Modeling
Answer questions such as:
- who are your customers?
- how many are there?
- how do you access them?
- how do you make money?
- what are your costs?
- who pays you?
- what are your key activities?
- what are your human resource requirements
- what are the operational considerations?
- who are your key partners?
- etc.

29. 29
Other Considerations
c. Design vs. User Experience

30. 30
Other Considerations
Innovative Ideas with the User in Mind (4:40 – 6:55)

31. Parting Thoughts?