A playbook for Generating Business Ideas

1. Passion
How passionate are you about the customers you’re serving, the problem you’re
solving, the product you’re delivering, the market you’re operating in, etc.?
Starting a company is hard and time-consuming. If I’m solving a problem I’m
passionate about and/or serving a customer segment I enjoy spending time with,
my overall quality of life will be higher, and I believe I will be more successful.
In starting a company, you inevitably have to ask a lot of people for help. For
example, big things like introductions to key people, or small things like to share
your site with their friends.

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I want to be in a business that I’m proud of and passionate about so I’m
motivated to hustle. Many businesses require spending a lot of time with
customers, so I’ll want to enjoy that time.
Some people can put their head down and execute no matter what, especially if
there’s financial incentive, but I think that for most people, having passion can
lead to much better execution, not to mention a much higher quality of life
overall. You’re going to be spending a lot of time working on any startup, so it
should probably be something you’re passionate about.
It’s a bit idealistic to make all your decisions based on your passion, but it is one
important factor to consider.
2. People
The people you’re working on your startup with will have a major impact on its
likelihood for success and your overall happiness. Inevitably, as you enter the
market and you begin getting feedback from customers, your idea will evolve.
The people you’re working on it with won’t change.
A team with the skill sets, experience, and relationships to be able to execute
effectively will, of course, help tremendously. You will also be spending a lot of
time together, so having people that you share values, ethics, goals, etc., with
and generally enjoy spending time with could be tremendously beneficial.
If things don’t work out with your team, it can be detrimental to the company. In
fact, I think disputes among co-founders are probably among the most common
reasons why startups fail. Having a great team that’s both talented and works
well together can be tremendously influential to the success of a company.
3. Execution
Do you have the ability to execute on this opportunity? Examples of factors that
might influence your ability to execute include access to customers, skill set
required, domain expertise, relationships with partners or teammates, etc.

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For example, if it’s a b2b product (you sell to businesses), knowing sales would
be tremendously beneficial. If it’s an ecommerce company, knowing about
marketing, software development, etc., would be valuable. There are also “soft
skills” like leadership, team management, etc.