Choosing an idea is sort of a trap in itself if you go by the name. In reality, most people think about ideas as solutions which is the opposite way to go about doing things. When done properly, choosing a startup idea means choosing a problem to solve. You shouldn't be in the headspace of thinking about cool products, technologies, and solutions that you could build a business around. The most common mistake people make is building something without validating that it's: 1. a real problem[^1] and 2. a problem that people actually care about[^2]. If you solve something that's not a real problem, nobody will use it. If you solve a real problem that no one cares about, nobody will pay for it. Good ideas start with a strong problem, then work backwards to a solution from there. Marry the problem, not the solution. Don't try to shoehorn new technologies, innovations, and things you find cool into a startup idea. ### 4 Most common mistakes founders make when coming up with ideas 1. It doesn't solve a real problem. It's a "Solution in search of a problem"[^3] 2. Picking a [[Tarpit idea]] 3. Not evaluating an idea thoroughly. A lot of founders jump into the first idea they have and start building before validating whether or not it'd make a good business. Before picking an idea, you should do [[pre-launch product validation]] 4. Waiting for the perfect idea. There's a spectrum between this and jumping into the first idea you have. Usually you want to be somewhere in the middle. [^5] ### 10 key questions to ask about your idea 1. Are you the right team to be working on this idea is the most important question you can ask. Do you have good [[Founder Market Fit]]? While most founders get their ideas organically (through natural means), there are non-organic ways to come up with ideas as well. ### 1. Non-organic methods to coming up with an idea ### links & refs [^1]: [[How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Startup School#^84d7c7]] [^2]: [[How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Startup School#^ab06c5]] [^3]: [[How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Startup School#^fc11bc]] [^4]: [[How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Startup School#^9ab330]] [^5]: [[How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Startup School#^12b466]]