The “So What” Test for Entrepreneurs
With a tip of the blog bowler to Bruce Fryer for jogging my synapses re “so what?” - In talking with entrepreneur clients, I often do a bit of tough love and give them the “so what” test. Soooo, if you’re thinking about starting a new biz or have a cool new invention - before you max out the credit cards, quit your job or clean out the kids’ college fund - think about how you would answer the following:
1. “I’ve got a great _________! Nobody else can do it.” So What? What problem does it solve? Do people recognize they have a problem? Or, that they really want to do whatever? - remember, automobiles and phones were both initially dismissed as fads.
Some technology, while feasible, can be so far ahead of its time, the inventor is long dead before it catches on. Sure, there’s always potential for developing a new market, but that takes a lot of passion (not to mention a lot of money.)
2. “It’s patented!” So What? A patent doesn’t make a product. One can patent anything. (Microsoft patenting the “double click” ???)
3. “It’s ready for the market - it works great in the lab!” So What? The real world is uncontrolled and your customers will do things you never anticipated in the lab.
4. “All my friends love it!” So What? Unless you’re got a whole lot of friends who will all definitely buy your service or product (and more than once) - start thinking about how people that don’t know you will react to your idea.
There are, of course, lots more to consider - depending on your idea, industry, location, and goals.
( I think Bruce and I may have been separated at birth - similar perspectives on many things marketing - including branding.)
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October 6th, 2005 at 11:48 pm
It is self-evident that innovators (and, as your point 4 implies to a more limited degree/by proxy, their soul mates) are so different in their attitudes from Joe average, that they do not naturally ask themselves the core questions of point 1.
Faced with the questions, they often would not know the answers, and market research is notoriously difficult and unreliable in the situation of a genuinely novel product or service.
I own masses of things which I don’t need, but which I bought simply because they are really cool ideas. It amazes me that most of these have since disappeared from the market, and I realise that this disconnect makes it extra hard for me to assess the marketability of my own innovations.
I can’t help thinking that the internet could help solve this problem, just as it (through eBay etc) has already solved the problem of redistributing pre-owned ‘treasures’ to the limited international pool of people to whom they appeal.
There must be enough people around the world who share this attribute of being acquisitively energised by the sheer brilliance of a concept to at least provide some early cashflow, (and maybe, some high-quality feedback) if only they could find each other’s products. Note to self: Idea #375: start a Lonely Wallets website to address this.
October 7th, 2005 at 10:29 am
Andrew,
Let me know if you start that Lonely Wallets site! Could be a great way to encourage innovation in our flattened world. Along with the e-bay model you note, the Move On political model well illustrates the power of the masses in raising money for ideas. If you can translate that into business, that’d be something.
And, yes how much of our “stuff” do we really need? I keep trying to simplify and then I go to Target and find myself buying something just because it’s cool. (In fact, on Sunday, I’ll be at the opening of the new Super Target just down the street, ready to spend money…) Key is combining the “want” with the “need” with the “pay for” urges in a buyer. If we human want something - we can always rationalize it somehow. (That’s just as true in B2B transactions, as well.)
And, it often seems just as I fall in love with a product, it disappears! It’s unfortunate that great and cool “stuff” can be beaten by mediocre, when mediocre already has market share (and a fat marketing wallet of their own.) The high-tech market is full of such examples.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post.