Finding Startup Ideas

You have cleared your schedule. You have a fresh notebook and a hot cup of coffee. You sit down at your desk with one goal: "I am going to think of a billion-dollar startup idea."

Two hours later, the page is still blank.

This is the trap that almost every aspiring entrepreneur falls into. We are taught to believe that a startup idea is like a lightning bolt—a rare, magical flash of genius that strikes you out of nowhere. We think we have to invent something that the world has never seen before.

But the most successful founders will tell you a different secret. While you are looking up at the sky waiting for lightning, you are tripping over pebbles.

These pebbles are the small, annoying problems that you encounter every single day. They aren't magical; they are just frustrating. And that is exactly where the best startup ideas are hiding.

Here is how to stop forcing it and start noticing the opportunities right in front of you.

Solve Your Own Problems

The biggest mistake founders make is trying to guess what other people want. This leads to what is sometimes called "sitcom ideas"—ideas that sound like they belong in a TV show but don't actually solve a real problem.

The easiest person to please is yourself.

Think about your daily life. What tasks do you dread? What software makes you want to scream? What process at your job takes five steps when it should take one?

Having trouble thinking of one? For the next three weeks, carry a notebook. Every time you get frustrated, you say "I wish this was easier," or you have to use a clumsy workaround, write it down.

Don't try to solve it yet. Just log the pain. By the end of the month, you won’t have a blank page. You will have a list of problems that you know are real because you feel them yourself.

Look For Boring Problems

We naturally gravitate toward "cool" ideas. We want to build the next Instagram or a fancy AI robot.

But, instead, look for a tedious, unpleasant task. Most people ignore these tasks because they look like hard work. They subconsciously filter them out.

This can be to your advantage.

Great ideas often hide in "boring" places. Look at industries that haven't changed in twenty years. Look at thankless, unglamorous work. If an industry looks drab, broken, or outdated, it could be a goldmine.

If you find a problem that makes other people say, "Ugh, I don't want to deal with that," you are on the right track. High pain equals high value.

Live in the Future

Technology moves fast. Often, it moves faster than we can adapt. This creates a gap between "what is possible" and "what currently exists."

You don't need a crystal ball to predict the future—you need to live in the future. Or really, just on the forefront of the present. 

Be an early adopter. Try new tools. When you use cutting-edge technology, you will naturally start to notice what is missing.

Ask yourself: "Now that this new technology exists, what else must exist?"

When smartphones appeared, it became obvious that we needed a way to hail a taxi using them. The founders of Uber didn't invent transportation; they just noticed a gap between the old way (calling a dispatcher) and the new reality (everyone has a GPS in their pocket).

Pick Up Pebbles

The search for a startup idea isn't about being a genius. It is about being observant.

Stop trying to force a revolutionary thought. Instead, look for the things that are broken. Look for the things that are boring. Look for the pebbles in your shoe that you have been ignoring.

Your great idea is likely something you have already complained about three times this week. You just didn’t think to notice it.

So, let’s start noticing together. And let’s get started on Solid Ground.

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