You have a solution...but do you have a problem?

There's a great saying about many software companies that goes like this..."They have a solution looking for a problem". What that means is that the cool thing the company is building really has little or no value to the average end user. Startups that do this are almost certainly doomed because they will never gain any traction beyond the Technorati.

Bodbook started out kind of like the solution looking for a problem. We wanted to build something cool that combined social networking with reality television. Getting a group discount as a benefit was a byproduct, but certainly in the early going wasn't the main focus. Along the way we met many advisors that helped us refine the vision so it actually did solve a problem, but as earlier postings will tell you seeing the forest for the trees was by no means guaranteed.

My advice is not to heed your really cool idea for a feature or service without carefully examining whether it really addresses an acute problem. One of the best ways you can determine if it is an acute problem is to be the beneficiary of the solution. If it works for you, it may work for others. If you can find a solution, then you need to determine the size of the "Total Addressable Market" to see if it can make money. This is a fancy way of saying "How many people can I serve directly with my solution?" Though it may not be your first interest, analytical business planning makes all the difference in making a choices between what to pursue and what not to. The ones that are worth pursuing will become abundantly clear with a little research.

All apologies

To anyone at Redeemer University College who might be offended by my reference to it as Redeemer College...my apologies. However, in my defence, when I went to Redeemer it was simply referred to as a College. I also happen to think that the name of the school sounds catchier as Redeemer College without the extra "University" thrown in to extend the name. With that said, in order to reach a reasonable compromise I will just refer to the school formerly known as "Redeemer College", and currently known as "Redeemer University College" as Redeemer. I hope that those who are offended can live with my heartfelt apology and this painful compromise. Thank you for bringing this important point to my attention faithful commenter.

Simplicity

Something very important to think about when constructing an initial concept for a startup...simplicity. You may have a million ideas on how to make the greatest widget of all time, but if you can't narrow it down to one simple idea then the likelihood of succeeding are greatly reduced. If your concept is complex then either you will get bogged down in building it, or your target user will become confused and go for the simpler solution. This is not to say that your product cannot become complex along the way, but this cannot be your initial foray into the market if you have competition.

We have learned this lesson the hard way with bodbook; and have boiled down the most important concept and created Wombitt from it. I don't know that Wombitt is even ultimately the right concept, but I do know that it is about as simple a point of entry into the market as is possible, so it gives me great confidence.

The best way to simplify is to figure out exactly what your core competency is, and build a simple idea around it, that solves a need for a customer.

With that said, this advice may really only be relevant in hindsight. I think that we often think that our ideas are more simple than they really are, but if you can apply it I highly recommend that you do.