Solving a Problem from Your Work Life
Solving a Problem from Your Work Life
Previous Notes:
We spend almost one-third of our adult life at work. After all, it pays our bills. Analyzing our work lives can lead to many startup ideas for a potential founder. Here are some:
Questioning the Existence
Every few years, some startups become so huge that they end up creating a new industry. Some even make it to the S&P 500. Use first principle thinking to question the very existence of your organization:
The attitude of your executive team could be one of the two: oblivious or paranoid.
Dissecting the Organization
The organization chart is a good place to start. Divide and detail this into three categories:
Inter-dependence among these three categories is another way to find gaps. A simple input-out supply-chain type diagram can be a useful visual tool.
Broadening the Slate
Broaden the slate by treating your organization as the central entity. Draw out the interactions with these entities:
Most organizations follow different practices for each of these entities. Who comes first varies by organization.
Another variation is business-to-business transactions getting different treatment than internal transactions.
Studying the Usage
Like most homes, organizations carry the burden of unused products and services. Old-fashioned spring cleaning process works wonders:
Analyzing the Spend
Analyzing the organization spend is a mundane exercise. But it is a great way to uncover hidden problem areas:
Understanding the Priorities
Like individual performance, an organization also gets measured. Understand the priorities and underlying metrics for the same.
Focus on creating a solution that helps organizations progress towards their priorities. It will get higher attention and yield a stable revenue stream.
For all the above, the key is to identify and solve one pain point. And find a set of users who are willing to pay for the solution. Happy ideation!
Next Note:
Related Notes:
We spend almost one-third of our adult life at work. After all, it pays our bills. Analyzing our work lives can lead to many startup ideas for a potential founder. Here are some:
Questioning the Existence
Every few years, some startups become so huge that they end up creating a new industry. Some even make it to the S&P 500. Use first principle thinking to question the very existence of your organization:
- What can render it irrelevant?
- How did it evolve in the past?
- How is it changing for the future?
The attitude of your executive team could be one of the two: oblivious or paranoid.
Dissecting the Organization
The organization chart is a good place to start. Divide and detail this into three categories:
- Departments
- Functions & Roles
- Tasks
Inter-dependence among these three categories is another way to find gaps. A simple input-out supply-chain type diagram can be a useful visual tool.
Broadening the Slate
Broaden the slate by treating your organization as the central entity. Draw out the interactions with these entities:
- Customers
- Partners
- Suppliers
- Competitors
- Investors
- Other Parties, such as media, community, and financial markets.
Most organizations follow different practices for each of these entities. Who comes first varies by organization.
Another variation is business-to-business transactions getting different treatment than internal transactions.
Studying the Usage
Like most homes, organizations carry the burden of unused products and services. Old-fashioned spring cleaning process works wonders:
- Non-Essential Items:
- Remove if no future usage anticipated
- Re-purpose for someone who needs it
- Essential Items:
- Re-organize to increase visibility and usage
- Replace low-efficiency items
Analyzing the Spend
Analyzing the organization spend is a mundane exercise. But it is a great way to uncover hidden problem areas:
- Most medium to large organizations will have a category management team for purchasing. This includes both products and services.
- For the technology spend, get the technology footprint from internal IT. Add shadow IT to this to complete the picture.
- Apply your lens to go through the line items for different expense types:
Understanding the Priorities
Like individual performance, an organization also gets measured. Understand the priorities and underlying metrics for the same.
- Are organizations within a particular industry facing pressure to change or survive?
- Do public, private and family-owned entities operate in different ways?
- Are there common patterns across different industries?
- Do you see different priorities based on size?
- Are location and culture a factor?
Focus on creating a solution that helps organizations progress towards their priorities. It will get higher attention and yield a stable revenue stream.
For all the above, the key is to identify and solve one pain point. And find a set of users who are willing to pay for the solution. Happy ideation!
Next Note:
- Solving a Problem from Your Social Life
Related Notes:
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