VisionPassage
  • Home
  • Founder and Mascot
  • Investments
  • My Notes
Solving a Problem from Your Work Life
Solving a Problem from Your Work Life
Solving a Problem from Your Work Life
Previous Notes:
​
  • Finding Your Startup Idea
  • Solving a Problem from Your Personal Life

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:
    • ​Operating Expense
    • Capital Expense
    • ​Interest Expense
​
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:

  • Becoming a Founder
  • Selling to the Enterprise
  • Growing the Enterprise Accounts​
Let's Talk: If you have a true experience that resonates, please send me an email.
#startup #founders #startupfounders #startupjourney #startupstories #startupsuccess #lessonslearnt #startupideas #worklife #enterprise #business-to-business #painpoint #followpassion #missionoriented #purposeoriented #becomingafounder
    Learning & Methods | Investment News | Upcoming Jobs
Subscribe to VisionPassage Digest
​Connect with Vic
​Follow Clark, VisionPassage Mascot
© 2017 - 2023 VisionPassage | Solve Meaningful Problems by Building Impactful Companies
  • Home
  • Founder and Mascot
  • Investments
  • My Notes