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Hey everyone, I wrote this guide, if anyone has any questions about it, I'm happy to answer and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the article!

jv22222 10y ago
Just, well done. Good article. :)
euyyn 10y ago
No questions, but thanks for writing it and sharing that knowledge.
- riklomas 10y ago
  Thank you :)
40acres 10y ago
What would you say to those who have an entrepreneurial spirit but struggle with idea generation?
- _ao789 10y ago
  As an entrepreneur you should look for gaps or things that could be improved first.
- ronack 10y ago
  Team up with someone who has a good idea but struggles with implementation.
  - riklomas 10y ago
    This, but make sure they have enough skills to be useful in the long term!
- riklomas 10y ago
  Look for problems. It's hard to sit and think of ideas, even if you do, most of the ideas will change on contact with potential customers. Look at what you're strong at and what you enjoy. If you're seeing customers struggle with other businesses solutions, then there might be a way to solve that problem in a better way. Being a good listener helps - get the feedback loop going as quickly as possible. Don't take anything personally if a customer doesn't like what you're doing. They could be right. Iterate on the initial idea. Don't spend too long building the first version of anything as it'll probably look different in a year.
  - wikwocket 10y ago
    I think this is good advice. It's better to see first-hand pain points that businesses experience as opposed to looking for an "idea" i.e. dreaming of a solution and then trying to find a matching problem that it solves. If you start up with an "Uber for X"-tier idea, you may spend half your time educating people that they could use your solution. On the other hand, it is difficult to watch a non-techie business worker perform their daily tasks for a few hours without seeing something that could be improved. A macro here, some workflow automation there, etc. Find a theme and you may be able to build something that solves a lot of problems.
- riklomas 10y ago
  Also, don't call yourself an "entrepreneur" - it's a bit like being calling yourself "hilarious" or "handsome" - it's what other people call you, rather than a job title.
  - amackera 10y ago
    Interesting! I like this logic. However... what should one call oneself?
    - riklomas 10y ago
      Depends! CEO is fine, business development is good too.
      - brianwawok 10y ago
        Is it even legal to call yourself CEO if you aren't a C-Corp? A basement LLC with a CEO always makes me laugh. How about Owner or Founder?
        riklomas 10y ago
        CEO of a LLC is legal if you're in sole control of the company but yeh, owner/founder is fine too. I used to call myself Founder when the company was just me.
        pc86 10y ago
        Of course it's legal, but the "C" stands for "Chief" which has a pretty strong implication that there are non-Chief Executives in the company. If you're not at a position to have full-time employees whose sole job is to manager managers, it's unlikely "CEO" really fits.
digler999 10y ago
opposite question as the other poster: what do you do if you have a great idea (naturally everyone thinks their own ideas are great) but don't have the entrepreneurial spirit ? I've been working on a project for a couple years, still have about 25% of the work to go for it to be MVP, but I'd really like to find a business partner/investor. I'm afraid to reach out though because I dont know how to protect myself from being screwed.
- 6stringmerc 10y ago
  Not OP but I found that pursuit of a Patent can be a protection avenue that opens up opportunities for business partnership/investment long-term. Granted it does take personal capital in the US, as it's not exactly cheap, but it's a functional approach in some avenues. Hope this helps.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- riklomas 10y ago
  Sometimes you just gotta give it a go. I'm not saying quit your job and do it full time, but if someone is going to steal your idea, then they're going to steal your idea tomorrow or in a years time. Everything is a risk, but you don't want to get to 90 and think "damn it, I should have done that business". The worst thing that might happen is you might run out of cash, give it up and get another job. Or someone will rip you off (be it a biz partner, investor or rival) and you give it up and get another job. It's stressful and not fun, but you're not going to die if your startup fails.
  - digler999 10y ago
    > if someone is going to steal your idea Just to clarify, I (gladly) fell out of love with my idea and dont so much worry about people "stealing" it. I'm more worried about a business partner building an "escape hatch" in the partnership contract and screwing me out of ownership/stake. Not sure if that changes your answer or not.
pratap103 10y ago
Yeah, thanks for sharing!

jv22222 10y ago

Just, well done. Good article. :)

euyyn 10y ago

No questions, but thanks for writing it and sharing that knowledge.

riklomas 10y ago
Thank you :)

40acres 10y ago

What would you say to those who have an entrepreneurial spirit but struggle with idea generation?

_ao789 10y ago
As an entrepreneur you should look for gaps or things that could be improved first.
ronack 10y ago
Team up with someone who has a good idea but struggles with implementation.
- riklomas 10y ago
  This, but make sure they have enough skills to be useful in the long term!
riklomas 10y ago
Look for problems. It's hard to sit and think of ideas, even if you do, most of the ideas will change on contact with potential customers. Look at what you're strong at and what you enjoy. If you're seeing customers struggle with other businesses solutions, then there might be a way to solve that problem in a better way. Being a good listener helps - get the feedback loop going as quickly as possible. Don't take anything personally if a customer doesn't like what you're doing. They could be right. Iterate on the initial idea. Don't spend too long building the first version of anything as it'll probably look different in a year.
- wikwocket 10y ago
  I think this is good advice. It's better to see first-hand pain points that businesses experience as opposed to looking for an "idea" i.e. dreaming of a solution and then trying to find a matching problem that it solves. If you start up with an "Uber for X"-tier idea, you may spend half your time educating people that they could use your solution. On the other hand, it is difficult to watch a non-techie business worker perform their daily tasks for a few hours without seeing something that could be improved. A macro here, some workflow automation there, etc. Find a theme and you may be able to build something that solves a lot of problems.
riklomas 10y ago
Also, don't call yourself an "entrepreneur" - it's a bit like being calling yourself "hilarious" or "handsome" - it's what other people call you, rather than a job title.
- amackera 10y ago
  Interesting! I like this logic. However... what should one call oneself?
  - riklomas 10y ago
    Depends! CEO is fine, business development is good too.
    - brianwawok 10y ago
      Is it even legal to call yourself CEO if you aren't a C-Corp? A basement LLC with a CEO always makes me laugh. How about Owner or Founder?
      - riklomas 10y ago
        CEO of a LLC is legal if you're in sole control of the company but yeh, owner/founder is fine too. I used to call myself Founder when the company was just me.
      - pc86 10y ago
        Of course it's legal, but the "C" stands for "Chief" which has a pretty strong implication that there are non-Chief Executives in the company. If you're not at a position to have full-time employees whose sole job is to manager managers, it's unlikely "CEO" really fits.

digler999 10y ago

opposite question as the other poster: what do you do if you have a great idea (naturally everyone thinks their own ideas are great) but don't have the entrepreneurial spirit ? I've been working on a project for a couple years, still have about 25% of the work to go for it to be MVP, but I'd really like to find a business partner/investor. I'm afraid to reach out though because I dont know how to protect myself from being screwed.

6stringmerc 10y ago
Not OP but I found that pursuit of a Patent can be a protection avenue that opens up opportunities for business partnership/investment long-term. Granted it does take personal capital in the US, as it's not exactly cheap, but it's a functional approach in some avenues. Hope this helps.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
riklomas 10y ago
Sometimes you just gotta give it a go. I'm not saying quit your job and do it full time, but if someone is going to steal your idea, then they're going to steal your idea tomorrow or in a years time. Everything is a risk, but you don't want to get to 90 and think "damn it, I should have done that business". The worst thing that might happen is you might run out of cash, give it up and get another job. Or someone will rip you off (be it a biz partner, investor or rival) and you give it up and get another job. It's stressful and not fun, but you're not going to die if your startup fails.
- digler999 10y ago
  > if someone is going to steal your idea Just to clarify, I (gladly) fell out of love with my idea and dont so much worry about people "stealing" it. I'm more worried about a business partner building an "escape hatch" in the partnership contract and screwing me out of ownership/stake. Not sure if that changes your answer or not.

pratap103 10y ago

Yeah, thanks for sharing!