

Having a list with ideas, how to identify the good ones? - tomfreud

Hello,<p>I have a list with 118 ideas. What are good ways to identify the good ones from the bad ones?<p>I appreciate your answer!
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helen842000
I create a spreadsheet with ideas down the side and then categorise the
columns with different criteria, things like :-

* What price will it be sold for

* How much will it cost me to start up

* Can I do it all myself / is outsourcing needed

* Is it an easy sell / impulse purchase

* How many people have said they would be interested

* How long will it take to get set up

* Does this sound like fun to work on

I would highlight quite positive answers in green, so I can see at a glance
with is quite an attractive idea to work on.

I think it's important to then take your own passion & preference in to
account. For me I might prefer to pick something with a higher potential
revenue with a bigger list of interested people, where as you may put more
weight behind something that is short to work on & fun.

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sideproject
Try.

* I create a trello board and divide my ideas into a few categories (do-able, I really like, this-is-ridiculous, already-existsi-so-who-am-i-kidding etc)

Then... (maybe)...

* Create a landing page for each one of them (ok so maybe not for all of 118!!!) - launchrock

* Post on HN, Reddit

* Collect the email addresses & feedback (ask them questions or survey when they sign up)

* Email them back on each of your idea and ask for further feedback (but don't spam)

Above exercise might take you 2-3 weeks. But I find it a practical way of
learning - and I think the often more interesting thing is that you learn to
"change" your idea depending on the feedback.

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doctorwho
Check out [http://www.startupbook.net/](http://www.startupbook.net/)

“This book is aimed at developers who want to launch their startup with no
outside funding. It’s for companies started by real developers solving real
pain points using desktop, web and mobile applications.”

You'll find various glowing reviews about this book so I won't add to them.
The chapter about how to find and select an idea, measure traction etc before
you start building anything may be of some interest.

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jacquesm
SWOT analysis would be a good start.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis)

