Every single one of us is capable of building the next big thing. Maybe even the big thing, whatever that may be.

Maybe that’s going to be flying cars. Maybe it’ll be food that doesn't spoil easily.

But for today, that’s the modern entrepreneur.

The “next big thing”.

With the vast amounts of free resources available online as well as the increasing number of start-up incubators and accelerator programs, it’s no surprise that everyone is loving the entrepreneurial life and is trying to get into the market with minimal effort.

Fun.

But that’s far from enough. Entrepreneurship is serious business. There’s no beating around the bush here. All of these resources? They help you get into the market. They’ll nudge you from time to time, yes, but that’s it.

You. Your team. You’re on your own.

It starts with YOUR idea. It ends with how well YOU execute it.

Reading a bunch of articles and binge-watching a few videos aren't going to help you break through to the customer. Marketing and advertising? That’ll work until your idea still stays relevant to you audience.

Browse Kickstarter and Product Hunt on any given day and you’ll find there’s an insanely large number of ideas being fitted into an outfit which shows them in the best light possible. Most of these ideas fail within months, some persist for longer until it’s no longer viable to do so.

9 out of 10 start-ups fail.

Not fun now, is it?

So what do we do?

Before thinking of action plans and design systems and what not, take some time to simply reiterate over your idea. Ask these questions:

• Is it relevant?
• Is it necessary?
• Is it different?

These are simple open-ended questions where you get to decide what you want. The catch, however, is that what you want from it isn't what your audience expects from it. This difference in perception leads to a sprawling mess in the future, and you’d have no clue as to why it’s happening.

Ideation isn't about the idea itself. It’s about what makes the idea work, what makes it relevant.

The way we design a product varies from the way we deliver it. And that makes all of the difference.

Your focus should be on the one main idea. The game-changer.

Identify your goal. Double down on it.

Here’s some inspiration

Uber lets you book a cab with just your destination.

They detect your location automatically, ask for your preferred mode of payment once in the beginning, offer types of cabs in a subtle way and send you relevant notifications only. They take care of everything for the user. There’s no friction to speak of.

Identify that friction and remove it from your idea.

When Uber decided to branch out into food delivery services, they knew this was different. So, what about Uber Eats? They only ever refer to Eats in their main app when you’re travelling. There’s a separate app dedicated for it. Other than the branding and occasional advertising, there’s nothing common between Uber Eats and its parent company.

They’re two different products, hence the different attitude. See the difference?

So... what’s the takeaway?

Success depends on way too many factors to practically manage, but we can make do with focusing on our identity, the one main principle.

Simplify and clarify your idea.

For yourself.

Hi! I’m Ajit and I write about my thoughts on designing: websites, content & products.

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More where this came from

This story is published in Noteworthy, where thousands come every day to learn about the people & ideas shaping the products we love.

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