Why bother if the idea sucks?

Thinking of starting a business? Just follow along with these convenient lists!

It seems the trend with successful CEOs (and some less so) is to post a long list of things and call them your “rules for startups.” You get gems like “NEVER EVER EVER buy swag” or “Fire people who are not workaholics. don’t love their work…” along with the ordinary new business penny pinching tips. Must be nice to have those sorts of problems.

If I did a list based on my startup experiences it would be pretty short. Just one item actually:

1. Find pain points and/or unmet needs in some current solution, fix them, have people pay you for the fix.

This is the hardest thing you’ll have to solve in your new business. Deciding on what sort of chairs and tables and soft drinks to stock will pale in comparison. Screw up Step 1 and you’ll be another small business statistic.

Since we’re on the internet, help (and more lists!) are just a search away. One of my favorites is from Evhead, Will it fly? How to Evaluate a New Product Idea. His first item, Tractability, is probably the weakest, don’t let it slow you down. The rest ask very pointed questions about your startup idea: How much value can you ultimately deliver? Is it clear why people should use it? And so on.

Foosball or table tennis? Where’s the official startup CEO decision on that?