3 builders who never spoke to each other

Keep a standing quota of new ideas

Write down candidate businesses every day, keep them in one permanent file, and note the phrases that give away an unmet need when you overhear them. The habit is what trains the recognition, and it beats locking yourself away waiting for a single good idea to arrive.

The method

1. 01

   Set yourself the target of throwing out five ideas a day for a week, and if one survives, build and launch a first version; if it flops, use the failure to tighten the filter.

2. 02

   Treat coming up with ideas as the free part of the job and aim for five new candidate businesses a day; anyone charging you for idea generation is selling nothing.

3. 03

   Put yourself on a quota of five fresh business ideas written down every day, so idea generation is a daily habit rather than something you wait for.

4. 04

   Keep a permanent file of every business idea you have, because the habit of writing them down is what trains you to recognise the one worth building.

5. 05

   Go back over the ideas you passed on and study how the people who shipped them executed, so your next set of assumptions is calibrated against reality.

What it returned

• 12

  It is the first of the standing assignments in his 12 month self-directed programme.

• 19

  Haines has kept such a folder since he was 19 and it now holds hundreds of entries, most of which he calls bad.

• The author mocks the webinar and seven-step-guide genre built around this promise

• He maintains a public running list pairing his own unbuilt ideas with the products that went on to win those markets, including HockeyStack, SavvyCal, Navattic and TRMNL.

Sources

• Ideas I was right about | Corey HainesCorey Haines · corey.co · 2024-06-11
• ⭐️ I've decided to pursue a Bootstrap MBA – Jakob GreenfeldJakob Greenfeld · jakobgreenfeld.com · How to bootstrap an MBA · 2020-08-01
• The secret is to sell what people are already searching forJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · The secret is to sell what people are already searching for · undated
• Watch for mind gremlinsJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Watch for mind gremlins · undated
• Your business isn't about finding a great ideaJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Your business isn't about finding a great idea · undated
• Why people buy softwareJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Why people buy software · undated
• @levelsio's blogPieter Levels · levels.io · How to get an idea for your startup from Craigslist · 2018-11-14
• How to Get Startup Ideas: The Meat Grinder Approach - Tyler TringasTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · Just the beginning · 2016-04-23