What Should I Do If I Have Multiple Startup Ideas Worth Launching?

Nik Business, Creativity, Productivity, Quora, Work

I think you’re confusing startup ideas with business ideas. There’s a huge difference between the two. Most people have lots of business ideas. Very few people have true startup ideas. Here’s how to deal with both.

Scenario #1: Your idea is a business idea.

If you’re thinking about starting a lemonade stand, coding a fitness app, creating a content management software, video community website or new productivity tool, those are all business ideas.

  • They don’t redefine the industry you’re entering.
  • They extend what’s already out there.
  • They can easily be validated.

These are the kinds of ideas your friends will tell you are “great ideas.”

To find out if they’re worth launching:

  1. Come up with a business model (for example a monthly subscription).
  2. Put up a landing page where people can pre-order.
  3. Ask everyone you know if they’re interested and get those who are to buy.

That’s it. By getting some people to pay you know your business idea is valid and it won’t fall flat on its face.

Scenario #2: Your idea is a (true) startup idea.

If you’re thinking about replacing the car as a means of transport, making grocery stores unnecessary or a way to use electric power in your house without sockets, those might be startup ideas.

  • They change the entire landscape of the industry they’re entering or replace it with a new industry altogether.
  • They mark a vertical leap in progress by replacing or improving what’s already out there to the point you wouldn’t even want the old solution.
  • They can never be validated.

For a true startup idea, no one will ever tell you that “it’s a great idea,” because what you’re suggesting is unheard of. People will think you’re crazy and you’ll have to fight long and hard to convince the world. But if you pull it off, you’ll make it a much better place.

To find out if it’s worth launching:

  1. Ask yourself if what you’re creating is a major technological breakthrough.
  2. Think about whether the timing’s right.
  3. Answer this: “If I dedicate all of my time and money to this and it completely fails, will it still have been worth it, because the underlying issue is so important?”

Then, you can put your heart and soul into it and even if it falls flat on its face, you won’t regret a single day spent on it.

Nik

Niklas Göke writes for dreamers, doers, and unbroken optimists. A self-taught writer with more than a decade of experience, Nik has published over 2,000 articles. His work has attracted tens of millions of readers and been featured in places like Business Insider, CNBC, Lifehacker, and many others. Nik has self-published 2 books thus far, most recently 2-Minute Pep Talks. Outside of his day job and daily blog, Nik loves reading, video games, and pizza, which he eats plenty a slice of in Munich, Germany, where he resides.