external factors and the ideation process
TRANSCRIPT
Twitter - innov8tor3 (c) Blue Oyster Business Growth 2014 1
External Real World Influenceson Ideation Processes
Presented By
Peter JonesOf
Blue Oyster Business Growth
For Startups & Product Developers
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Understanding Market Places
● We need to solve many real world problems
– These are often called “gaps” in our market places
● We are best to solve problems “uniquely”
● How can we re-invent cost components?
– (1) Financial (2) Time (3) Resources
● How can we improve performance?
– (1) Speed (2) Experience & Perception (3) Results
● How can we improve continuity?
● Solutions need to be both real & sustainable
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Solving Real World Problems
● UK 2014 – Public Sector Cost Cutting
– Health – bureaucratic, disconnected, disjointed
– Education – overwhelmed, undervalued
● There are real tech opportunities here
Issues
Commercial Opportunity
Opportunity Value
Opportunity Cost
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Determining Idea Uniqueness
● Can we produce unique ideas?
– “There's no such thing as an original idea” - unknown
– “Thesis, antithesis, synthesis” - Hegel, 1770-1831
● Some “unique” ideas – Doh!
– The wheel, the car, light bulbs, the internet, mobile phones
– The light bulb “moment”? Took 1,000 experiments!
● Creativity is actually a “slow thought” process
● Bloom's “Knowledge” Taxonomy
– Knowledge, Understanding, Application Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis
And … 1,000 !!!
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X Factor Uniqueness
Brand New – Minor or Major Disruption?
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“Competitor” CharacteristicsWhat do we like & miss? An example...
Opportunityeg CompetitveNiche Segment
“Unique”Competitor A
Cost Competitive
“Unique” Competitor B
Niche Customer Segment
NicheCustomerFeature Cost
ReductionFeature(s)
Team A
Owner AOwner B
Team B
����
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Reinventing Resource Cost BarriersCase Study – 2014 Smart Phone
1914
● Laborious, time consuming pen and paper needed
● Meeting people took time
– Letter writing, rudimentary travel facilities
● Meeting people took skill, perseverance & money
– Pricey business clubs, “old school networks”, ebullience, chutzpah, “high costs”
● Meeting good people needed luck
– Good people not that available, not always very approachable
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Reinventing Resource Cost BarriersCase Study – 2014 Smart Phone
2014
● Smart, fast, democratic business tools available in your hand
● Much easier to meet key people, even globally
– Key people are much more available and accessible
● Much, much easier for a single person to build a startup business
● Much, much easier to network with complementary businesses
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Automation Reduces Costs
Start Ups
Reliability & Reach – Easy &Affordable
Good designersensure fun & access
OUT - High Cost“Consultancy”
IN - Low Cost SaaS
OPERATIONS
“Historic”
“Recent”
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Improving UK PerformanceSome Key 2014 Opportunities
● Marketing
– Often reluctant to show “results”, a pure sales pitch
– Can be a closed club, targeting corporate pay days
– Professional organisations focus more on their own fees
– Many still working on a scatter gun approach, not targeting
● Recruitment
– Bound tightly to myopic employers and own financial results
– Often fail to deliver, and fail to support every kind of talented person
– Unwilling to risk an 80:20 role fit for “adapters”, preferring a safe 100% fit
● Supply Chain
– Old fashioned employers unwilling to “support” suppliers wishing to apply
● Rely instead on “natural selection” of “fittest salmon” - big disconnects
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Improving UK Startup PerformanceSome Key 2014 Opportunities
● Startup market – disjointed
– “Poor ideas” - Hackers & Hustlers
– “No tech companies” - Hipsters
– “Venal 10% investors” - Hipsters
● Startup events – for “Busy Fools” ?
– Chaotic & random – not improving CEO skill levels
– Focused on doing, not structured, applied learning
● Right product, right place, right words, right time?
– Must CEOs be “lucky” to persuade partners to collaborate?
● Only “10% success” levels – some succeed, many don't
– 30% startups fail within 3 years – Alex Pollizzi, BBC
– But many startups never reach the “measurable” stage
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Improving Market Performance
● On a market by market basis:
– What works too slowly?
– What works painfully and laboriously?
– What still works very expensively?
● Are there Apps that deliver comparably?
– Do SaaS Apps work quickly, slickly and cheaply?
– Previously, we asked who might deliver consultancy services?
● If no Apps, what is the pain caused, the “opportunity cost”?
– Would the market pay to alleviate the pain?
– Automate existing gap, or find something brand new?
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Nature vs NurtureSome Perceptions
● Naturists – Dog Eat Dog
– 10% investments perform, 30% do ok, 60% flop
● Only the best thrive, 90% survive or go under - “Que Sera”
– You learn the most from your own failures
– Less planning, more doing; avoid paralysis though analysis
● Nurturers – Raising Baby
– Looking to maximise the entire economy
● Helping steer service providers to growth
– Standing on the shoulders of giants
– Plan, test in the market place, assess
● CEOs must choose teams / investors carefully
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Improving Integration
● Integration helps “collectives” move from stage to stage faster through better connectivity
● Case Studies – 940 AD to 2008
– King Alfred sowed the seeds for English integration
– The Magna Carta helped found UK democratic law
– Bill Gates integrated key office software
– The world wide web democratised knowledge access
– Facebook democratised global connectivity
– Twitter democratised expert knowledge access
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UK Integration Opportunities
UK SecondaryEducation
“Beleaguered”
UK Commerce“Risk Averse,ManagementNovices”
UK HigherEducation
“Aloof, Distant,Academic, Irrelevant”
Support &Collaboration
“High Horses”
UK Health“Postcode Lottery”
Budgets
Skills &Resources,Self Learning
KnowledgeGrowth
BudgetsInternalCohesion
KnowledgeGrowth
New Tech
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Market Influence on Execution & Operation
IdeationDevelopment &
LaunchService Delivery & Operation
ThoroughMarket Research
RiskManagement
New EntrantsNew ProductsOther Markets
CEO “Lean Foundation” ResponsibilityTo Bring Deep Knowledge / High Reputation Resources
Business Development
ProjectLive
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Useful Network Resources
CEO 4 Hire / TroubleshooterLending £1m-£20M
Investor Search & SelectionStartup Funding
Harnessing the Cloud
Team Assessment & MotivationProject Management eg TrelloLean Collaboration Software
Entrepreneurial Success Cultures
IdeationCustomer Discovery
PrototypingTech Solutions
Creative, Innovative Cultures
Social MarketingGuerrilla MarketingDigital MarketingSocial Sales
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Peter JonesInnovator, Opportunity Creator
● 20 year UK corporate career, FTSE & blue chip
● Tech dev, process design, project management
● Owns and runs own small business
● 5 years working with small and startup businesses
● 10 years networking with small businesses
● A UK “market opportunist” - strong hunches where the gaps are
● Ideally positioned to advise & guide young UK tech startups
● Own 10 step startup process - “The Innovation Toolkit”
– For startups and corporate product managers
● Planning to build own App to support hardworking startups