Regarding your follow-up question, here are a few things I ask myself before moving forward with a new idea:
1. Can I get the expertise/experience to actually create this? I may have the technical expertise to do it, but if I don't have the domain experience I may produce something that makes perfect sense to everyone except someone who actually needs the product. Not having the experience myself is fine, but I need a plan for how I'm going to get it or someone who can provide it.
2. How would I market this? Having a good idea is one thing, but getting it in the hands of people who would actually use it is another. For me this will often mean partnering with someone who is already working with the customers I want to reach.
3. What is the probability of success and what is the potential payback? It is easy to get so enamored with a problem that you stop to think about whether it really makes business sense or not. A project has a 0.1% chance of making $1,000,000, but a 99.9% of losing money is going to be less attractive (from a financial standpoint) than project that has a 25% chance of making $100,000.
1. Can I get the expertise/experience to actually create this? I may have the technical expertise to do it, but if I don't have the domain experience I may produce something that makes perfect sense to everyone except someone who actually needs the product. Not having the experience myself is fine, but I need a plan for how I'm going to get it or someone who can provide it.
2. How would I market this? Having a good idea is one thing, but getting it in the hands of people who would actually use it is another. For me this will often mean partnering with someone who is already working with the customers I want to reach.
3. What is the probability of success and what is the potential payback? It is easy to get so enamored with a problem that you stop to think about whether it really makes business sense or not. A project has a 0.1% chance of making $1,000,000, but a 99.9% of losing money is going to be less attractive (from a financial standpoint) than project that has a 25% chance of making $100,000.