I have a few founders around me who are a bit stuck in their search for a new business idea. They’re either trying to start a new company or pivot their existing one. In many cases, they don’t come from a specific industry background, which makes it even more difficult because they’re open to any good idea.
What I recommend to them is to draw an n x n matrix, where on one side you have big industries, and on the other side you have industry mega trends, and see if any resulting matrix looks interesting. (You can imagine a matrix like the one below.) The idea is, if you’re going to be neutral about the industry or product, why not go after a big market and a big trend? No one can see the future, but there’s probably a 100% chance every industry will have to embrace AI or climate change in the next 5 years. You can, of course, further dial down by having more specific industries and trends in the matrix.
But these are industries you don’t know anything about, right? There are a lot of resources out there to fast-track your learning. Another approach I’ve seen some founders take is starting with a service project and eventually productizing their service; Working for or with clients is often the best way to learn about customer problems.
Again, these suggestions are for the founders who are stuck in their search for a new business idea. If you have an idea you’ve been passionate about and believe in the market potential, you should build a product for that market. If not, taking a more neutral, market-driven approach might help you find the way.
