We translated its text into Russian, slightly changing the style - that is, everything smart thoughts there from Lifshitz, and all the stupid jokes from us.

By the way, the fact that Yuri's text is posted on the new site Medium, in itself already shows how you can act when “everything has already been invented”: while the world is passionate about Twitterization and Instagramization, one of the creators of the same Twitter has made a convenient platform for those who still like to write and read long texts - and on people went to her.

How to find new ideas for starting a company

Coming up with business ideas is a skill. And you can develop the habit of seeing opportunities to start new projects in everything that surrounds you.

Many serial entrepreneurs have a special notebook for new interesting ideas. You can get one for yourself too.

Actions:

  • Choose tools to search for ideas.
  • Generate some ideas with them.
  • PROFIT

1. Live in the future

Be on the cutting edge of the MacBook Air. Use something that didn't exist yesterday. Read about new inventions. Think of products for the next generation.

The future belongs to wearable gadgets, self-driving cars, DNA testing and atom-thick materials. What products and services should emerge around such things?

Think about change by completing the sentence “If you are in the future…” such as “if you are in the future, all cars around are electric” or “if you are in the future, no one uses cash.” And then create a company with which it will come true.

2. Become an expert at something

There are areas where you can't get from the street. Customs, prisons, medicine, defense industry, nuclear power, construction of bridges. Usually, a company in such areas is created only after many years of experience in foreign companies. Become such an insider - and open your way to a large market with a high entry threshold.

Michael Bloomberg worked in IT investment bank Salomon Brothers. In 1981, he was fired and received $10 million in compensation. With this money, he created Bloomberg L.P., a company that provides financial information to organizations interested in it. Now the company is the market leader, Bloomberg is the mayor of New York, Bloomberg's fortune is on the 13th line of Forbes.

Become a master of some powerful tool. Learn to do mobile applications, online shopping or use big data. Then meet with a bunch of different people, ask about their problems and see if you can help them.

Be very cool in two different things at once. Medicine and sales, IT and government contracts, culinary and retail. At their intersections there are a bunch of unique opportunities.

3. Solve your own problems

Find the problem that is preventing you from living. Pay attention when you cannot find a ready-made solution for something. And problems arise when something changes in your life. Become a parent - you will see so many new opportunities, it will not seem enough.

The same is true in the B2B sector. You have one company, and it cannot solve some of its problems. A second company is created to solve such problems, and then this second company suddenly becomes larger than the first.

Patrick Collison founded the Stripe payment system, tired of connecting other people's inconvenient payment systems to his previous projects. Flickr came about when an online game needed a convenient way to store custom images, and the game itself was shut down.

4. Look for pain points

See where people waste time and money, work inefficiently, suffer, lose everything and generally look like in a Munch painting. And then go out in all white and fix it with your project. Know as much as you can about hunger, poverty, epidemics, unemployment, crime, traffic jams, pollution and corruption. Make friends with those who have been working on these problems for years.

5. Improve the existing

Look for things that make people hate. Finding rental housing, parking, obtaining visas, moving, visiting doctors. Find a better way to solve these problems.

Use modern technologies to rethink the way we do everything. How should workers carry out their duties in the age of smartphones? How should hospitals operate in the digital age?

Monopoly leaders have almost no incentive to develop. It is very difficult to challenge such people, but sometimes it works. Virgin Atlantic started out as an attempt to provide better service than British Airways.

6. Link cheap resources to rich buyers

Buy low, sell high. This simple formula has been around for centuries, and now it's even easier to connect the product and the buyer from different parts of the world. China has a lot of cheap manufacturing facilities. Developing countries have cheap labor. Somewhere there are abandoned factories that can be rented for a penny. And somewhere in the other hemisphere, people have a lot of money and unmet needs. For example, freelance job boards like Odesk and 99Designs connect workers from developing countries with successful companies.

7. Copy and improve

Most ideas are derivatives. Many successful companies started out as clones. See what you can add to successful ideas. New distribution channels, best service, improved quality?

In small businesses, trendy themes are constantly emerging. Today, co-working spaces and bubble tea are popular, tomorrow everyone is talking about private kindergartens, and the day after tomorrow a wave of SMM agencies will come. These waves move around the world with a significant delay, and you can have time to be inspired by a new one. It's more reliable than anything unknown and more fun than buying a franchise.

In the US, each college has its own merchandise - sweatshirts, t-shirts and caps. In Russia, this was not accepted. One student decided to change this, founded UniFashion, and now students in his products can be found in any hostel.

8. Travel

Understand successful business from the other side of the planet. Every industry has its own centers of innovation. Fashion business ideas come from Paris and Guangzhou, software business ideas come from the Valley, financial business ideas come from New York and London.

In the early 80s, Howard Schultz worked at Starbucks. At that time, the company only sold bean coffee, not offering any drinks in its stores. Going shopping in Milan, Schultz saw coffee shops on almost every street. He found that they not only drank great espresso, but also met people: coffee houses were public places playing important role in public life Italy, and there were 200,000 of them in the country. Returning, Schultz tried to convince the owners of the company to do the same. When gently dismissed, he quit Starbucks and opened his own chain of coffee shops. A few years later he was so successful that he bought Starbucks himself and made it a world-class phenomenon.

9. Make decisions for newly opened markets

New products from big companies create many attractive opportunities. If you react quickly, you can become part of this market.

Venture capitalists understand this. Therefore, they create special investment funds for Facebook applications, Google-glass applications, bitcoin services. When big changes come, entrepreneurs and investors try to ride that wave.

The same works for small local establishments. Follow large construction projects like metro stations and airports, the process of gentrification.

In 1975, MITS released the first commercially successful home computer Altair 8800. One Harvard student decided that selling software could become a business for him. He and some friends wrote a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800 and started selling it in partnership with MITS. That student was Albert Einstein Bill Gates.

10. Improve a useless product

Do anything on your knee in a couple of days. Ask your friends what needs to be changed so that they start using it. Refresh. Ask again. Repeat until you have a service for millions. Everyone knows the fairy tale about porridge from an ax, right?

11. Hang out with smart people

Entrepreneurs usually value their own ideas, and consider other people's ideas as secondary. Don't let self-love stand between you and a great opportunity.

Elon Musk once pitched the idea for an installation and maintenance company solar panels to his cousins ​​Lyndon and Peter Rive. Today, their SolarCity is valued at billions of dollars.

Bad Ideas

And here are popular ways of coming up with ideas that very often lead to failures:

  • Analogy. Every second person does X for Y, like Hermitage for digital art, Instagram for video, or Excel for hipsters. Sounds impressive, but most of the time it doesn't work. Most likely, your market has its own specifics and a solution from someone else's market will not work. And if it does, then the source of your inspiration can come and trample you. Who needs multiple "Instagrams for videos" now that Instagram itself has a video?
  • "Product Vision". Many entrepreneurs start by presenting their New Product with all the details and nuances. But it is not difficult to invent anything, and usually what is invented has nothing to do with real needs market. Majority good ideas starts with the client.

Every idea has its flaws.

Even your best ideas will have flaws. Find and recognize them. The idea can be implemented if you find a way to effectively deal with shortcomings.

Don't discard ideas that include a lot hard and unpleasant work. If you can handle it, then you will find yourself in a market with low competition and will be more reliably protected from young punks.

Availability successful competitors rather a plus than a minus: it demonstrates the presence of demand. If you have a visual difference from them and evidence that this difference can attract enough customers, you can even enter highly competitive markets.

Sometimes successful business starts from a very small market. This can work if a few users are just praying for you, and there is a clear strategy for how to survive from a narrow niche to entering a wide market.

Ideas are born in the process of communication. Discuss with everyone around trends, markets and your available ideas. New guesses are guaranteed.

Ideas are born through empathy. Know someone else's pain, and you can come up with new solutions.

Ideas are born out of curiosity. How should everything work? What will the future look like?

Ideas come from the subconscious. Write down the scope of your activity and the requirements for the idea. Then just do other things. A few days later, the idea will appear effortlessly.

A startup is necessary for economic development because it is the missing link between science and industry. The scope of the projects is not limited to the scientific and technical or technological direction and can support any trend.

How to make a startup successful

What is a startup

A newly formed company is called a startup. Usually it is under development, formed by innovative ideas and not necessarily officially registered. Characteristic features such a business project is the lack of funding and the precarious position of the subject entrepreneurial activity in the market for the provision of services, production or sale of products. Risky decisions are often made to achieve the set goal.

Why a startup?

What is a startup

Large corporations successfully promote products that are already in demand and do not seek to introduce projects into their plans that need to be developed for a long time. Their income is stable, and when innovative ideas are promoted, it will be reduced due to the need to invest funds and dilute the attention of the business manager by creating an additional niche for earnings that will not be received immediately. Therefore, the founders of large business entities are rarely involved in start-ups, since it is easier for them to create a subsidiary or register an individual business to ensure mobility and efficiency in the implementation of new ideas.

Project founders are not necessarily active business representatives, they can be ordinary individuals who set a goal for themselves, know how to convince and work for the result.

Trend selection

According to the statistics compiled by the participants of the start-up party, entrepreneurs in the field of ecology, defense, science and culture have low chances for the development of projects. You can try to promote the project to successful results with a competent approach to business in a niche that supports the mass market and education. Rapid and stunning results can be achieved in medicine, tourism and communications. It should be noted that the forecasts formed on the basis of the analysis of historical data are not accurate, but allow us to assess the existing trend.

What is the key to success

The successful implementation of an entrepreneurial idea and its introduction to the market is the goal of any startup at the stage of its formation. However, not every project acquires this status. The reason for failures is the choice of an irrelevant trend or an improperly organized business. So what is the key to success when implementing a business idea for a startup?

Idea

The main component of the success of the project is an innovative idea, which should be unusual and fresh.

Its parameters in terms of prospects and demand are evaluated by investors, and their decision to cooperate depends on the impression made by the innovation and the expected results from its implementation in business. An idea displayed on paper, in the form of a business project, even without material implementation, can be expensive.

Team building

Stages of startup development

An indispensable element of success is a well-chosen team of personalities. The implementation of the conceived idea can be carried out by one person, but in such a situation it will take more time to achieve results. Difficulties may be associated with the need to conduct simultaneous activities in several areas: strategy development, management and entry into the sales market, as well as the search for investors with insufficient project funding.

The formation of the team must be done in such a way that its members complement each other with qualities and skills that companions lack. In partnership, it is important to share the responsibilities for planning, networking, product development, production and implementation. When selecting partners, one should take into account not only the knowledge and skills of applicants, but also their age, passion for the idea and willingness to work until results are obtained.

Platform for learning programming on English language, where 16 million users are registered (!). In 2012, the creators of Codecademy announced the launch of the Russian-language version, but they never finalized it: only a few menu items and tasks were translated.

There are no video lectures on Codecademy. Each lesson consists of a short funny text and small task. The student enters the resulting code in a special field and proceeds to the next module.

There are no educational projects similar to Codecademy in Russia. Creating its analogue is not an easy task, but the result will be worth it: in 2016, the company attracted $42.5 million in investments.

When a developer launches an English-language application, he knows exactly where to start promotion: on the site. It's an incredibly authoritative resource for finding apps and services: 100-200 votes on Product Hunt can bring in thousands of new users. In addition, Product Hunt is an important source of information for foreign media.

When a developer launches a Russian-language application, the issue of promotion remains open. The Product Hunt community is in English and is not interested in local projects. So why not open a similar platform for Russian-language services and applications?

We all made mistakes of varying severity on the Internet: photos of 18+ from parties, obscene comments on Facebook. How to find and hide all compromising evidence?

For example, with the help of - a tool for managing personal reputation on the Internet. The service helps to keep track of mentions of your name on the Web and shows turn-based strategy to improve search results.

The problem is that the service does not track content in Russian and does not take into account search results in Yandex. If you close these gaps, you can create a new BrandYourself based on BrandYourself. useful product for Russian speaking users.

This is Uber for hairdressers and makeup artists. Instead of calling salons or looking for a master on the Internet, US residents can now order makeup and styling at home through the application.

Investors of the famous Y Combinator believed in StyleBee, and the company received $1.2 million from them.

Women in Russia face the same problems when looking for hairdressers and makeup artists as American women. And we need the help of Russian developers.

5. Eden

Imagine that all computer masters from the ads near the entrance are collected on one site. They will not only fix your appliances, but they will also bring friends with them to clean the floor and paint the ceiling. This is exactly what Eden offers - a service for ordering technical support, cleaning and minor repairs to offices.

Eden is focused on offices and is based in San Francisco. But nothing prevents us from adapting such a service for apartments, retail premises, cottages or warehouses in any region of our country. Dare!

New business ideas are the engine of progress. But there are advantages to using the experience of other projects: someone definitely needs an existing product and you can find a monetization model for it. In addition, the team can focus on development, rather than thinking about the idea. After all, the main thing is not to brag about a new concept, but to create a product in demand and develop it in the direction that is interesting to users.

Howling entrepreneurs from all over the world are now probably terribly jealous of Nick Di'Aloisio's quick wits. Last month, the 17-year-old sold his news gathering app, Summly, to Yahoo for an unprecedented $30 million! Now, when it is going to (if it is going to) run new startup, then he will definitely have good funding!

Of course, many entrepreneurs do not have access to such capital, and therefore ask the question - How to create a startup from scratch and without investments? It takes a medium-sized business years to overcome the line of loss, not to mention achieve a stable profit. In the beginning, before you have investors, it's not unusual for you (and possibly your employees) to go unpaid for a long time. It is important to do everything possible to secure your product in the market.

While some founders are willing to run out of money in the hope of making big sales and big profits, most employees are unlikely to sign up. To motivate employees to work on enthusiasm, it is important for entrepreneurs on a budget to use creativity.

Non-monetary incentives

Many startups simply don't have the money to support a traditional salary scheme. That is why many entrepreneurs use seed capital. Finding additional co-founders or giving employees a stake in the company can sometimes get you on your feet at first, but these methods aren't always sustainable.

Fortunately, there are other, more economical or completely free, methods to motivate people to get to work.

StartupDigest, for example, became Curator Model champions. The company is looking for talented individuals to manage or "curate" the digest in their cities. Curators do not receive monetary compensation and the work is based on enthusiasm. Why? Because the platform allows curators to issue digests from own name. Such cooperation is beneficial to both parties, and monetary interaction here is replaced by a mutual helping hand.

If the curator is not a potential competitor to the company, they can promote their name and reputation in exchange for a little work. When an employee or partner is willing to do what you need for you, there is no need for monetary compensation.

Colleges and universities may also provide free interns. You can offer mentoring in exchange for helping your startup, and this can pay handsome dividends, as today college students are closely connected to social media and technology, which allows them to be more useful than a person who makes coffee for all employees.

Life hacks for young startups

Sometimes startups need to hire real paid professionals. In order to allow your company to attract a specialist and interest him with a fee allocated on a very limited budget, you can make it interesting and profitable for other people to contribute to your startup.

Sometimes, life hacks can cost nothing at all, but at the same time make working at a startup much more attractive and interesting than in well-paid positions in an old-fashioned hardened company. Silicon Valley companies like Google and Facebook are famous today for providing their employees with everything they need to live, including hired chefs in the company's kitchen to medical care. Of course, such “quirks” will result in a large sum for the company, but there are other options:

  • Flexible working hours: A startup is not a 9-to-6 job, so let your employees come when it suits them.
  • Remote work: If employees are more productive at home, let them work from home if they need to.
  • Public Recognition: Praise employees in front of others to help motivate and motivate other employees.

Focus on lower wages, but also provide employees with a variety of entertainment and distractions that will ultimately increase productivity and help you identify talented employees who will help you get your company on its feet.

Not every person will be ready to take an oath to “plow” for your company for free, but there are people for whom contributing to something big and special is much more important than getting a stable salary.

Ideas for startups: the "freshest" ideas from all over the world - 3 keys to success + TOP-5 ideas from around the world + 3 startup ideas from Russian developers.

Why startup ideas get all great popularity in the business sphere and bring the owners whole capital?

First of all, because they offer completely new, innovative solutions for actual problems of people.

Therefore, it is quite logical that in search of inspiration to create own startup do not rush "deep into history".

Follow the trends, fashion trends, what is actually in demand now.

This article can help you with this, which has brought together the main business trends and forecasts regarding future discoveries in the entrepreneurial “art” market.

What is a startup?

Before talking about startup ideas, it is worth defining what is generally meant.

Most have only a general idea of ​​startups. Therefore, someone believes that this is how they call new resources on the Internet, others - that this is a business created by young people with no experience.

There is some truth in this. However, the concept itself is broader.

Startup is a business idea that is based solely on the use of innovative technologies or the introduction of completely new products.

That is, the composition of the team and the format of the company does not matter (often startups begin to develop without being officially registered).

The main thing is for the team to help solve some problem of humanity by offering something unique.

Also hallmarks startups are:

  • limited money to start;
  • starting work from scratch;
  • most often, partners in a startup were previously connected by some kind of relationship (worked together, studied).

And although the world learns about such companies even at its first steps, when the market position is not yet strong, only those companies that have already manufactured a product can be called startups.

An operating time or a “raw” project is only the basis for creation, but not the startup itself.

What is the key to the success of a startup idea?


If we analyze the ideas behind the startup that have been especially successful, we can identify several common features.

Conventionally, they can be called "secrets of success."

Factors that determine the success of a startup idea:

    What exactly do you think about the idea that became a startup?

    Do you think that it can bring a lot of money?

    Or do you really “burn” and are sure that this business will be useful to people and become innovative?

    Only in the second case, the startup really has a chance of success.

    If you do not have a sincere interest, you can quickly "burn out."

    Moreover, startups rarely bring instant profit.

    A lot depends on the team.

    Obviously, a team of like-minded people working on the same wavelength can do more than one person.

    Don't try to put everything on your own shoulders.

    You should not calculate how many people will have to share the profit, but take care of the perfect quality of every detail.

    Youth is a plus.

    Let this statement sound like a discredit.

    But the fact remains that investors are more focused on investing in the young and ambitious.

    Let people with experience go about their business - run large organizations and share knowledge with others.

For those who no longer consider themselves a "young man", but are on fire, let's clarify: success in business has no age restrictions.

Doubt? Look at this picture:

TOP-5: global startup ideas


As a rule, startups are concentrated in the field of IT technologies. We decided to create a selection of ideas that ordinary people created and brought to life.

Such a step is intended to inspire you to implement your own ideas, even if you do not have special education or many years of work experience.

1. Green idea: special shampoo


"Nephentes" looks like an enema or something.

In fact, this startup idea can significantly affect the preservation of the environment.

Few people think, but ordinary plastic bottles from under the "" are harmful to environment product. The period of decomposition of one bottle can be hundreds of years!

And remember how much you use them during your life?

According to the idea of ​​this startup, manufacturers make products in huge containers, pouring the right portions into buyers' Nephentes bottles.

It is curious that the design does not even involve the use of a cover! The neck is simply bent and inserted into the compartment.

Another plus: you can finally use the product at 100%, including what usually remains at the bottom.

2. Indian startup idea




If you think that in India they can only dance and make films, then you will be surprised - not so few ideas for startups have been created in this country.

Interestingly, there is even a kind of analogue of the American Silicon Valley.

In addition, India is really interested in the issue huge amount garbage on the streets. Innovative ideas appear regularly.

For example, an edible spoon is a great alternative to plastic utensils. After a meal, it can be eaten as a dessert or, of course, just thrown away.

Obviously, such a “material” as flour decomposes as quickly as possible and is absolutely harmless to nature.

The creators also assure that the product can be safely eaten by vegetarians. And in the future, even the development of a gluten-free version is planned.

3. An idea for junk food lovers




Which of us is not familiar with such a misfortune: you carefully take chips or something else greasy, and your fingers get dirty so that you have to go wash them.

And you need to be extremely careful not to hook or stain anything!

A startup has appeared in Italy, the idea of ​​​​which is to create fingertips. They are very thin, but at the same time the latex tightly fits the fingers.

Thanks to this, consumers can safely feast on goodies, and then simply throw away the “nozzles”.

It is assumed that these devices will not be sold on their own, but complete with chips, nuts or similar food, for which they were invented.

4. Startup: "folding" napkins




But the idea of ​​this startup is already designed for higher cuisine - that is, for restaurants. It appeared as a reaction to the fact that ordinary napkin holders are already becoming obsolete.

But napkins pressed into a small round “washer” are another matter. To use such a thing, visitors must dip the "pill" into an antiseptic solution.

And then the fabric unfolds, acquires a pleasant smell, and even becomes a “killing tool” for harmful microbes on your hands.

You should not immediately estimate the increased costs for the owners: these towels are not disposable. So the idea of ​​a startup will not harm either the wallet or the environment.

5. Startup idea with social value




Often, startups are called upon to solve global problems and not just improve the already comfortable life of consumers.

For example, in Denmark, a special supermarket was created - "WeFood". Its concept is that they sell goods here that cannot be put on the shelves of "decent" ones.

Mislabeling, torn packaging, an approaching expiration date or even a delay in general - all this is usually a reason to write off, return or even dispose of goods.

Meanwhile, even in Denmark there are many people who have to save on everything.

The idea of ​​the supermarket has not only helped low-income people to eat more nutritious food. There was also a 25% reduction in wasted food across the country!

Here is such a useful and, oddly enough, profitable startup.

And what about Russia: 3 domestic ideas for startups


Although the words “economic decline conditions” have already become classic texts for the realities of Russian entrepreneurship, everything is not so bad in the field of start-ups.

The “buy-sell” orientation is gradually giving way to an innovative approach.

The original solutions still do not have such a powerful state support like in other countries.

However, their number is increasing, and investors are ready to invest their money. This is especially evident in the variety of ideas for a startup in 2016.

1) A startup you've definitely heard of


Have you seen the original photo processing on Instagram, which turns an ordinary frame into an artistic canvas? Most likely, you already know what we are talking about.

For the rest, let's clarify - the Prisma application is a service that allows you to process users' photos in an original way.

For many, it will come as a surprise that it was Russian programmers who developed Prism. Moreover, its creator former employee well-known mail.ru.

The peculiarity of the program is that it does not just impose some filters on top of the card.

Through the use of neural network algorithms (of which you may have heard a lot too), Prism analyzes the frame and then creates it from scratch. But already in the form of a picture.

The fact that almost everyone knows about this application now is already an indicator of success. It remains to be added that the Facebook administration banned the use of the program on its network only because it considered it competitive.

2) Idea for a startup on cards




It is believed that various cumulative and discount cards are gradually fading away. At least because no one wants to carry around dozens of options without knowing which one they need.

The developers of the startup "Cardberry" came up with the idea to create a device that can accommodate all kinds of cards.

We will not go into technical details. The bottom line is that any user cards are, as it were, entered into the memory of this electronic device.

Every time a person needs a certain card, he enters a special application and selects it.

"Cardberry" adapts to the choice and becomes a full-fledged replacement for the desired card.

For your attention, we offer a cool video

about the 10 most successful startups in the world:

3) Startup idea for a comfortable life




Perhaps you are not familiar with the SVET company yet, but you have every chance to hear about them.

As the name implies, the team offers lighting equipment. What is the innovativeness of this idea for a startup?

The fact is that the bulbs of this company are designed to simulate ordinary natural lighting.

Moreover, the device settings can be adjusted (for example, in accordance with the time of day or night).

This startup idea is not only original and adds more comfort to everyday life. But it also has a beneficial effect on human health.

Minus the idea, perhaps, only one: on this moment one device is estimated at $70. The amount is too significant for the Russians. However, the startup is in demand abroad.

collected above startup ideas only emphasize: anyone can create a business based on an innovative idea. The field of startups is not limited to the field of IT technologies.

The main thing is that you bring something new and useful to the world.

And if the idea is worthwhile, and the implementation is diligent, it can make you rich, no matter how trite it may sound.

Useful article? Don't miss out on new ones!
Enter your e-mail and receive new articles by mail