Ravens_Shadow
THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE
FASTLANE INSIDER
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Here's a story about how i selected a business idea, and decided not to pursue it, and then how I validated a current idea and started pursuing it to the fullest.
Last year I decided to try my hand at competing in the carbon xprize competition. Prior to signing up a team for ~$5,000 i decided to use what I call the $600 startup method. The essential goal is, if you can't validate an idea (within reason) with $600, it's probably not a very good idea to go with.
The world largest biofuels, biomaterials, and biotechnology convention was taking place in San Francisco and frankly, the cost of just the tickets alone to get into the convention were between $2,500 and $5,000 depending on when you bought them.
I called the guy who was funding the convention and hosting it, and asked him if i could simply volunteer because I couldn't afford to pay for the tickets. He agreed and said I could meet all the big bio company and oil company CEO's back stage as well.
So for $600, i got a round trip plane ticket and a 5 night stay in a cozy little hotel in china town about a mile away from the convention.
I had note books full of engineering drawings that I came up with to produce more efficient biofuels, along with a pitch to get a license from the xyz oil company CEO for one of their new algae's.
The day before the convention I got to talk to 20+ scientists about my idea and slowly learned why my idea wouldn't be feasible without hundreds of millions of dollars.
The next day, day 1 of the convention I talked to a few people who had personally raised hundreds of millions to find an answer for better biofuels. After learning just how difficult it would be to go even remotely fastlane with these ideas as they were all bleeding money. I called in sick for the other 3 days of the convention and explored San Francisco and enjoying the bay and talking to random people. So for $600 and a wonderful week in San Francisco, i learned that my business idea just wasn't that feasible by going to the one place where everyone in that space meets, and asking the right questions.
Not to mention I made fantastic friends and networking connections from it.
Now the short version of how I validated my current business idea. With my current business, I simply asked people if they would like xyz product or service. They agreed, so i gave them a sample of my product or service. They really liked it, told me what I could improve on with honest feedback. Then I improved on it and they saw that it was worth money, and I got a nice little contract from them. They then told their friends about what I can provide for them and their friends decided that my product or service had some market value to it.
I helped my fellow man, and the money came. I provided value, and the money came.
Hope this helps you out. Just go ask people what they think, offer your product or service for free, for honest feedback, build and improve on it, or leave it in the dust.
I spent 2+ months on my xprize drawnings and researching various chemical reactions etc so that I could do it. I learned it wasn't feasible, and I wasn't attached to it, so I let it go like i was supposed to. And i'm so much better off that I did.
Last year I decided to try my hand at competing in the carbon xprize competition. Prior to signing up a team for ~$5,000 i decided to use what I call the $600 startup method. The essential goal is, if you can't validate an idea (within reason) with $600, it's probably not a very good idea to go with.
The world largest biofuels, biomaterials, and biotechnology convention was taking place in San Francisco and frankly, the cost of just the tickets alone to get into the convention were between $2,500 and $5,000 depending on when you bought them.
I called the guy who was funding the convention and hosting it, and asked him if i could simply volunteer because I couldn't afford to pay for the tickets. He agreed and said I could meet all the big bio company and oil company CEO's back stage as well.
So for $600, i got a round trip plane ticket and a 5 night stay in a cozy little hotel in china town about a mile away from the convention.
I had note books full of engineering drawings that I came up with to produce more efficient biofuels, along with a pitch to get a license from the xyz oil company CEO for one of their new algae's.
The day before the convention I got to talk to 20+ scientists about my idea and slowly learned why my idea wouldn't be feasible without hundreds of millions of dollars.
The next day, day 1 of the convention I talked to a few people who had personally raised hundreds of millions to find an answer for better biofuels. After learning just how difficult it would be to go even remotely fastlane with these ideas as they were all bleeding money. I called in sick for the other 3 days of the convention and explored San Francisco and enjoying the bay and talking to random people. So for $600 and a wonderful week in San Francisco, i learned that my business idea just wasn't that feasible by going to the one place where everyone in that space meets, and asking the right questions.
Not to mention I made fantastic friends and networking connections from it.
Now the short version of how I validated my current business idea. With my current business, I simply asked people if they would like xyz product or service. They agreed, so i gave them a sample of my product or service. They really liked it, told me what I could improve on with honest feedback. Then I improved on it and they saw that it was worth money, and I got a nice little contract from them. They then told their friends about what I can provide for them and their friends decided that my product or service had some market value to it.
I helped my fellow man, and the money came. I provided value, and the money came.
Hope this helps you out. Just go ask people what they think, offer your product or service for free, for honest feedback, build and improve on it, or leave it in the dust.
I spent 2+ months on my xprize drawnings and researching various chemical reactions etc so that I could do it. I learned it wasn't feasible, and I wasn't attached to it, so I let it go like i was supposed to. And i'm so much better off that I did.