What if you don't love your idea?

[Dillon Reyna]

My co-founder and I are looking to build an all-encompassing personal safety app.

Services like Panic button, lifeline, and kitestring all already exist.

While they are all good ideas, we feel like the customer would benefit more from one app that housed multiple features in a beautiful, well-organized manner.

My business mentors all think the Idee has potential, and we're soon to market test the idea on AdWords and Tumblr.

The problem is, I'm just not passionate about the idea itself.

So, Fastlaners, What do you do when you aren't in love with your idea? How do you open your eyes to problems in other markets?

 

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[beatgoezon]

Hey Dillon, you have to remember that the idea for this app isn't for you, it's for the numerous people who will benefit from it, like the lifeline app you're creating.

If these apps do already exist,perhaps the greatest problems with them could be that they're not packaged into one seamless app with great design, fast functionality, maybe they're a little complicated to use, or don't provide the benefits as well as they claim, look for the flaws they hold.

I personally haven't heard of any apps like these, so maybe with the right pitch and promotion you could be the first developers to create something that meets the closest requirements for a personal safety app.

Are you targeting seniors, individuals with disabilities, health patients?

 

[Aidan]

If you don't love what you're making, neither will anyone else.

If you aren't in love with your idea, there is no way you will be dedicated enough to surpass your competitors in said market. Who are these allusive 'business mentors'? Do they have any credibility? Is it Mark Cuban?

Perhaps these business mentors are in love with your idea, even though you are not. Either way, the bottom line is that you are not in love with your idea, so don't bother pursuing it. Loving your idea and what you are doing with your business/product is a very important key for success.

Look into other fields that need problems solved, or other type of business such as Real Estate or E Commerce. Also, don't just shoot for something you are 'pretty sure you would like'. Try something new and random (that fills a Need). I personally am having the most fun in my business doing something I never thought I'd ever end up in.

 

[loop101]

If you don't love what you're making, neither will anyone else.

You told me "The market does not care about me or you. It cares about the needs of others."

 

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[Nick314]

Why does loving the product matter?
You might hate pretzels, but still be the pretzel king.
Isn't loving *satisfying a market need* more important than whether you personally have that need yourself?
While I won't say that it can't help to *also* love the product itself, I would hesitate to state that it is an imperative to be successful.

Seems to just go back to the importance of process being more important than the details--how you take something to market and what steps you do to get there matter more than what the product and market are (assuming basic CENTS criteria are met).

 

[Dillon Reyna]

Hey Dillon, you have to remember that the idea for this app isn't for you, it's for the numerous people who will benefit from it, like the lifeline app you're creating.

If these apps do already exist,perhaps the greatest problems with them could be that they're not packaged into one seamless app with great design, fast functionality, maybe they're a little complicated to use, or don't provide the benefits as well as they claim, look for the flaws they hold.

I personally haven't heard of any apps like these, so maybe with the right pitch and promotion you could be the first developers to create something that meets the closest requirements for a personal safety app.

Are you targeting seniors, individuals with disabilities, health patients?

Thanks for the feedback! Our target demographic is college students, namely freshmen.

These kids are dropped into a new city with a new mindset facing new people and new challenges.

We'd be looking to offer them peace of mind in the midst of the mayhem.

 

[beatgoezon]

Thanks for the feedback! Our target demographic is college students, namely freshmen.

These kids are dropped into a new city with a new mindset facing new people and new challenges.

We'd be looking to offer them peace of mind in the midst of the mayhem.

Cool Dillion, it could hit it off if you could create a need in the college student's mindset, but also try to expand the target market, I believe keeping the elderly, disabled, people with health issues, etc would help you guys expand the target market too, I recommend testing out some feedback and narrow down your plan of action from there bud, I think this app could fill a need for sure.

 

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[Dillon Reyna]

Cool Dillion, it could hit it off if you could create a need in the college student's mindset, but also try to expand the target market, I believe keeping the elderly, disabled, people with health issues, etc would help you guys expand the target market too, I recommend testing out some feedback and narrow down your plan of action from there bud, I think this app could fill a need for sure.

If we're still in the midst of development, how would I proceed with a market test? My plan of action here is to build a landing page on LanderApp, then throw $100 at AdWords and $100 at Tumblr and see what happens.

 

[beatgoezon]

If we're still in the midst of development, how would I proceed with a market test? My plan of action here is to build a landing page on LanderApp, then throw $100 at AdWords and $100 at Tumblr and see what happens.

Yea exactly, you could ask people around, like someone who's made apps similar to this or other utility apps. You can ask people who have good experience in the app store, or join a forum dedicated to solving needs through apps that provide specialized services like yours.

But the approach with making a landing page and testing it is a great way to test as well, I don't have much experience with landing pages, but I say do some research, tune up your copy and demographic you want to target, and give it a shot bud

 

[Aidan]

You told me "The market does not care about me or you. It cares about the needs of others."

That's right, and I love what I make for others. My own creation/prototype is a unique device. It fills large NEED for others, and I love developing it (not to mention I would totally use it myself). The best part about this creation, is that I would have never seen myself developing a bizarre device such as this, if I didn't take a look at what others NEED.

The problem with Jim Collin's Hedgehog Concept (as I've mentioned before) Is that it does not encourage market exploration/education, and more or less tells you to be a bubble boy (stick to what you know and love). It bases business off of your own interests from the get go, rather than looking first at which markets (of good magnitude/volume) NEED a solution:

• Find problem in any market > Is there a large enough need? > write it down

• When you have a list of issues, pick half that interest you the most > write those half down as a smaller list

• Pick half of this smaller list that interest you the most > write it down > keep narrowing your list down until you have one market/issue left.

• Tackle that one market/issue. There are a large number of others who need this problem fixed, and this is the subject that is most appealing to you out of all the options you found.

There is a reason why I worded the market 'only caring about the needs of others'. That reason is that the market does not revolve around what you want, rather than that the masses / others need. If you share the problems of many others, then you are included in the others category, and not the other way around.

There are issues out there in markets that need solutions big time. Many of these markets you could absolutely be passionate about, and don't even know exist yet.

 

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[Dwight Schrute]

Well, if you don't love your idea, you are fu#%ed.
Everybody knows that in order to be successful, you only need to do what you love, think positively,
and one day suddenly all your dreams come true, presented to you on a silver platter, transported by a magic carpet.

Jokes aside,

we feel like the customer would benefit more from one app that housed multiple features in a beautiful, well-organized manner.

The problem is, I'm just not passionate about the idea itself.

Sounds like you could provide something useful, but you don't like the process/work to create it.

Strange comparison, but maybe it helps:
I just cleaned up my workspace and cleaned the toilet.
I have absolutely zero passion for these tasks, but the end result was worth it.

 

[mt_myke]

Is your business model solely bundling those apps, or are you adding value in other ways?

If the plan is to recreate each of the apps in your mega-app you are probably wasting your time. One of the companies you mentioned already has a piece of it working, and more importantly a user base. Why wouldn't they be able to do the same thing, faster?

 

[Ikke]

Love the process not the product.

Some of my fastest moving products are the ones I love the least. But I do care about them the most because my customers do.

 

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[eliquid]

My thoughts.

If you know this will make good money AND you can grind out on something you don't love, do it and get wealthy. Once you are wealthy ( I dont know if you are or aren't ), you can do whatever you want. Totally worth it.

If this isn't going to make you wealthy and/or you can't grind it out. Do something else.

If you are already wealthy.. do something else.

 

[GuestA4319]

I think it depends what you love or hate.

Like @Ikke said, if you love the business process, the fact that you are creating value to your customers and you get paid for that is enough.

Do you think those guys who are starting multiple businesses in different domains, they all love their "ideas"? Or those who start traditional businesses, which are millions like theirs around the world, like a taxi company or cleaning company, etc. I don't think they say: I'm so motivated right know because I Iove my idea of cleaning offices.

This "idea" thing is a new hype introduced be internet startups and made popular by companies who got big because they were some of the first in the space with good execution and right timing, not because their unique idea.

 

[Deleted20833]

The problem is, I'm just not passionate about the idea itself.

So, Fastlaners, What do you do when you aren't in love with your idea? How do you open your eyes to problems in other markets?

Is there anything within the idea that you love? the marketing? the designing? ...focus on that and let your partner do the other things...no matter what idea you have...there's always going to be something you don't like about it

 

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