Is your tech startup idea worth pursuing?

It’s estimated that everyone in their life will have at least one, million pound idea. That idea that strikes you in the shower and keeps you up at night. That idea that’s finally going to fund your yacht and change the world as we know it. But it can often be hard to distinguish whether it’s just a crazy idea or something actually worth pursuing. We’ve all met someone who thought of the idea of Uber before they did and man are they bitter. So to avoid being THAT person, here’s the initial steps you should take to see if it’s worth turning your idea into a startup business.

Just because you would use your product/software, doesn’t always mean anyone else would. Market research is an incredibly vital first step to moving forward with any startup. Who do you envision would use your tech product and what are they currently using instead? Who is your customer, what are their traits and how do they spend their time? What is out there in the current market and is there a gap? You get the point. Market research helps you to establish your position and really enables you to make the decision on whether it’s worth moving forwards. Market research can also inspire ideas for your business and perhaps make you look at things differently. Don’t be under prepared. Do your research and build on it. This is your foundation.

You might be apprehensive to do so, but this step can really help build your confidence in your idea. Just go for it and reach out to an expert in the field your idea lies and discuss your idea with them. You’ll be surprised how many people are willing to help. It could be an investor that has a past record of investing in tech startups, someone from a successful and established tech company, or someone in your target market. Don’t forget your NDA though 😉 

A round table with with though leaders can be extremely valuable. When building a business, you can sometimes become a little narrow minded, but discussing it with others can give you ideas of a different direction, or just let you know if it’s a waste of time. While I hope it’s not the latter, at least you’ll find out sooner rather than later.

Steering boards are advisory bodies that are made up of senior stakeholders or experts that provide guidance on a lot of different issues that could face companies such as budgets, new endeavors, company policy, marketing strategies, and project management concerns. Reach out and get your board together.

No one gives their true opinion like those closest to you, so it might be worth giving them the elevator pitch over a drink.

While we see the value in the above steps to really establish whether your idea really is as groundbreaking as you thought, do remember to balance this with your gut feeling. Ultimately, if you’ve done your research and know there’s a gap in the market which is dying for your idea, it might just be worth taking the risk and giving it a shot.

The team at HdE specialise in helping startups bring their products to market. If you’re looking for support, help and guidance with your new venture,  get in touch. It could be the first step to the rest of your career.