For any aspiring entrepreneur, the first step towards reaching his ultimate goal is the ideation of either his product or his service. Some experts say that this might well be the most important and tough step in the entrepreneurial journey! – for it is the idea which can be the game-changer or the deal-breaker in setting up a venture.

Every business idea has to start somewhere. Ideation helps you visualise a business opportunity by creatively identifying market demands and analysing competitors.

Ideation refers to the development and subsequent cultivation of ideas for a venture- the idea can be as diverse as an entrepreneur wants it to be. The idea could be a brand new one- which seeks to revolutionize its sector- or it could simply be an existing service/product-but the service/product differs from the market in a particular unique way.

Ideation covers the whole two miles-it stretches all the way from the pre-idea to the development of a business idea through to the identification of target markets, and finally to introductory issues surrounding the actual launch of a product, service or experience.

Also, with the new age markets, it can be seen that startups are classified into two very wide brackets:

a.      Idea-driven startups

b.      Market-driven startups

 

So how does one ideate in a group? Does everyone sit down and wait for ideas to flash up? Do we wait for participants to individually generate ideas- and then bring the ideas into the collaborative environment where it is discussed?

Well, the answer is No.

A study conducted by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and INSEAD Business School revealed that traditional group brainstorming sessions yield ideas that are both lower in quality and quantity.

Entrepreneurs are now looking at the Dynamically Hybrid Group Brainstorming method. This approach allows for the ideal time and setting needed for optimal individual thinking by allowing members to approach the challenge individually in their own environment under terms that stimulate creative thought and ideas.

The ideation starts with the brief which lists down the challenges and the objectives of the venture. The brief explicitly lists the sector in which the venture would be working and the client base it is targeting.

The brief is then distributed to the team. The rest of the team then comes up with ideas in the particular sector as mentioned by the brief.

These ideas are collected and combined into a single entity which contains all the ideas. Then this central database of ideas is cross circulated among the rest of the team so that everyone knows what the other person has come up with.

Such a dynamic thought process triggers new ideas and allows people to extrapolate other ideas and hence come up with refined and polished final ideas.Participants are encouraged to either build upon the ideas, or generate new ones.

The final polished ideas are then collected back and then the team meets together and finally selects a final idea as the idea of the venture.

And voila, the team finds a great idea in a particular sector!

With Ideation out of the way, the dream of becoming successful entrepreneurs is not far for the team!

Contributed by – Mohit Agarwal