1. External Real World Influences
on Ideation Processes
Presented By
Peter Jones
Of
Blue Oyster Business Growth
For Startups & Product Developers
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2. Understanding Market Places
● We need to solve many real world problems
– These are often called “gaps” in our market places
● We are best to solve problems “uniquely”
● How can we re-invent cost components?
– (1) Financial (2) Time (3) Resources
● How can we improve performance?
– (1) Speed (2) Experience & Perception (3) Results
● How can we improve continuity?
● Solutions need to be both real & sustainable
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3. Solving Real World Problems
● UK 2014 – Public Sector Cost Cutting
– Health – bureaucratic, disconnected, disjointed
– Education – overwhelmed, undervalued
● There are real tech opportunities here
Commercial Opportunity
Opportunity Value
Opportunity Cost
Issues
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4. Determining Idea Uniqueness
● Can we produce unique ideas?
– “There's no such thing as an original idea” - unknown
– “Thesis, antithesis, synthesis” - Hegel, 1770-1831
● Some “unique” ideas – Doh!
– The wheel, the car, light bulbs, the internet, mobile phones
– The light bulb “moment”? Took 1,000 experiments!
● Creativity is actually a “slow thought” process
● Bloom's “Knowledge” Taxonomy
– Knowledge, Understanding, Application
Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis
And … 1,000 !!!
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5. X Factor Uniqueness
Brand New –
Minor or Major Disruption?
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6. “Competitor” Characteristics
What do we like & miss? An example...
“Unique”
Competitor A
Cost Competitive
Cost Feature
Owner A
Team A
Reduction
Feature(s)
Opportunity
eg Competitve
Niche Segment
“Unique”
Competitor B
Niche
Customer
Segment
Niche
Customer
Owner B
Team B
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7. Reinventing Resource Cost Barriers
Case Study – 2014 Smart Phone
1914
● Laborious, time consuming pen and paper needed
● Meeting people took time
– Letter writing, rudimentary travel facilities
● Meeting people took skill, perseverance money
– Pricey business clubs, “old school networks”, ebullience,
chutzpah, “high costs”
● Meeting good people needed luck
– Good people not that available, not always very approachable
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8. Reinventing Resource Cost Barriers
Case Study – 2014 Smart Phone
2014
● Smart, fast, democratic business tools available in your hand
● Much easier to meet key people, even globally
– Key people are much more available and accessible
● Much, much easier for a single person to build a startup
business
● Much, much easier to network with complementary
businesses
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9. Automation Reduces Costs
Good designers
ensure fun access
Start Ups
Reliability
Reach – Easy
Affordable
“Recent”
OUT - High Cost
“Consultancy”
“Historic”
IN - Low
Cost SaaS
O
P
E
R
A
T
I
O
N
S
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10. Improving UK Performance
Some Key 2014 Opportunities
● Marketing
– Often reluctant to show “results”, a pure sales pitch
– Can be a closed club, targeting corporate pay days
– Professional organisations focus more on their own fees
– Many still working on a scatter gun approach, not targeting
● Recruitment
– Bound tightly to myopic employers and own financial results
– Often fail to deliver, and fail to support every kind of talented person
– Unwilling to risk an 80:20 role fit for “adapters”, preferring a safe 100% fit
● Supply Chain
– Old fashioned employers unwilling to “support” suppliers wishing to apply
● Rely instead on “natural selection” of “fittest salmon” - big disconnects
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11. Improving UK Startup Performance
Some Key 2014 Opportunities
● Startup market – disjointed
– “Poor ideas” - Hackers Hustlers
– “No tech companies” - Hipsters
– “Venal 10% investors” - Hipsters
● Startup events – for “Busy Fools” ?
– Chaotic random – not improving CEO skill levels
– Focused on doing, not structured, applied learning
● Right product, right place, right words, right time?
– Must CEOs be “lucky” to persuade partners to collaborate?
● Only “10% success” levels – some succeed, many don't
– 30% startups fail within 3 years – Alex Pollizzi, BBC
– But many startups never reach the “measurable” stage
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12. Improving Market Performance
● On a market by market basis:
– What works too slowly?
– What works painfully and laboriously?
– What still works very expensively?
● Are there Apps that deliver comparably?
– Do SaaS Apps work quickly, slickly and cheaply?
– Previously, we asked who might deliver consultancy services?
● If no Apps, what is the pain caused, the “opportunity cost”?
– Would the market pay to alleviate the pain?
– Automate existing gap, or find something brand new?
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13. Nature vs Nurture
Some Perceptions
● Naturists – Dog Eat Dog
– 10% investments perform, 30% do ok, 60% flop
● Only the best thrive, 90% survive or go under - “Que Sera”
– You learn the most from your own failures
– Less planning, more doing; avoid paralysis though analysis
● Nurturers – Raising Baby
– Looking to maximise the entire economy
● Helping steer service providers to growth
– Standing on the shoulders of giants
– Plan, test in the market place, assess
● CEOs must choose teams / investors carefully
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14. Improving Integration
● Integration helps “collectives” move from stage to
stage faster through better connectivity
● Case Studies – 940 AD to 2008
– King Alfred sowed the seeds for English integration
– The Magna Carta helped found UK democratic law
– Bill Gates integrated key office software
– The world wide web democratised knowledge access
– Facebook democratised global connectivity
– Twitter democratised expert knowledge access
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15. UK Integration Opportunities
Knowledge
Growth
UK Secondary
Education
“Beleaguered”
Internal
Cohesion
UK Commerce
“Risk Averse,
Management
Novices”
UK Higher
Education
“Aloof, Distant,
Academic,
Irrelevant”
Budgets
New Tech
Support
Collaboration
“High Horses”
Budgets
UK Health
“Postcode
Lottery”
Skills
Resources,
Self Learning
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16. Market Influence on
Execution Operation
Ideation
Development
Launch
Service Delivery
Operation
Thorough
Market Research
Risk
Management
New Entrants
New Products
Other Markets
CEO “Lean Foundation” Responsibility
To Bring Deep Knowledge / High Reputation Resources
Business
Development
Project
Live
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17. Useful Network Resources
CEO 4 Hire / Troubleshooter
Lending £1m-£20M
Investor Search Selection
Startup Funding
Harnessing the Cloud
Social Marketing
Guerrilla Marketing
Digital Marketing
Social Sales
Team Assessment Motivation
Project Management eg Trello
Lean Collaboration Software
Entrepreneurial Success Cultures
Ideation
Customer Discovery
Prototyping
Tech Solutions
Creative, Innovative Cultures
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18. Peter Jones
Innovator, Opportunity Creator
● 20 year UK corporate career, FTSE blue chip
● Tech dev, process design, project management
● Owns and runs own small business
● 5 years working with small and startup businesses
● 10 years networking with small businesses
● A UK “market opportunist” - strong hunches where the gaps are
● Ideally positioned to advise guide young UK tech startups
● Own 10 step startup process - “The Innovation Toolkit”
– For startups and corporate product managers
● Planning to build own App to support hardworking startups
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