This is the Playbook Slide for the Select Product Idea SV.CO Target.

1. SV.CO
Select Product Idea

2. What makes a good
idea?

3. & how do you select
one?

4. Before that: some
context

5. Most startups fail
because of either:

6. a) pick a product that
nobody wants, or

7. b) nobody is willing to
pay for

8. Even if you pick the
right idea, it takes a
long time
(3-5+ years) to succeed

9. Good startups are never
overnight successes.

10. So you need to
like the idea that you’ve picked
to work on it for the duration.

11. 4 tests for a good idea

12. 1: Am I solving a real
problem people have?

13. Talk to prospective
customers and figure out
their problems.

14. Observe prospective
customers and figure out
their problems.

15. Emulate other successful
products & build better/
different versions.

16. 2: Will I use it? Do I
like the idea?

17. Use: do you have the same
problem? Will the product
that you build solve it?

18. Use/Empathy: in your
customers shoes, would
you use this product?

19. Like: are you passionate about
this product/industry? Can you
work on this for 3-5 years?

20. 3: Has it been done
before? How is mine
different/better?

21. When you pick an idea,
having competitors in the
same space isn’t a bad thing.

22. This because of two things:
1) having competitors have
already established the space

23. 2) Startups are usually
not a zero-sum game.

24. When you win, somebody
else doesn’t have to lose.

25. “For Apple to win,
Microsoft doesn’t have to
lose”—Steve Jobs.

26. What you need to have is a
clear articulation of how your
product is better/different.

27. Better: clear articulation
as to why your product is
an improvement.

28. Better is not always
“adding features”

29. Better could also be
“removing features”

30. In fact, usually:
Better = focus.

31. Better: could be because it’s
addressing a narrower use-case,
or a different target segment.

32. Different: target customer
base, industry, or locale.

33. Better & different work together to
establish your product, even in an
intensely competitive space.

34. 4: Why is now the right
time to build this?

35. The best ideas have a
clear reason as to why it
should be done right now.

36. As opposed to
5 or 10 years ago.

37. Most common reason:
technology breakthrough

38. Most common reason
we’ve seen cited:
Mobile penetration in India :)

39. Lots of other possible reasons as well:
legal/regulatory environment change, entry
of an innovative player into the market,
paradigm shift.

40. Being aware of these
changes is generally a
great idea.

41. Recommended Read:
How to Get Good Ideas

42. Break: Questions?

43. How does SV.CO help
you pick ideas?

44. We have a curated list of
ideas in the SaaS space.

45. These ideas have been
vetted by our partner
Tracxn Labs.

46. 1: We picked
funded startup ideas
in US.

47. 2: Narrowed it down
by feasibility.

48. 3: Tweaked ideas to
make it generic.

49. 4: Added detail on
Indian similars.

50. 5: & Team Skills
required.

51. How to use the
Idea One-Pagers to
select an Idea

52. Perform all these
activities as a team.

53. 1: Quickly browse through
Idea Titles to see if you
find anything interesting

54. 2: Now, quickly read through the
Executive Summary of each and
mark what you find interesting

55. 3: Deep-dive into
those you marked up.

56. 4: Rank each idea as “Good = 1,
Great = 2 and Wow = 3” based
on the earlier 4 criteria + 1.

57. Recap: 5 Criteria:
1: Is this a real genuine problem?
2: In your customers shoes, will you use it?
3: What is your special different/better for this idea?
4: Why is now the right time to build this?
5: Does our team have the skills to build this?

58. 5: Pick the idea that has
the most cumulative
scores.

59. Debate and discuss
within the team to come
up with scores.

60. One tip here: the way to settle
arguments is not to vote by
majority, but by rationale.

61. This is not a mock GD.
When you discuss,
listen to understand
other people’s viewpoint.

62. Final step:
Record your decisions.

63. Submit a one-pager,
split by one-paragraph each on
the five criteria on how/why you’ve
selected your idea.

64. Meta question:
Do I need to pick from
amongst these 50 ideas?

65. No.
But: 1) be prepared to receive more scrutiny.
2) if your idea is not in the SaaS space, be
prepared to receive less support.

66. Finis: Questions?