Scipreneurs/7-day-intro/5 - was that a good idea

We are quickly approaching the end of this fascinating journey. Thinking about entrepreneurship will help you see the world in a different light, regardless of the path you end up following.

I know, I get a bit philosophical sometimes, but I promise it's only a little bit.

Some days ago, we discussed about your idea. What we never got into thinking was how to check if the idea is worth pursuing.

Scientists always look for peer validation: from favorable grant and paper reviews to award-giving. However, they have a common characteristic: they are anonymous. As an entrepreneur you will also seek validation, but this time it won't be anonymous, and they won't be your peers.

The idea you came up with few days ago, it's probably brilliant and it will change the course of history.

However, it does not matter what you think of it. It only matters what your customers think of it.

And here it is the topic of discussion for today. Who are your customers and what do they want. Imagine you have developed a new drug. You may think your customer is the patient who will receive the vaccine. However, patients normally don't pay for medicines, but the health insurance does.

So, who is your customer?

A couple of years ago, I came across something called Jobs theory, and it changed my view on how I perceive value. Instead of focusing on the problems of a single person, we try to identify everyone who will be impacted by the solution and what each one is trying to achieve.

For example: a patient is trying to get better. A health-insurer job is to minimize the length of a person's stay in the hospital. A doctor who is overworked looks for easy to administer solutions.

What happens when your solution is very good at some of these jobs, but it creates an extra burden on the others?

It is important to acknowledge that implementing an innovation will always generate some costs. Just that they may not be material costs. To understand if your idea is worth pursuing, you must understand if the value you provide overcomes the costs you'll generate.

And one way to judge how much value you bring, is through jobs theory. In almost every context you will find that there is many people affected by your idea. From the person who handles the paperwork, to the final user of the innovation.

The thing is, to judge whether an idea is good or not, there is no way but to talk to people.

So, your task for today is to come up with a list of around 5 people with whom you would like to talk. What do they do, how would they benefit from your idea. Do you know them or do you need someone to introduce you to them?

If there would be more time, I would even suggest you to go ahead and reach out to each one of them, and listen to what they have to say.

We are approaching the end of this short series. Stay tuned!