What are the characteristics of a good opportunity?

1. What are the characteristics of a good opportunity? • Big enough • Need is strong enough • Need is recognized by customers • Competitive advantage attainable • Business sustainable • Business model understandable • We have competencies needed (or we can get them readily)

2. How do you look for opportunities? • Sources of ideas – • Prior experience • Customers; prospective customers • R&D • Patents • Prior employment • Contact network • Trade pubs • Trade shows • Others?

3. Good Ideas, according to Doug Hall(Jumpstart Your Business Brain) • Overt benefit (not defined as product features, but a real benefit to customer) • Real Reason to Believe – credibility • Dramatic Difference • Defined target segment

4. Creativity • Explore stimuli • Gather stimuli • Multiply stimuli • Create customer concepts • Optimize practicality • Leverage Diversity • Face Fears

5. Market Research • Purposes: • Determine whether a market opportunity exists– exploratory • Determine whether a market opportunity exists – confirmatory • Market size; segment size • How should the offering be structured

6. Concept discovery and testing • Talk to prospective customer • Ask what their problems are and relative strength of each problem • Ask how they address these problems currently (first cut, competitive info) • Ask how they wish these problems would be solved • Show concept – get feedback • If you can do it, get info on “day in the life” of customer

7. Market Research – Micro Level • Ryan’s 4 step dance: • Call => Modify => Build it => Sell it • Getting to the right people • Start with people you know; get some referrals • Web site searches • Cold calls • Sunflower model

8. NVI/Road Test -- Mullins Market Attractiveness Industry Attractiveness Mission, etc. Ability to Execute Connected in Value Chain Customer Benefits & Attractiveness Sustainable Advantage

9. Strategy Dev Product Dev Customer Value Dev Organization Dev Financing Where are you in the Concurrent Processes? Initial ValueProposition Initial Product Concept Initial choice of target segments Build the Team Initial businesspitch prepared Validate I D E A

10. This is Exploratory Research – What are you trying to do? • Learn context; get a sense of the business environment • Learn what are the right questions to ask • Learn how to ask the right questions • Get a deep sense of understanding prospective customers: • Who, what, when, where, why, how • I.e. who and what situation they are facing

11. Objectives in designing the exploratory “instrument” • Get the respondent to give thoughtful answers • Get the respondent to distinguish between ideas or issues that are tightly connected and those that are only loosely connected • Get the respondent to talk about the most important things first

12. Tips for Exploratory Interviews • Choose people who will explain well and who have insight • Choose people who will tolerate naïve questions • Ask open ended questions (come prepared); ask them to explain their answers • Don’t wear out your welcome • When finished, ask permission to ask future questions