Welcome!
Today
• Narrowing the field
• Open Mic
+ pizza
Topic 2: Narrowing the Field
How do you decide which idea to
pursue?
Narrowing the field
• How do you sort through potential ideas?
– Pick which feels best
– Fight for your own ideas over others’ and go with
whomever wins
– Darts
– Flip a coin
– Structured evaluation and scoring
A great business idea has a
combination of:
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Really big market
Low capital requirements
Clear value proposition
High margins
Sustainable competitive advantage
Really big market – lots of customers!
Low capital requirements
Clear value proposition
High margins
Sustainable competitive advantage
What is this?
Sustainable competitive advantage 1: patents
What is a patent?
Sustainable competitive advantage 2: scale
Sustainable competitive advantage 3: brand
Explicit Evaluation Criteria
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Really big market
Low capital requirements
Clear value proposition
High margins
Sustainable competitive advantage
Where the rubber meets the road
• Are claims backed up by data?
• Is the case presented coherently?
• Does the team have relevant experience and
passion?
• Does this feel real, or just for show?
Open Mic!