The first of four events in the Do It In Durham series – kicked off Durham’s Global Entrepreneurship Week on Monday, November 18th at the Centennial Building in Whitby.
Serial Entrepreneur Ron Neumann, involved in startups including SlipStream Data, Dejero Labs, Post Rank, and VistaShift, delivered an enthusiastic, inspiring, and relatable workshop to over 50 aspiring entrepreneurs.
Talking with participants after the session, two key messages were clear:
1. Successful idea generation comes from insight
Ron defines insight in a unique way, not simply as information you didn’t know before, but as information “you never thought of in that way before”. In business, an insight is not a faster or cheaper solution but rather is what happens when what you see, think, and feel all comes together in a new way to solve a problem.
2. Perspective is everything
Every entrepreneur believes in their own idea, but true idea validation comes only when the target customer confirms the problem is real, expresses interest in a solution, and is willing to pay for that solution. The interactive format of the workshop allowed participants to pitch their idea to the target customer, and then receive feedback from the perspective of that target customer to incorporate into the solution, which is an integral part of developing an innovative product or service.
You can never be 100% certain your idea will turn into a profitable business opportunity. That said, by generating strong ideas, and then testing, measuring feedback, and rebuilding those ideas you can close in on product-market fit. In closing, Ron left the audience with a statement that we really like: “You can never have too much enthusiasm.”
