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I’m asked several times a week if I think a business should be based on a totally new business idea or on existing idea given a new twist.
Generally I believe that unless you’re an experienced entrepreneur you’re more likely to succeed in business by taking and existing business idea and implementing it better than anyone else. Possibly using a new twist to make it different (for example video rental by post), a new process reduce costs or technology to offer additional benefits (for example using carbon fibre to build lighter airframes for aircraft).
Sure there are people that have done well with totally new business ideas, but I struggle to think of any that are genuinely new business ideas. Yet if I think of the Billionaire entrepreneurs I’m aware of such as Bill Gates (Microsoft), Richard Branson (Virgin) Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google) Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway), Michael Dell (Dell), Sam Walton (WalMart), Pierre Omidyar (Ebay), Jeff Bezos (Amazon) have all taken an existing business idea and done it better (Google, Dell, Microsoft, WalMart, Virgin, Berkshire Hathaway) or added a new Twist (Dell, Amazon, Ebay, Virgin).
So can you name a successful business that has been based on a totally new idea?
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This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
That makes sense a lot.
I have done a study on the Research project portfolio for a big company. They were frustrated why their great inventions do not succeed often. The finding was simple, if it is too new, your customers do not adapt it. You need to prepare your users with a concept. Or your users may not have the optimal environment yet to adapt the new idea. So it is more successful to take existing ideas and make an incremental improvement.
So the recommendation was to take intentional incremental market development approach. Obviously, this story did not please researchers who dream of changing the world in a day…
Absolutely sometimes “first move advantage” is first move disadvantage.
While on a trip through many airports, i thought of an idea, have researched it, and there is a lot of money to be made. I am not a kook, and I have asked only others I trust. Its a media product simply done. I need to share this idea.I am being honest I have not got a lot of money, but whoever will listen to me will either say, not interested,or might just grab a wave and ride millions. I eventually am going to contact Microsoft, Virgin, and whoever will listen. What do I want?, share my idea, pay my bills, and enjoy life while I can.
Thanks for you time, Wayne D. Greenlee
Wayne, How can I help?