Find real problems to solve, not just pet projects.
For the last several years, I've had the opportunity to head back "home" to the University of Missouri-Columbia ("Mizzou") and be a part of judging seniors' projects within the Business (Marketing) school. They come up with new products or services for companies and we judges get to decide which one had the best presentation.
Every year, these young people give me a glimpse into what this new generation is going to be capable of accomplishing (more than we give them credit for!). But it also gives me insight into a fundamental flaw I see within our startup ecosystem. Specifically around what we "sell" soon-to-be-entrepreneurs on what starting up is about.
That flaw is this: entrepreneurship is not about ideas or following your passion.
There are all of these quotes that support this flaw, like: "follow your passion and you'll never work a day in your life!" Or "passion is the genesis of genius!"
There's nothing wrong with "passion." The problem is telling entrepreneurs (or entrepreneurs to be) that if they follow their passion, they will be successful. Passion, like an idea, is cheap.
So many of these students (like so many founders) fall in love with their "idea" that they don't stop to think--does this idea actually solve a problem worth solving?
"Amazing" ideas are a dime-a-dozen. If I talk to someone and they start out by saying their idea is "amazing" I almost instantly tune out. If, however, that person starts telling me about a problem, the impact that problem has...now you have me intrigued.
But it has to be more than an 'idea.' You must start formulating the solution and defining the market this problem impacts. You see, a solution that solves a problem without an addressable market? That's a charity. A solution that solves too niche of a problem? That's a hobby. And an idea? Doesn't solve anything.
But what about those "amazing" ideas that created entirely new industries and we didn't even know we had that problem to solve in the first place? I would suggest that we (as a market) just didn't know how to express that the problem existed.
I'm not saying that passion isn't a requisite characteristic in an entrepreneur. But here is what every entrepreneur needs to be passionate about: solving problems; solving problems that an addressable market has.
If you become passionate about solving problems, you become one of those elite entrepreneurs that can have multiple successes. The kind that evolves and ebbs and flows into multiple industries.
Don't fall in love with an idea. Be passionate! But be passionate about solving problems.
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