5 Ways to Improve Any Idea in a Startup Tech Company

Use these techniques to improve almost any idea you can conjure in a startup tech company.

Startup tech companies need ideas as fuel. A great idea serves as the foundation for a great company, but only through the continued introduction of new and better ideas can that company grow. That’s why it’s imperative for entrepreneurs, partners, team members, and everyone in between to come up with new ideas to spark that forward momentum.

The caveat is, not all ideas start out good. Some need to be molded, shaped, and refined to serve a useful purpose. Here are five ways to do just that:

Ask others to summarize the idea. Hearing the idea in different words and from different perspectives will allow you to see the idea from many different sides. It could expose weaknesses or new opportunities for development.
Apply the idea to multiple contexts. For example, if your idea is a way to improve customer service, could your idea also be applied to the sales team? What about marketing? Think of new platforms and contexts for your idea.
Run thought experiments to test for weaknesses. Implement thought experiments to test your idea in a live environment. Think through the real processes that would need to be adjusted to accommodate it. Can you find any weaknesses evident?
Play association games to come up with alternative options. Word association games force your brain to come up with near-random tangents for thought and exploration. This serves the same function.
Sketch out an outline for implementation. Try working up an overall outline for what the idea is, how it will be implemented, and what happens next. Put it on paper and flesh it out.

Apply these five strategies to just about any idea in your startup company, and by the end of your process, you can either rule out the idea as a viable option or put your polished, finished idea into action. Never rule out an idea until you’ve fully explored it as an option—even the best ideas sometimes emerge in questionable and unfinished forms.

About the Author

Jose Vasquez is a serial entrepreneur and tech specialist dedicated to helping startup tech companies grow and succeed. As the founder of Build. Brand. Blast., Jose has worked with dozens of enterprises to find direction, gain momentum, and achieve results.