Where startup ideas thrive

Having been an entrepreneur for over past 2 years and consulting for various startups on their business and marketing strategies, I had gained a lot of real experiences about the startup ecosystem.. from ideation to fruition 

We all know that startups thrive in places where there is:
  • economic growth
  • access to capital
  • young and educated work-force
  • favourable government policies

But, where do people get ideas for startups? Ask any startup founder and they would say - personal experience, market trends, existing problem or questioning the status quo, etc to be the top reasons which ignites the idea spark in them.

A careful analysis of the top categories of startups (mostly technology startups) shows us that startup ideas thrive in the ‘border areas’. 

Business is nothing but a form of structure that delivers value to stakeholders. The structures are formed basis specific activities. Every sphere of activity has a boundary and with each different boundaries comes interactions. It is in these areas, where the ‘interactions’ are the most, that innovation opportunities thrive.



The above image gives an overview of the area of innovations.. The ‘business’ in the centre can be replaced by any other stakeholder.. For example, in a micro environment inside an organisation it could be HR, with production, Finance, marketing, and admin as the spheres of activities 

Examples in the above scenario:
Business to Customers: everything from e-tailing to many apps fall in this zone
Business to business : from online listings, to competitor tracking, 
Business to govt: e-tenders to procurement, and many banking solutions
Business to Internal: most of the early ERP, SCM solutions etc fall in this domain

The main reason could be that it is the border areas where the chances of strife is maximum and hence a need for better flow & interaction is required…and thus many opportunities for innovation to thrive

Cheers!


Santosh

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