New to PH: Where do you start with acting on an idea?
Hi everyone! Emmerita here—1x startup founder with 3+ years of experience in ops, marketing, and strategy within my favorite work environment so far (startups).
I joined Product Hunt a few weeks ago, but, well… procrastination won this round. 😅
Right now, I’m thinking about dipping my toes back into building another startup venture, and I’m curious—when you have a new idea, where do you start executing?
With my previous startup, we kicked things off by picking a name and brand colors, then writing a super detailed business plan (which, if I’m being honest, we barely looked at once things got moving). This time around, I’m considering a different approach.
Would love to hear how you tackle the early stages of building! Let’s chat.
P.S. If you know anyone looking for a resourceful operations manager who thrives in startup environments, send them my way. 😊
Replies
fn7 Helix
Hey Emmerita! 👋 Totally relate to the procrastination struggle! For me, the biggest shift in approaching new ideas was moving away from lengthy planning upfront and focusing on validation first. Instead of diving into branding etc., I'd suggest starting by talking to potential users ASAP. Even informal chats can give you so much direction and help you refine the core problem you're trying to solve.
Thinking about it in cycles can be helpful too - like IDEATE -> DESIGN (even a super basic prototype) -> TEST -> ITERATE. It's all about learning quickly and adjusting. You can try fn7 helix that is built to help with exactly this - rapidly prototyping and testing ideas, even without design skills. Might be worth checking out as you explore your new venture! We are also launching it on product hunt tomorrow if you like it please comment and upvote.
https://www.producthunt.com/posts/helix-7
What kind of ideas are you currently playing with? Keen to hear more!
@shubham_pancholi I will definitely consider this! fn7 helix looks super useful (congratulations on the launch!), so I'll check it out.
I'm looking to build something super simple right now within the productivity space. I also have another idea for novelists and creative writers that involves AI (still need to dive deeper into how this would work though). Thank you for all the insights though, much appreciated 😁
Once you've validated the market, pick a name quickly and launch your product!
Then, focus on marketing to attract users and implement their feedback fast.
Logos and brand colors can always be changed later!
@kay_arkain Ah yes! It's best to shorten the time between building and launching as much as possible—learned this the hard way. 😮💨
For me, I would first conduct a simple market research and competitive analysis to see its feasibility and see what alternatives exist. :)
@evakk Makes sense! I'm glad you said 'simple' 'cause it's easy to get lost in the research and planning phase without taking action. 😅