PHASE 5
Idea generation
5.1 Idea Screening
Brainstorming sessions are done to generate ideas. It must be kept in mind that entrepreneurs should be creative and at the same time logical. A large volume of ideas can be generated in short span of time but the challenge arises in screening the ideas to find out suitable and profitable business options. Therefore the screening process is of utmost importance to a prospective entrepreneur.
Our group generated a staggering 950 ideas in 1 hour 15 minutes. The group of 10 was divided into two sub groups of 4 people and 1 sub group of 3 people. In each group every member contributed their ideas and 1 member acted as the group data keeper. The 950 ideas that were generated were then put through a 5 phase screening process. The screening process was done at the presence of all the group members and everyone judged the ideas critically to narrow down to 5 business plans at the end of the screening process.
Phase 1: Rule of Thumb I
In the first phase all the 950 ideas were judged on a single criterion to terminate all the outlandish or crazy ideas. The criterion that was used is “Outlandish Idea” all the ideas were critically evaluated to ensure (i) ideas that are hypothetical or impossible to implement were screened out, and (ii) goo ideas were not screened out as crazy ideas.
The group paid particular attention to the second criteria mentioned above because it is one o the common mistake that is made in the screening process. After the first phase the 950 ideas were screened down to 133 ideas. Almost 85% of the ideas were left out in the first phase.
Phase 2: Rule of Thumb II
The remaining 133 ideas were then put through another rule of thumb exercise. In this ph ...