The test of originality for an idea is not the absence of one single predecessor but the presence of multiple but incompatible ones.
Nassim Taleb, The Bed of Procrustes
A few questions to start with:
- Is this a problem people talk about or complain about?
- Are people seeking assistance or are actively purchasing related products/services or substitutes?
- How often are people searching for this or related topics?
- How many people have this problem? Is this number growing over time?
Some questions to answer:
- Who else is operating in this space? How competitive does it appear?
- How large are these potential competitors (Revenue, Employees, Funding, etc.)?
TODO - Add some channel tests to preform
Places to answer questions:
- Personal Data
- Email Inbox, Newsletter Subscriptions
- Pocket / Instapaper
- Google Tools
- Social Networks
- Marketplaces
- App Stores
- Startup / VC Focused
- Patent Focused
- Industry-Specific forums, trade magazines, etc.