The idea that literally bumped its way into a fortune

Here’s what happened.

While attending an MBE course David Lieb’s mind started wandering as he pondered a better way to share contact information between smart phones.  As David himself said ‘business school is all about meeting people and networking, and the first week, I found myself entering in phone number after phone number, and name after name’.

There had to be a easier solution than texting and typing, re-texting and re-typing.

So having formulated an idea David set to work with two of his (then) Texas Instruments colleagues, Andy Huibers and Jake Mintz. Two weeks later they had a prototype ready to go, being a simple demo using a laptop.

Five months later the first version of their iPhone app ‘Bump’ hit the market. It allowed iPhone users to transfer information from one device to another by simply bumping them together. No texting or typing required.

On the first day of it’s release they had 222 downloads.

To date, ‘Bump’ has received over 50 million downloads, (yes you read that right), it’s available on iPhone and Android, and has made David Lieb, Andy Huibers and Jake Mintz, extremely wealthy in the process. The company now boasts over 25 employees and in January 2011 received $16 million in series B financing.

So how did that happen?

Well firstly, it was a very cool idea, one which it the mark because it was both practical and marketable.

But having a great idea is one thing, getting it up in the world is another. Making it a success is another thing again. What’s apparent is the ability of our three heroes to follow through, take action and persist.

There is another valuable lesson to this story though. It’s about the importance of creating strong teams. You need a team of people who not only fill the ‘skill-gaps’ needed but who also take ownership of the idea and of the project itself. Getting an idea up in the world is never an easy task and so you need a team of people who are passionate enough and persistent enough to get through the rollercoaster ride.

David Lieb had a brilliant idea. In fact he literally had a million dollar idea. But he was was smart enough to recognize that without Andy Huibers and Jake Mintz his idea may never have seen the light of day.

Ideas that make a splash

I was recently delighted to be asked to comment on what it is that makes a great idea work for the Imagine Cup. Aniniative to inspire young creative minds by Microsoft. Here's the video

The power of an empty chair to help generate million dollar ideas

The story goes that at Virgin’s head office, in their boardroom, is an empty chair. The chair represents the customer, so whenever Sir Richard and his executives get together, symbolically the customer is right there with them. This way they are reminded to see things from the customer’s point of view and not just their own.

Powerful Stuff.

Often when we’re brainstorming ideas and trying to find creative solutions we get caught up in our own point of view and fail to see things from the point of view of others. As a result we limit our thinking and may even fail to see opportunities outside of our own vision. A third person view of the world can very often make all the difference and so it’s important to see things from someone else’s perspective. To come up with qulaity ideas it's vital to see things in different ways.

And this is exactly what the empty chair does.

We often use this as as device when facilitating our million dollar idea sessions. We place an empty chair at every table so as delegates work through various tasks and problems, they are constantly reminded to consider the customer's voice, needs, and point of view. As a result they arrived with solutions that are not from their own point of view but from the point of view of the customer.

The empty chair can be used to represent other people, such as your stakeholders if they’re opinions and influence is important. Or perhaps the chair could represent a mentor or role model who can symbolically advise you and prompt you to see things differently.

So why not place an empty chair in your office, boardroom, or creative space and let it be a reminder to get out of your own head and into the head of someone else and see things from their point of view

It’s a fantastic idea stimulator to use.

How to turn an empty room in millions of dollars

In 2007, two friends had an idea that would turn into a multi-million dollar business.

It's a geat story illustrating teh fact that it's one thing to have a great idea but another to act on that idea and capitalize on it.

Unable to pay their rent, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, decided to rent out a room of their apartment as an alternative for conference goers for a large Design Conference heading to town.

It was a clever idea because it turns out they discovered that many people were looking for alternate accommodation, rather than stay in cramped hotel rooms, or because they were traveling on a budget, or would rather stay with a local and gain insights into the area. 

In 2008 they took they idea and started a business called Airbnb.

They now boast over 1 million nights booked, a 65% growth curve, and a revenue stream in the millions. Last year they received $112million in B Series financing to grow the business further.

The idea is beautifully simple as is the business model. Airbnb is an online community marketplace that connects people who have space to spare with those who are looking for a place to stay. Airbnb provides the platform and makes money on each booking in the form of a a buyer mark-up as well as a commission from the provider.

And it gets better than that. Through their model they have also helped other people from over the world make money as well by renting rooms in their own homes. In fact on their site they mention that in 2009 the first home was saved from foreclosure by renting through Airbnb. How cool is that.

They now have over 100,000 listings, in more than 16000 cities and 186 countries. Accommodation types include castles, caravans, apartments and houses.

It really is a great example of a commercially viable idea - and for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it solves two problems at the same time by providing alternate accommodation for travelers (whether to save money, or gain a unique experience or because nothing else is available) and by also providing additional income for people.

In addition to that the model is global, and by piggy backing onto major events such as concerts and conventions, it’s marketable.

It is also a great example of persistence in getting an idea up.

It’s one thing have a brilliant idea but another to give it life. Like many start-ups it was a bumpy road in the beginning. But rather than giving up, the guys got smart, attended a start-up boot camp and ultimately got the funding they required. They were also smart enough to bring other people on borad who had the necessary skills that they themselves didn’t have. Needing a tech expert, Nathan Blecharczyk, was brought on board as the third founding partner.

It’s an inspiring story because both Brian and Joe not only saw the potential of their idea but also had the courage to act on it. And there's a great lesson in that.

My top 5 favourite books of 2011

Well they may not all have been written in 2011 but here's a list of my top 5 favourite books I read last year, in no particular order. (And no I didn't include my own - although maybe I should have)

Love to know your top 5.

1. Mindset - The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck
Whoa! This blew my mind. It explores the difference in successful outcomes between having a fixed or growth mindset. Backed with masses of case-studies and research it is a real mind opener to the way your think, changing the way you think and the payoff of doing so.

2. Why People Fail by Siimon Reynolds.
I personally think Siimon Reynolds has a brilliant mind. This book is a must for anyone wanting to achieve or accomplish anything. Rather than looking at what to do he looks at what not to do. At what it is that holds you back and how to avoid such things.

3. Change by Design by Tim Brown
Tim Brown of Ideo clearly and beautiful runs through Ideo's vision and process of Design Thinking. There are some very practical ideas in this book and it has a certain freshness about it that really gets you thinking. A must for anyone wanting fresh and useful ideas.

4. Snap Selling by Jill Konrath
I like because it has a up to date philosophy about sales that is non threatening and frankly makes perfect sense. Let's face it, everyone sells and this book throws the emphasis on finding out about your clients needs and what it is that they really desire before flogging them stuff. More importantly it runs through some very practical how-to's.

5. The art of Looking sideways by Alan Fletcher
This is a bit of a cheat as this is no doubt one of my favourite books. I revisited it quite often during the year and remembered why I love it. It is a compilation of designer Alan Fletchers life's ponderings on creativity. It's not a book you read, it's a book you visit. Open any page and there is something to inspire your creative side.

Now reading...

The Idea Hunter by Andy Boynton, Bill Fischer and William Bole.
Just started this one and it looks interesting as the premise is about great ideas come to those who seek them, not necessarily from a moment of extreme creative flow. Stay tuned I'll let you know how it ends.

Is your ideas glass half full or half empty?

There is a post going around on Facebook saying (in an abbreviated form) ‘while you guys were arguing about whether the glass was half full or half empty, I drank it’

I really like that because it's so true in terms of generating ideas that will make your business money.

So often we get caught up worrying about whether an idea is good or not, practical or not, viable or not, that we never give it a chance of life and as a result miss an opportunity and are potentially throwing money away.

An idea, no matter how brilliant, is only going to make you money if you act on it, do something with it and give it a place in the world.

Imagine if Michael Dell never acted on his idea to sell computers directly to consumers - he would have lost billions. Imagine if Tammy May from Australian company ‘My Budget’ never pursued her idea to help people take control of their financial budgets - she wouldn't have a business turning over millions.

How many ‘Dells’ and ‘My Budgets’ slip through our fingers each year?

So act on your ideas.

Maybe that action is to research your idea’s potential further, or investigate its flaws, or bring on a mentor to guide you, or prototype and test it, or re-design it, or just get it down on paper in the first place. But do something; otherwise your idea will never see the light of day.

Solving the 'lack of ideas' dilemma

One of the biggest barriers to having ideas that will make your business money is having a lack of ideas.

People who have ideas are always having ideas. People you think creatively are always thinking creatively. The truth is the more ideas you have the easier it is to have more ideas, and the easier it is to find those ideas that will make you money. So if you want to find profitable ideas for your business one of the best and most effective ways is to practice having ideas. Sounds simple...because it is.

So try this 5 minute challenge to get the creative side of your brain ticking over.

Each day for the next ten days set aside 5 minutes to come up with ideas. Pick a problem or a project or an opportunity you’re working on (try have a diffferent objective each day), and then come up with as many ideas as you can within that 5 minute period which solve the problem, enhance the project or capitalize on the opportunitiy. That's it.

Now 5 minutes may not seem like a long time, but when you focus on nothing else but generating ideas for 5 minutes its amazing what you'll come up with. And anyone can find 5 minutes during the day but feel free to take more time if you're on a roll.

Don't judge or evaluate your ideas as you have them because that restricts the creatve flow. Just jot them down as they come up. The point of the exercise is to flex your creative muscles, to get your creative mind ticking over and get used to consistantly coming up with ideas. You'll be amazing at the results.

Enjoy

The nepotism of ideas

On November 7, Marie Curie celebrated her 144th birthday. Well she would have had she still been with us, and so the world celebrated on her behalf.

And it is a worthy celebration and one worth mentioning because she truly was a remarkable person. Not just because she discovered radium, or for her contribution to the fight against cancer, or because she was the first woman to win the Noble Peace Prize, or because she actually won two of them, but also because her eldest daughter won a Noble Peace Prize as well.

Think about that for a moment. 

Not only did Marie Curie win two of them but her daughter won one as well. I think that's amazing. How does that happen? We often we read and hear stories about amazing families where the children or siblings follow in the parent’s footsteps and also achieve amazing things. Surely there’s a lesson in there somewhere.

Imagine growing up in the home of Marie Curie. Not only was she a remarkable person, but so was her husband - in fact he shared the Noble Peace Prize with her.  And imagine growing up in an environment where challenging the status quo and exploring possibilities were simply part of what you do, where learning and experimenting were common place and where making mistakes was not just accepted but encouraged because you knew that that’s where discoveries are made.

I love the Marie Curie story, because not only was she a remarkable woman who literally changed the world, but she was obviously someone who had – whether she knew it or not - the ability to encourage and inspire those around her. In many ways, that was part of her genius.

That is where the lesson lies.

If you need great ideas, ones that will grow your business then you also need to create an environment that encourages and inspires your people to be more creative, to seek possibilities and create ideas.  

And that’s also worth celebrating.  In fact, it is truly noble.

3 words to inspire profitable ideas

Let's face it, it's not so hard to come up with adequate ideas, it's alot harder to find those ideas that are going to make you money.

I have always been a fan of asking simple questions or offering statements that inspire ideas and get you looking at problems and solutions from different perspectives. Because it's when you see things from different angles that you find those sought after ideas that make a difference to your business and your bottom line.

Recently I dived into Social Media and asked people, in three words or less, what their favourite 'idea inspirers' were. For example two of mine are 'What if?' and 'yes and...'

The list is inspiring so I wanted to share it with you. Hope you find it useful and I hope you share it with others. To all of who contributed, thanks.

- And then...
- We could also...
- If I knew...
- Why couldn't we?
- That'd be incredible.
- Go on
- Tell me more
- Let's see...
- Is it possible?
- Imagine.
- Don't say Never!
- Don't say Can't! Don't say Try!
- Habits equal Character
- Why?
- Why not...
- Nothing is impossible
- Don't think
- Another way?
- New is unknown
- I've been thinking
- What else's possible?
- Pass a beer
- Another way is...
- Peace and quiet
- Have you considered?

Love you to add to the list...just leave a comment

Nige

The Abundance of Scarcity

I was watching my kids taking photos with their friends a while back (which were very good incidentally) when a friend suggested that with digital cameras it’s easy to get good photos because you can just keep snapping away until you get one - whereas back in our day you had a roll of film with limited shots, usually 12 or 24, and the over hanging cost of developing them.
 
But just because you had limited shots available doesn’t mean your creativity had to be limited as well. In fact in many ways, scarcity inspires creativity.

Let me explain.
 
I remember when I was about 10 years old, standing at a train station with my Dad while on holidays, taking a photo of the deserted platform and tracks.  He told me that because I only had one or two shots left in the camera I needed to think about the shot, and set it up properly. He told me to look through the lens and see the photo I was about to take, he got me to change the angle, frame it differently, and play with the depth of field. In short, he had me visualize and think about the photo before I actually took it.

The scarcity of shots taught me a valuable lesson. It taught me to explore all my options and seek out all possibilities.
 
Sometimes we have the shots (the resources) to get snap happy with our ideas, which is good. Just as photographers should always be taking photos, thinkers should always be having ideas. However, there are other times when you do have limited resources - but that doesn't mean you have to be less creative.

Remember - scarcity can be advantageous, because it forces you to get creative with what you have, to play out different scenarios, to visualize different outcomes, see different perspectives and explore possibilities.