Startup Idea Exploration Workbook: 15+ Free Miro Templates To Navigate Exploring New Ideas
Startup/business/side-hustle ideas can be as exciting as they are scary. “What if no one wants what I have to offer? What if I don’t have what it takes? How would I even start?”
One way to manage these fears is to “date” the idea before committing. Few hours of online research. 5 customer interviews. Dirty prototype. Napkin calculations about costs and possible revenue streams.
Just enough work to replace fears with facts (or at least informed guesses). But not so much that one has wasted months pursuing an idea not worth it.
For 10 years I’ve had the opportunity to help Tartu University students take these very first idea exploration steps during a week-long Garage48 entrepreneurship crash course.
And while preparing for those events I noticed is that even though the internet is full of good advice, it’s often fractured, vague or complicated with unnecessary jargon.
So I’ve repackaged the materials I’ve used or put together over the years into a Startup Idea Exploration Workbook. It consists of ’15+ free Miro exercises with reading materials that anyone can use to take their idea from zero to zero point one. No previous startup knowledge required.
After finishing one has:
- Clarified the idea, risks and fears
- Talked with potential customers to understand their problems and validate the need for a solution
- Done first market research to understand competition and find ways to differentiate
- Prototyped the idea to make it tangible and gather feedback
- Done napkin estimations for the business costs and ideated possible revenue streams
- Prepared a pitch to explain the idea for potential mentors, team members, customers or investors
- Possibly have gathered enough evidence to make an informed decision if to commit and continue with the idea
The work takes a few days to a few weeks depending on existing skills, if pivot is needed (and it’s likely), how much time there’s available each day and if there’s a team to help out.
It’s in Miro and it’s free for everyone.
I just hope it helps someone out there to get started - so feel free to share it with whoever needs this.
