Smart Business Magazine, November 2014

16 Smart Business Cleveland November 2014 KUMAR ARORA ON POINT KUMAR ARORA Principal Aroridex Ltd Kumar is a serial entrepreneur and business angel behind many notable startups and brands Some of his ventures include iLTHY Black Rose Entertainment and Rogue Eyewear info@ kumar arora com www kumar arora com Pushing the envelope Think beyond necessity for the idea that gets marketplace traction While my concentration lies in a variety of industries including fashion tech nano science entertainment marketing and design my newest project Rogue Eyewear uses experimental materials combined with bold designs for a new perspective in a stagnant industry Here are some tips I have found useful in finding new ideas Research If one is seeking to develop a product or offer a service its always important to research the market Without the proper knowledge understanding of the market or background it can be tough to get an idea off the ground Its best to thoroughly devour anything and everything you can to bring your business to life Always seek to make a problem easier to solve A different approach is not to seek the idea but to locate the problem Paul Graham once said By far the most common mistake startups make is to solve problems no one has And its true Some of the greatest inventions best business ventures and disruptive ideas stem from solving a problem with which customers or ourselves are dealing By learning what problems people have you can begin to formulate solutions Feedback mentors If you are having trouble fine tuning your project seek help from others Any good idea always needs to be supplemented with the right business plan marketing campaigns and so on While you may have your idea its always best to allow it to flourish by getting feedback from mentors and friends who are better suited in various aspects where you may not be Think beyond necessity A great way to uncover or broaden your idea is to always think beyond necessity One of my own personal beliefs is that if you think in the here and now you may not be thinking about how you can grow your company in the long run If you are able to envision your direction five to 10 years ahead you not only are thinking beyond its current stage but you can also plan for it Thats equally as important as the idea itself The idea book Not all of the ideas I generate are good So in order for me to filter between the good ones and the bad ones I write about each one in an idea book Write as much as possible until you cannot write any more on the subject The trick is to not look at it for at least two to three weeks Do not discuss it with friends Try to allow this break to happen so you can come back to it and see if its a strong enough idea This allows you to look at it in a new perspective and lets you see it without the rose colored glasses you were wearing when you started writing This filtration system is a method Ive been using for many years as every day is a new idea Being a serial entrepreneur my mind is constantly searching for the next best idea I am consistently pushing the envelope on design and innovation and much of my work centers on the idea of creating novel products and household brands LINK UP with Kumar Arora on LinkedIn www linkedin com in karora007