12 Frameworks for Finding Startup Ideas — Advice for Future Founders

The scene is often romanticized in magazine profiles of successful founders: the keen observation jotted down in a notebook. The serendipitous conversation that clicks the puzzle pieces into place. The idea is where everything begins — at least, that’s what we’re led to believe.

What can appear like some divine revelation is actually the product of months or years of interviews with experts, endless pivots, and tons of “That’ll never work” conversations. From outlining the unique insight, to capturing how customers might respond and sizing the market you’re going after, there’s a long punch list of things to chase down. In other words, if you want to find the next great startup idea, you can’t wait for the proverbial lightbulb moment — you have to do your homework.

As we’ve long said, before a founder starts building their castle, they have to make sure they’ve picked the right piece of land. To help aspiring builders survey potential plots, we’ve gone back through our archives to surface the best advice from first-time entrepreneurs and repeat-founders. The 12 tactics they share here offer more concrete tips for reverse-engineering these fabled eureka moments.

Whether you’re in the wide-open ideation phase, or contemplating a hyper-specific direction, lean on this collection of tips for frameworks for brainstorming, questions to help pressure test concepts, and even advice on how to explore a new idea with a co-founder. 

As always, thanks for reading and sharing!

-The Review editors

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