Idea Engineering Process

1. LEARN
   Absorb. Research and compile everything important that was ever written about the idea you’re working on and the industry you’re working in. 
   
   
   
2. DEVELOP WORKING THEORIES
   Think strategically. Synopsize what you’ve learned and develop working theories.
   
   
   
3. DEVELOP IDEAS AND CONCEPTS
   Be creative. Combine your working theories with all you’ve learned to develop actionable ideas that have the potential to make money.
   
   
   
4. COMPLETE FINANCIAL DUE DILIGENCE
   Reality check. Determine if your ideas will actually make money. If your financial models are overly complicated or produce marginal results at this stage, go back to step 3.
   
   
   
5. TALK TO CONSUMERS ONE-ON-ONE
   Listen. Conduct at least 30 one-on-one interviews for approximately 45 minutes each.
   
   
   
6. ITERATE IDEAS BY LISTENING TO CONSUMERS
   Refine. Use what you learn in your consumer interviews as an opportunity to modify and improve your concepts.
   
   
   
7. “MONETIZE” THE BEST CONCEPTS
   The moment of truth. Predict the real world revenue of your concepts by conducting a large-scale quantitative survey of approximately 1,000 targeted consumers. At this point, you may have two or three ideas worth $100MM to more than $1BB a year or more. It’s time to make a choice based on timing and resources.