I was recently at a Georgia Tech event, and one of the students asked a great question: “Do I need a novel idea?” The answer is no; many great ideas were not the first to market. But you do need a unique insight.

Novel idea

Some people assume you need a novel idea to have a successful startup. Some of the largest companies were not the first (i.e. Google was not the first search engine). There are also many great companies that execute really well on a “boring” idea. What is important is that the entrepreneur finds a space and a problem they are passionate about.

Unique insight

Within your space, you do want to look for what I have heard coined “a unique insight.” This insight could be a customer segment that is underserved, a long held truth that has changed, a unique go-to-market approach, a focused and simplified product on what really matters, etc. But in all of these scenarios, the entrepreneur has found a different way of looking at the world that helps them stand out for their target audience (and likely pushes away non ideal customers).

How to find

While you may have some previous expertise in the market, nothing beats getting out and talking to potential customers. Here are two examples of things I listen for: a potential customer is using a service they hate, but still pays for it because that is the best that is out there and it is mission critical. Or the market has gotten full of legacy competitors with bloated/feature heavy products that have driven up the price and are cumbersome to use … how can you simplify the offering to a small set of things that people will pay for?

So while you don’t need a novel idea, it is worth talking to potential customers and finding out what is your unique insight through which you can focus and get started in a niche of a bigger market.