The other day, I was sitting with a group of college students at Starbucks, we were talking about startups. They were brainstorming what kind of business to start. A guy in an ice cream truck pulled up and the driver ran over to Starbucks. I joked as I ran past, “Don’t you sell any coffee-flavored ice cream?” Everyone laughed, as did the driver, as he quickly rushed to open the door and ran inside. “Maybe he’s just using the bathroom?” We all laughed again, and then we watched him pick up his pre-made coffee that he must have ordered with the Starbuck app on his smartphone.
As he was leaving, he told us while we were sitting at the table outside that he did sell coffee-flavored ice cream. I asked if I could buy a round of ice cream for the group. He apologized and said; “Today, I am delivering packages from Amazon, as a delivery contractor, my brother is using all of his vans so I am helping, we are very busy – Prime Day Delivery!” Everyone was intrigued and he started walking saying; “Chow” when he left, and he put the music on for us as he walked away. What a cool small business owner. We all laughed again, he was so busy he just needed more caffeine to finish his hectic day.
Then our group brainstormed again what could be a smart business for a startup. I laughed and said, “Hey you have to watch out, we just saw a guy in a damn ice cream truck delivering packages online because they didn’t have enough vans or people to help, that means there is demand in the market not to be met “. I started asking them a series of questions:
– How could you deliver more efficiently?
– How could you streamline the delivery business model?
– How could you revolutionize the parcel delivery business?
– How could you find other underused vehicles and people to make deliveries?
And then I reminded them that Amazon now has a market value of $ 1 trillion. I asked them about other observations they just had.
– Why can’t that ice cream man deliver Starbucks?
– Why not start a drone business to deliver Starbucks and Amazon?
– Why not find out how to solve those delivery challenges with software, apps, drones, combinations?
I reiterated; “Let’s face it, you know there is an unmet market demand for delivery startups and better options when you see an ice cream truck delivering packages online like an Amazon contractor.”
I explained to him that you have to observe everything and think. I explained that we can’t be too busy here brainstorming that we stop observing, clues are everywhere, right under our noses. If you have no ideas, look around you, read the newspaper, listen to people’s complaints, think of things that would make people’s problems disappear, then try to find solutions to these challenges, solutions that can make a profit in the provision.