Opportunity Recognition and Idea Generation

What the resources cover

This unit page is about how business ideas begin and how they take shape. Many of the mind maps look at where opportunities come from. Clues to Opportunity lists signs such as a gap where a product should exist, or consumer irritation with something slow or expensive. Finding a Gap in the Market starts from the idea that every business begins with an opportunity someone has noticed.

Other resources turn to methods. The flashcards on ways to generate ideas cover environment scanning, brainstorming, focus groups and screening. There are also mind maps on the SCAMPER method and on where good ideas come from.

A further group deals with protection. Several decks and a mind map explain patents, copyright, trademarks and franchising.

Where to start

1. Begin with the flashcards on misconceptions and realities about business ideas. They challenge common beliefs, such as great ideas appearing out of nowhere.
2. Move to Clues to Opportunity and Finding a Gap in the Market to see how opportunities are recognized.
3. Read the mind map on the development process of a new product or service. It runs from idea generation through screening, concept development and feasibility study to prototype, test marketing and launch. A note made from the same map gives the steps as text.
4. Finish with the resources on protecting ideas.

Using quizzes and maps together

The quizzes are a small set, so use them as checkpoints. The quiz called Entrepreneurship & Innovation V asks about the components of creativity and the link between creativity and innovation. Study the related maps first, then take the quiz and note which questions slow you down. Go back to the matching map or deck for those points only.

Flashcards suit terms you need to recall exactly, such as franchisee, royalty or niche market. Mind maps suit processes and lists, where the shape of the topic matters.

Where this unit sits

This page belongs to the strand Ideas, Creativity and Innovation within the subject Entrepreneurship. The resources were made by GoConqr users, so styles and depth vary. Some are worked examples of personal business ideas, such as a coffee cart or a barber shop, which can show how others applied the methods.

Next step

Choose one mind map that matches what you are studying today, work through it, and then see how a quiz feels afterwards.