From my experience, successful business launches require an affirmative answer to five questions:
- Is there an unmet business need?
- Does meeting that need align with our vision?
- Do we have some unique ability to meet that need?
- Is our advantage defensible against adjacent incumbents?
- Is this new business worth pursuing?
It’s important to note that I have framed these questions so that they make sense whether we are talking about starting a new stand-alone business (a startup), or starting a new business within an existing business (a new division or line of business).
In the article linked below, I look at each of these questions, identify specific tools that can help answer the questions, and at the end recommend some helpful books.