Where good business ideas come from: Drybar, SciPy and Fadell's painkillers
Alli Webb argues that your idea is right in front of you and grew Drybar out of her own mobile blowout side hustle, Travis Oliphant began SciPy by scratching his own itch, and Tony Fadell holds that great ideas are painkillers. Their accounts point people looking for a business or project toward real problems close at hand.
Where do Alli Webb, Travis Oliphant and Tony Fadell say their ideas came from? Show answer
From a problem or a pull already in their own lives: Webb's love of hair, the software Oliphant's PhD research lacked, and the CDs Fadell hated carrying.
How did Alli Webb first test the idea that became Drybar? Show answer
She posted in a Yahoo group for moms offering to blow out hair at their homes for 35 or 40 dollars, before there was any shop.
What does Tony Fadell mean by a painkiller and a vitamin? Show answer
A painkiller is a product people need because it removes a real pain. A vitamin may or may not work and is mostly a marketing story.
Why did Travis Oliphant start the work that became SciPy? Show answer
His PhD research needed mathematical tools that Python did not have, so he built them and released them on a basic web page.
What does Mel Robbins say counts as data when you are looking for an idea? Show answer
The things that energize you and that you would do all day, however silly they sound or however much your family dismisses them.
Where did Drybar's no-mirrors rule come from? Show answer
Webb's mobile clients sat in kitchens and living rooms with no mirror, so they could not micromanage her and were delighted by the reveal at the end.
What does Fadell want written before a product is built? Show answer
The press release, naming the audience, the pains solved, the features and the price. It becomes the bar that tells you when you are done.
How long does Oliphant say to give a new project before judging it? Show answer
About 18 months, because you are dealing with humans, who do not change quickly.
What is the main disagreement between Robbins and Fadell? Show answer
Robbins says to look for what energizes you, while Fadell says to look for what hurts. Fadell himself says the iPod needed both a pain and a joy.
Why did Webb open a shop instead of sending other stylists to clients' homes? Show answer
She worried the clients would become the stylists' own, and she could not control the experience.