Feedback on my `Idea Manager` tool for entrepreneurs
I'm sure you can relate that (digital) notes are great for outlining an early idea, but when you maintain multiple ideas they quickly become a cluttered list with random thoughts, which makes it hard for you to become actually actionable: share, research, focus, test, invest, or kill.
So to scratch my own itch, I was thinking of a tool.
Features:
- Get your ideas modeled according to a Q&A idea template, which you can define yourself, or use existing according to a specific model (MVP, JTBD), certain investor (A16Z) or experienced entrepreneur.
- A visual presentation of all your ideas and what phase they are in.
- Share and get feedback from people you invite (who can add questions, suggestions, ask clarification, refute).
- Support multiple variations of a idea.
- A digital assistant which guides on what demands action ("Hey, you haven't touched idea X recently, why don't you interview industry expert X?")
And all with the ease of how something like Notes works (simple lists), quick edits, simple + versatile UI.
So instead of this post on IH on why it's such a great tool, I should be able to just sent you the link to my idea and end up with valuable insights from you which helps me move the idea forward.
So I did some coding and launched a preview.
Check out the idea I tried to describe above:
Or you can start a clean one with my template:
https://entrepreneurial.com/idea/add?template=YV
(make sure to register first, else it won't save)
Or pretend to apply your business to YC:
Unfortunately the feedback feature I haven't build yet, so a comment below would be the best now!
I like it very much. It is very scalable. I think the concept is great. While you have built it for ideas, I think it can apply to every aspect of a business. i.e. marketing, sales, growth, new products etc. While it can be shared publicly, if you build a remote team of specialists the feedback may become a little more valuable and truthful. Would love to discuss this more.
I see your other use-cases. Just thinking broadening the scope would make it even more complex to quickly understand.
Yes, getting an expert team on board early on would be really cool.
Email at ymschaap@gmail.com.
What do the colors signify by each note?
This reminds me of a lighter process.st (https://process.st).
Let's say you run a consulting company and on your discovery calls you want to make sure to ask the same questions of each prospect. You could design a template for each conversation and use it to guide the conversation.
Yes, the colors represented a group of questions (idea, execution, business model) but I dropped those groups, but kept the colors :s Still looking for a designer to polish the look. But first still looking for a strong clear value add.
Would you choose a tool to manage multiple ideas, or a tool for sharing+feedback of a single idea?
Process.st is very cool professional tool indeed. For me too cumbersome to manage. Which is also the struggle with this idea.
I like the idea, wanted to make something like this for a while, I even started it at one point, just something for myself.
I end up going back to something like Trello because I want something quick and not too demanding, ie, I just want something to throw my idea into when inspiration strikes.
Later flush it out with more details if I want.
So maybe 2 modes would be neat, a scratchpad where you dump an initial idea, and then later convert it to something that you've had time to give it thought and add more details.
Yes, I like the two modes. It would be a quick 'title only' idea, and then listing the ideas by phase: scratchpad ideas, research ideas, focus now ideas, high potential, low potential ideas.
Do you share your ideas for feedback now? Do some get stuck indefinitely? Do you sort / group them? If so, how?
Is there a pain? If so, in how to manage multiple ideas or by moving forward single ideas?
I do most of this stuff in Trello now, so I have different columns for different types of idea (saas, consumer, mobile, etc).
When I do share my ideas with people it's usually in a conversation, not linking to something pre-written.
It's a pain, but not a big pain, there are lots of simple ways to solve the problem. Notebook, online documents, etc.
Also I think everyone has their own preferred way to tracking their ideas, which is ultimately why I backed off the idea.
Is it just me? I can't find a way to register on your idea manager.
The homepage is really basic right now. But in the footer should be a "sign-up" button. Let me know your experience.
Right! So when I hit "Sign in" on the landing page, there is a well-hidden "Sign up" link at the bottom of the page. Thanks! I will give it a try.
Loved It. Easy to use & well executed. Work on the design a little bit, Make it look good. Then everyone will love this.
Thanks! Would you use in a way to share an idea with others, or more to manage multiple ideas?
When you say "Idea Manager" tool I thought it would be app or website to store my ideas in private, then I realize it's a public idea database with the purpose of getting help and feedback.
Some points to ponder.
The idea template is pretty detail like a YC Application, which I doubt casual user would be interested to read, unless I am a partner at YC going through your application or I am your mentor. If you are targeting mentor, then this format is fine.
If you are targeting feedback from user who probably would like to spend only 5-10 mins understanding your idea, perhaps a slide or video is a better format.
Interesting confusion! Because it should actually be perceived as a private idea tool, with only the option to share either publicly or by invite single ideas.
The YC template comes from the product idea use-case that maybe investors - who get pitched a lot - could refer to their 'template' for taking in their pitches from entrepreneurs. That way every idea is templated to how they review ideas.
I think now the presentation view is also a bit too much information dense. I like the suggested 'slides' format for presentation.
Thanks.
I thought the exact same thing! So I'll just make the assumption that there will be more people thinking the same. I write a lot of my idea's down, and I "manage" them by keeping them updated and adding onto them. This looks more like a questionnaire or Typeform to me, so I closed the tab again. It kinda reminds me of Google Forms too, which apparently has templates as well.
I think you are overselling what it is, a "framework" is really too much, in my opinion.
Thanks for commenting peterplus. My take was that the word
frameworkactually refers to the Q&A template in which an idea is molded.I love to add more features on how to actually move an idea forward.
Like how do you keep up with your list of ideas, which one has the most potential, focus on, or needs more research?
Ah, like that. Well, I make it more visual and compact. So notes and sketches about the business models and possible interfaces for example. I also like to spend a lot of time dissecting the idea and the issue, and coming up with a solution that is as small as possible, to get an actual MVP.
It's an organized chaos, where I have all kinds of physical or digital notes, but they are all in the same folder or have the same tag. I honestly don't think I have any fixed process, but that might be my problem ;)