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the chaff, however, and in encouraging you to think more fully about
the strengths and weaknesses of each business idea.
The same type of framework could equally be applied to the headline
questions involved in assessing the overall viability of a business idea,
as shown in Figure 5.3. We will discuss the actual over-arching criteria
in more detail in later sections in this chapter.
DEVELOPING NEW BUSINESS IDEAS
VPiraablcteicamlafrekaetsiobipliptyortunity
FAibnilaitnycitaolpviraotbielicttyidea
Level of risk
TDoetgarlesciercofu fimtstwaitnhcepsersonal
Busines idea
0
#1 0
#2 0
#3 0
#4 0
#5 0
#6
Figure 5.3 Criteria grid for overall assessment of business ideas
evaluation framework 2: flowchart An alternative method of
coarse-screening ideas is to use a simple yes/no flowchart in order
automatically to select out ideas which do not satisfy the bare
minimum criteria.
Once Karan Bilimoria had decided to source his beer from India, the
bare minimum criterion was: does the beer possess a nine-month shelf-
life? This single show-stopping criterion led him to screen out all
existing products, even before he had applied any taste tests, leaving
him no option but to commission the brewing of his own special brand
of beer. Three months’ worth of Indian-produced prototypes were then
evaluated predominantly against their ability to combine the best
qualities of beer and lager.
