Coming up with great ideas such as FreezeCrowd
FreezeCrowd is an interesting story. It’s not just like one day the founder came up with the idea and decided to do it. It’s a long compilation of ideas leading to one idea that launched. If one would say that it was launched on the basis of one simple idea, then they are mistaken. The idea for FreezeCrowd was born in 1999 to create an interactive college yearbook that worked with a device. This idea was thought about in 2004, and embarked on more seriously in 2005, and finally launched in 2011 with a lot of challenges and bumps in the road in between.
To come up with a great idea, you must see a problem in your life or someone else’s life that you’re trying to solve. What’s the pain point? What I saw about the freshman picture book in college was that it was only released once, it didn’t link to the Web, and not everyone else was on it. I also saw a unique way of communicating through photos. Look at something differently than everyone else, and you may have the golden idea that will change the world if put in the right person’s hands.
Simplification and iteration:
What I’ve realized with great ideas is most of the times you have to simplify them to make them come to life. As the founder of FreezeCrowd, I enjoy thinking of the grandiose idea, and today I’ve used sites such as IdeasWatch.com to get feedback on great ideas. Some ideas are not doable right away, yet you must simplify the idea. You also must iterate, do different things in steps.
Finding the right people:
Lastly, it’s important to find people who are good at helping you create your idea. It’s not possible to create a visionary idea as one person. Even if you can, it will take many other people to distribute your idea and make it work properly. You might be able to find people in ideas communities such as IdeasWatch.com who will help you out as well.
Your big idea is UNIQUE:
Don’t worry about someone taking your big idea. They won’t be able to execute it exactly as you envisioned. Your big idea is something only you can do. A lot of people don’t know this, yet FreezeCrowd is a play on words from “3s a Crowd” and it just popped into my head someday, and stuck. It’s great because it actually meant something, to “Freeze” people in crowds and connect them.
Follow your DREAM, and dream big:
Ideas are plentiful, some ideas are very valuable. Well executed ideas can change the world, and we’ve seen this before. Well executed ideas change the world when people make use of them. Thomas Edison once said, “The value of an idea lies in the using it.” So, great ideas are great only if you follow through with them. Don’t be intimidated by competition if you have a dream, just go for it. If you have a dream, follow through with your idea. Dream big, don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done, because it can.
