Is your idea The Next Big Thing?

Categorized | Crowdfund, Featured, Funding, Starting Out

Is your idea The Next Big Thing?

Posted on 03 April 2010 by Eve Dmochowska

The Crowdfund is looking for The Next Big Thing. Not much less.

And why not? Pretty much every single big thing was started by two or three guys, sitting on a worn couch, drinking a couple of beers and shooting the breeze. One thing led to another, an idea was born, and with perseverance, sweat and luck was taken to market.

We have the guys (and gals), we have the couches, we have the beer. And god knows we have the ideas. What we might be lacking in is the confidence that Big Ideas are worth taking on. We can’t blame ourselves: it is tough to get any product to market successfully, and it is particularly tough to do so from South Africa.

What I am really hoping though, is that initiatives like the Crowdfund, and Silicon Cape, Tech 4 Africa etc are beginning to awaken the entrepreneurial, fighting spirit in the really smart people that we have here, and that they begin to realise that taking three months out of their lives to “give it a shot” is a risk they owe to themselves.

I don’t really know how to define the Next Big Thing. I guess that when we see it, we will know it. (Well… I hope we will. Or we will be kicking ourselves real hard.) I do know it must check all the usual boxes: innovative, valuable, simple to use, have global appeal. I also think it must be really, really simple in concept. If you need more than 30 seconds to describe it, it probably isn’t it.

It’s very likely that the Next Big Thing is mobile based, although I personally am still a fan of the web as seen on my 24” monitor. It will almost definitely be a filter of some sort, because that saves time, without draining it. Localisation is big.

Whatever it is, if you are applying for Crowdfunding, try to find it. Think big. We are. Remember, with enough passion, skill and perseverance there is nothing separating you from those two or three guys drinking beer on a couch in Silicon Valley. Get to us, and we’ll help you get there.

Ian Bentley

Most people who are thinking of starting their own business tend to think of Internet marketing. In theory it all sounds like a very simple business model, with success being relatively easy to achieve.

In practice its a lot more difficult, which explains why (a) such a small percentage of Internet-based businesses are successful and profitable, and (b) the so-called 'Internet Marketing Gurus' make such a killing rehashing variations on the same training programmes they have been selling for years.

Its highly contested terrain and the leading figures in the field have become virtually impervious to outside opposition. Nobody in their right mind would want to to trade in this sector, the barriers to entry are horrendous and the chances of success minimal.

Until one approaches the situation with a totally different mindset. They often speak of this as a collaboration economy ... which begs the question why do we instinctively need to compete with one another?

What I have developed is a concept that challenges the accepted paradigm within the Internet marketing community which implies that each of us needs to master all the inter-related disciplines in order to succeed. In so doing it questions the validity of many of the answers offered by the so-called ‘gurus’ up till now … and effectively redefines the questions themselves.

By reconstructing market boundaries the concept effectively creates uncontested market space. The opposition is rendered irrelevant. This is Blue Ocean territory.

Fundamentally my idea is very simple - an IM Collaboration Hub that enables Internet marketers who have been aggressively contesting the same space to instead co-operate for the common good. The end result will be far higher levels of success across the board and a drastic reduction in the number of online businesses that fail due to technical ineptitude.