The Imposter Method

Definition:

Use an existing product or service as a starting point for your new product. Most new products or services are not completely new and different from existing ones. Many times there are other products and services that are close enough and, with some work, can be used to impersonate the new product you have in mind.

Example:

Tesla’s Elon Musk took an existing car (a Lotus roadster) that was close enough to the all-electric roadster he had envisioned, ripped off the internal-combustion engine, put an electric engine in it (along with a slightly different body) and drove it around. Now he had an artefact to show around. People were obviously interested in the new car; but would anyone be interested enough to buy one? He needed data not opinions. So he asked people who expressed interest if they were interested enough to write him a $5,000 deposit check to be on the waiting list for one.

Resources:

Rapidly: helps you work out which ideas you should invest in, by tracking your experiments and using data to tell you what will work.