Is Your Business Idea Worth It?

Most founders fall in love with their ideas before really thought out where it goes from here. And that is honestly a problem, because if you don’t think things through, that’s where the trouble starts. 😬

John Witchel knows this better than anyone. He is a serial entrepreneur with ten startups under his belt, multiple exits, and an early advisor role at Credit Karma, whose latest company, King Energy, has raised over $400 million, operates across 250+ buildings, and is doubling revenue every year.

So, it’s safe to say that Witchel has seen enough ideas (both good and bad) to know that the problem rarely lies in execution.

He argues that problems can be pinpointed as soon as the idea takes foot but unfortunately, not everyone bothers to ask the right questions before going all in.

But there’s a simple solution and it lies in an easy three-question framework that he uses to evaluate every idea before committing even a single dollar to it. 💡

This is the foundation everything else is built on — and if the answer isn't a clear yes, Witchel says you should walk away before you go any further. 🚶

"You want a lot of people to have the same problem," he said. "If you can't find millions of people who share the same pain point, the ceiling on your business is too low." And a low ceiling isn't just a growth problem. Before you know it, it becomes a funding problem, a hiring problem, and eventually an exit problem too. 😬

So, the size of your very much determines every other decision you'll make as a founder, whether you realise it or not.

This is not to say that every idea needs to be a billion-dollar unicorn. It's that the problem you're solving has to be widespread enough to actually build a sustainable business around.

Always and forever a classic — and for a good reason.

If it takes you even five minutes to explain the problem you're solving, that's a massive red flag. 🚩

Witchel is blunt about this one: "If I give you the classic elevator pitch — what problem are you solving and how do you solve it — you can't spend five minutes explaining the problem. It's got to be in and out. One or two sentences."

The ability to sum up your idea into something clean and immediately understood to the average person isn't just a communication skill, but a strong signal that you actually understand what you're building AND who your target audience.

For example, his own one-liner for King Energy is, ”We rent roofs, install solar, and sell cheaper energy.”

That's literally it!

And everyone who hears it says the same thing — hey, that sounds pretty good, I'd like to know more. Which according to Witchel, is the reaction that proves you know the idea is ready.

This is the one most founders get wrong but one that can completely change how your business grows.

Again, going ack to his business. When pitching King Energy to landlords, he didn't talk about climate change, melting icebergs, or the environmental case for solar. Blah blah… 😒

Instead, he talked about rent rolls, cap rates, and roof maintenance. He answered the questions landlords actually lose sleep over — like what happens if you damage my roof, will you still be around in 25 years, what if I need to add HVAC equipment?

"When we came prepared to answer those questions, they looked at us and said, these guys really understand our business," Witchel said. "These are the people we want to work with." 🤝

The lesson scales to any business, in any industry. The yoga studio owner doesn't care about your product's technology — they care about yoga. The pizza shop owner doesn't care about your mission statement — they care about making ends meet.

The moment you stop talking about what YOU care about and start talking about what THEY care about, everything changes.

And that’s it! Just three simple questions.

Is there a good market? Can you explain it in a sentence? And are you actually speaking to your customer?

It sounds simple — and it is. But simple doesn't mean easy, and most founders skip at least one of these before they've spent real time and money finding out the hard way. So, next time, run your next idea through this test before you do anything else.

If nothing else, it’ll save you time and money. 💰