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This article was published on July 7, 2010

I ♥ Friction, Annoyances & Irritations


I ♥ Friction, Annoyances & Irritations

There are several ways that entrepreneurs find great ideas. They might see something that amuses them, or they see a combination of technologies or services that could be combined into something new. Or they just have an ‘Eureka’ moment while taking a shower.

One big source of inspiration however is the thing that makes you go ‘Aaargh’. The moment you are thinking “Why the hell does this work like this?”, “How come nobody has fixed this?” or “There has got to be a better way to do this” might very well spark the development of a brand new and innovative service or product.

I haz a great idea too: GET ME OUT OF THIS SHOWER!!!

The difference between ‘normal’ people and entrepreneurs is that the former tend to try to avoid situations where that kind of friction can surface. Humans are generally risk averse and, well, lazy.

The entrepreneur notices friction in a process, annoyances in a product or becomes irritated with a process and decides to do something about it.

If you want to become more receptive to new and innovative ideas try to look for friction in your daily workflow. Check out your to-do list: are there items on there that you don’t want to get started with? Could a new service help you deal with it better? What else causes you work, delays or money? Could you improve on it some way?

Find your friction and you will find your next start-up.

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