Workshop outputs from an innovation session held in Sofia in November 2009. Pushing for ideas and perspectives on how to turn start-up ideas into successful businesses.

1. 24/11/09 – One hour innovation
workshop task outputs:
“How to effectively turn start‐up ideas into
profitable, sustainable business reality”
Facilitated by: Niall Jones, ideas‐bg
‘Never trying’ was the most popular perceived
cause of how to fail to turn start‐up ideas
into successful businesses.
To ensure this does not happen the group
believed that :
‐ toleration and sharing of failures
‐ encouraging just taking the ‘leap’
‐ inspiring people
‐ sharing successes
‐ and running start‐up competitions
were among the best remedies.

2. The groups view was that the
Perfect Start‐up Owner/Manager
…has…most importantly:
‐ belief (8);
‐ but also determination (5);
‐ and good values (3)
And that the Perfect Start‐up Idea …has…most
importantly:
‐ made the world a better place (7);
‐ has revenue potential (5);
‐ and has met a new need or niche (2)
The Perfect Start‐up Eco‐system… has…most
importantly:
‐ access to expertise (6);
‐ and access to guidance on
‘how to do it / to get started’ (4);
‐ a good pool of success stories (3)
‐ and, a good, interactive network (3).
Nos. of participant votes received in ( ) after each idea,
where applicable

3. The 5 most Popular Ideas on the
‘achieving start‐up success’
question were:
‐ enjoy yourself (27);
‐ get the right people involved / on the team (21);
‐ get the money needed (17);
‐ start acting (16);
‐ and meet customer needs (15)
However…3 similar ideas…:
‐ get the right people involved / on the team (21);
‐ know if I have the right people around me? (8);
‐ and, find good friends or family to help you (14)
…are all closely linked.
In conclusion, the consensus view on what start‐ups
need more than anything else to be successful was:
‘People’!
The right mix of people in the team,
and the right network of people to offer advice,
expertise, support, guidance, mentoring, etc.
Nos. of participant votes received in ( ) after each idea,
where applicable

4. Finally, we developed the idea of how
to build a successful team of people,
and concluded that:
‐ complementary expertise
‐ shared values and vision
‐ strong leadership
‐ being inspirational
‐ clarity of purpose
‐ team motivation
‐ dedication
‐ a hard work ethic
‐ ability to network
‐ and good communication skills
were all key factors.
Conflicting egos was considered
the main barrier to building a successful team.
Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed!
E: niall@ideas‐bg.com
T: 0885 519 755
www.ideas‐bg.com
using ideas to make things better