Spontaneous Startups just happen. Often very well.
Today I'll share an amazing example of a real new enterprise that spontaneously rose from nothing to sales of over $300 million (and climbing).
EXAMPLE
The startup is Wayfair.
Its on-line service sells "everything for the home."
Why don't you know about them? That's part of their story and it's a clever one, filled with excitement, risk and extraordinary success.
I highly recommend you read the well written story (just click on the Wayfair link above) in which the two founders, Niraj Shah and Steve Conine, tell how they moved from startup idea to startup idea until one day they found a very special idea for their new enterprise would become Mayfair. It simply "occurred to them".
As you dissect this amazing saga (it took years and a lot of hard work), keep the following characteristics in mind, they'll help you glean extra value from your thinking, they will generate things to apply to your own startup:
- Stalled with several startups, bailed (wisely) one after the other, until they got The Big Idea.
- Took no venture capital until success was very clear, years after starting.
- Stayed focused, did not get distracted during early formation years.
- Looked and looked and looked for a better idea than the one they had at the moment.
- Techies made the move to marketing savvy as a natural consequence of their processing of ideas.
- Settled on a very simple idea, yet one with huge potential.
- Bold vision: "determined to think big -- really big."
- Flanking Strategy: moved into uncontested territory, a new market not yet dominated by a Gorilla.
- Profitable from Month One.
- Quick to follow successful step after successful step (and to not repeat failures).
- Creative with cash flow management.
- Learned how to do the (retail merchandise) business by doing it.
- Avoided attacking Gorillas.
- Figured out what customers were frustrated with, solved that problem.
I'll leave the rest of the story thinking up to you. Read, think and repeat several times how you analyse this Wayfair story. Each reading offers to you the chance to glean a fine harvest of stimulating ideas for how to do a Spontaneous Startup.
BOTTOM LINE: Wayfair is a find example of how to do a Spontaneous Startup. You can do the same. Study the process the founders went through. That is where the low hanging fruit is waiting for you. When you "get it", you'll know the secrets that made serial entrepreneurs serial winners. And you'll be able to use your idea to build an unfair competitive advantage.
I wish you The Best on your Adventure!