Get All Access for $5/mo

How 3 Successful Businesses Got Their Start And, how you can, too.

By Udemy

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Evan Kimbrell

Entrepreneur has affiliate partnerships so we may get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Whether your dream is to start your first business or you're a seasoned entrepreneur looking for your next venture, most of us run into the same problem: Where do I start?

Figuring out how to grasp that elusive "great idea" can feel daunting, especially when you look at billion-dollar companies and the chasm that exists between you and them. Fortunately, Evan Kimbrell, founder of San Francisco-based digital agency Sprintkick, has not only put together an enormous list of different ways to brainstorm ideas, he has also broken down how those big businesses got their idea in the first place.

Related: Seth Godin on How to Freelance Your Way to Success

In his new course, How to come up with killer business ideas, the entrepreneur and former VC lays out brainstorming methods that can be used across all industries, and blends them with clear explanations, examples, and anecdotes, plus worksheets and activities for you to do as you go along.

Having a framework to look at the world in a new way and be inspired is crucial. For example, here's how three huge companies used a framework to spark their first idea:

1. Uber and "Wouldn't it be great if...?" If you've ever found yourself doing something in your daily life and daydreaming about how it could be improved, you've already started using this tool. Thinking about a process and imagining how it could be way more awesome is exactly how Travis Kalanick and Garret Camp sparked the idea for what would one day become the industry-disrupter it is today.

2. PayPal and Reverse Imagination. Sometimes we try to imagine the future when we want to come up with a new idea. But what if we reverse it? Kimbrell brings up how cringe-worthy some things that were popular in the 90's are now; the challenge is to time travel to the future and look back at what would seem silly now. The founders of PayPal "looked back" at how we were getting money to people and realized, it is so silly that we don't have a way to transfer money online.

3. TOMS and making it eco-friendly. Making things "suck less" for the earth, as Kimbrell puts it, is a hot button issue. If you can take a product and make it waste less resources, that's an innovation in itself.

TOMS is a great example of this, in two ways. First, they took a product and made it eco-friendly. But what makes them stick out in consumers' minds, and tips the scales for a lot of shoppers, is that they combine that with donating a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair they sell.

Related: How to Build Your Personal Brand, According to Millionaire Gary Vaynerchuk

Now, Get Busy

The most important thing you will learn from this course is how to think about your world as being full of opportunities. Sometimes big ideas need a little help. Use this course to help your next idea achieve its dreams.

Here's a special enrollment link where you can learn all about it - Enroll Now!

Disclosure: This is brought to you by the Entrepreneur Partner Studio. Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you'll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Starting a Business

He Started a Business That Surpassed $100 Million in Under 3 Years: 'Consistent Revenue Right Out of the Gate'

Ryan Close, founder and CEO of Bartesian, had run a few small businesses on the side — but none of them excited him as much as the idea for a home cocktail machine.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Franchise

The Top 10 Coffee Franchises in 2024

From a classic cup of joe to a creamy latte, grab your favorite mug and get ready to brew up success with the best coffee franchises.

Marketing

How Small Businesses Can Leverage Dark Social to Drive Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Dark social accounts for 70% of social media shares and is crucial for small businesses. Here's how you can tap into this hidden marketing opportunity.

Business News

'Jaw-Dropping Performance in 2024,' Says a Senior Analyst as Nvidia Reports Earnings

Nvidia reported its highly-anticipated third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Business News

'Do You Sell Cars?': Tesla CEO Elon Musk Trolls Jaguar Rebrand on X

The team running Jaguar's X account was working hard on social media this week.