20 Ways Business Leaders Find (And Vet) Their Next Big Development

Forbes

20-06-2025

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The spark behind a great business initiative can come from anywhere—a customer complaint, an emerging trend or an untapped niche. But inspiration alone isn't enough to move an idea forward. Deciding whether to invest time, money and resources requires asking the right questions about market need.
Below, 20 members of Forbes Business Development Council share where they find inspiration for new business ideas—and how they decide whether it's worth turning that spark into action.
1. The 'Common Denominator' Behind Weaknesses
Innovative leaders are driven to create more efficient solutions. In grade school, we were taught to find the lowest common denominator in math class. In business, leaders break down and identify root causes, potential gaps and inefficiencies that they deem weaknesses. A true leader will find a common denominator and be inspired to develop strategies to convert those weaknesses into strengths. - Jason Holden , Akkerman
2. The Desire To Solve A 'Big Problem' In The Market
My entrepreneurial experience: The inspiration to create new comes from an insatiable urge to solve a big problem. There are five types of big problems (5 Cs): Customer, constraints, convenience-related, commonality-focused and community-centric. The only factor that helps to decide its worthiness to solve is its "order of magnitude impact on the beneficiary" once solved. - Bharath Yadla , Workato
3. Everyday Issues
I find inspiration in everyday problems— especially when a customer says, 'I just wish there was an easier way to do this.' That's the spark. One key factor in moving forward? Real interest. If people are excited, willing to use it or even pay for it early on, that's a good sign it's worth building. - Richard Lindhorn , VivoAquatics Inc.
4. Gaps Across Industries
We get inspired by spotting gaps in how people make payments in different industries. My go-to test? When businesses face the same payment headache repeatedly and we can fix it once and scale it everywhere. If our solution helps multiple partners, reaches lots of customers and doesn't require reinventing the wheel every time, that's when I know we've got something worth pursuing. - Mohamed Madkour , Mastercard
5. Combined Concepts From Different Industry Sectors
I find my inspiration everywhere. It usually starts with asking "why" and "why not," blending ideas from very different industry sectors and working with concepts together like LEGO blocks. Things eventually click into place when the questions have been addressed and solutions worked out. When the risk of moving ahead is small and the risk of not moving ahead is large, then it's worth the move. - Anoma Baste , Space Matrix
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6. Lessons From Top Performers And Other Teams
Pain points in business processes or customer experience can be common sources of innovation, but valuable insights also come from learning from other teams or benchmarking top performers. A data-driven, ROI-focused approach helps leaders make informed decisions. Great leaders constantly assess key drivers—not because something is wrong, but because they believe things can always be improved. - Jani Hirvonen , Google
7. 'Rule-Of-Three' Pain Points
Customer pain points and unmet needs are the best inspiration for new developments—hear the same pain point from multiple people across organizations, and the need is real and acute. We call it the "rule of three": If three customers have the same need or ask, then it's real! - Aman Rangrass , Skan.AI
8. Crowdsourced Organizational Feedback
Consider crowdsourcing ideas from your organization to collect a diverse array of input. Platforms like Featurebase are useful for figuring out which developments to pursue. Key stakeholders can vote on existing feature requests to determine their order of importance, and keep all your ideas organized in one place. - Raviraj Hegde , Donorbox
9. Real Customer Problems
Inspiration often starts with a real customer problem—something costing time, money or momentum. The key filter: Does solving it align with our strengths and strategic direction? If it does, scope the opportunity, build fast and validate early. Speed matters, but alignment wins. - Michael Fritsch , SavvyCOO
10. Areas Of Friction
I find inspiration by observing friction, especially recurring pain points that slow down execution. I would question myself, "What if this didn't have to be hard?" A key filter is value delta, for example, will this create at least a 4x improvement over the current approach? If it doesn't shift outcomes meaningfully, it's not worth building. - Vipin Thomas , SparrowGenie
11. Solutions That Make Life Easier
All developments—whether business or product—are driven by two core factors: will this make our customers' lives easier, and will it push us to keep our solutions on the cutting edge? Only by understanding customers' needs and pain points can we provide the most timely and reliable solutions. Anything less is merely spinning our wheels, no matter how technically impressive the offering. - Susana Cabrera , Parsec Automation
12. High-Potential, Untapped Markets
I'm inspired by what others ignore—those quiet gaps where attention is scarce but potential is high, like a niche market with growing demand but little innovation. A key sign to move forward is whether your team can lead the conversation and steer the momentum. If you can, it's likely a risk worth taking. - Bryce Welker , The CPA Exam Guy
13. Insights From Genuine Listening
I listen, listen, listen to people's stories and real-world challenges, which inspire new efforts. For example, we started with one shoe reuse brand but saw needs and opportunities in other areas, such as supporting sustainability by listening. So, we created several other brands that target their specific audiences' needs and pain points, which motivated our team to move forward with expansions. - Wayne Elsey , The Funds2Orgs Group
14. Cross-Industry Innovations
I find inspiration in customer pain points and cross-industry innovation. The key decision factor is genuine user enthusiasm in early testing—if users can't articulate how the solution improves their lives without prompting, reconsider moving forward. - Vivek Vishal , Honeywell
15. Creation Under Constraints
I often find inspiration in constraints, not ideas. Scarcity, regulation and friction reveal inefficiencies others tolerate. One key factor? If solving it strengthens our position and forces competitors to respond, it's worth pursuing. Real development shifts leverage, not just resources. - Alexander Masters, MBA, BIDA , Siemens
16. The Intersection Of Emerging Trends And Unmet Needs
I find inspiration at the intersection of unmet needs and emerging trends—where market gaps meet what's next. One key factor in deciding to move forward: strategic fit. If the idea aligns with long-term goals and solves a real problem, it's worth exploring. - Rahul Saluja , Cognizant
17. The Need To Stay Relevant Amidst Change
Competitors (both direct and indirect), landscape and customers all change with time, so for you to stay relevant with these changes, innovation in all aspects of your organization is a must. This in itself is a grander reason for you and your teams to find inspiration. If the vision is not to be the best in class for your customers, then there are bigger problems for you to fix than just inspiration. - Mustansir Paliwala , Zomara Group
18. Current Gaps Aligned With Long-Term Vision
I draw inspiration from identifying strategic gaps that align with our long-term vision, where market dynamics are evolving, customer needs are unmet or internal capabilities can be leveraged to create new value. I assess each initiative based on its strategic alignment, like whether it differentiates in the market and supports sustainable growth. If yes, it warrants serious consideration. - Salice Thomas , Wipro Limited
19. Ideas From Other Sectors
Finding inspiration is always difficult, especially because, in my opinion, the most common mistake is falling in love with your own ideas, idealizing them. In my sector (industrial), it is complex. However, trade fairs are an excellent point of reference: the sectors not close to ours offer applicable ideas and improvements. In many cases, innovation comes from the contamination. - Davide Sartini , G.Mondini SpA
20. What Emerges When You Step Back
Inspiration often comes when we stop forcing ideas. Step back, question assumptions and drop ego. The best ideas emerge when you stay open-minded, critical and self-aware. Here's a good litmus test: If the idea still stands after tough, honest evaluation—without forcing a narrative—it may be worth building on. True innovation needs space to breathe. - Anna Jankowska , RTB House