How I Pick Problems (Rough Draft v3 Jan 10, 2013) Copyright & All Rights Belong To Miguel A.

Barbosa of SimoleonSense.com Do Not Reprint/Publish With Out Permission I always read this before I use the checklist: 1. The purpose of this checklist is to help me allocate time, energy, & resources (i.e. to disqualify problems/ideas). 2. I think of this checklist as an informal conversation I would have with a friend at a bar or coffee shop. 3. The biggest pitfall is picking problems/ideas that arent real/important/relevant. My Checklist: Idea - Whats the problem? Another way to ask this is what sucks? What am I angry about? What problem am I trying to solve? Is it a real problem? What kind of problem is it? When did I first notice the problem? How did it catch my attention? Have I done anything about it? Are others doing anything about it? Is there any data? Feeling/Emotions - How do I feel about the problem? Do I have skin in the game? How do I feel about the problem? Why? Does the problem just sound good or am I really interested in working on this? Why? Can I live w/out a solution to this problem? Is this the kind of problem I would pay someone else to solve for me? Would I put 100% of my time, energy, etc into it? Why/Why Not? Would I need to? Would I do this even if it failed, made no money, and no one knew about it? In solving the problem would the process of failing be fun? Fit - How does this problem & solution relate to me? Is this a problem I face in my life? Why do I care so much about this anyways? Do I have ulterior motives? (being popular/likeable/etc) Do I have more than one reason for doing this? (Hopefully not, ideally I have 1 very strong reason) Risk - What can go wrong vs What can go right? Consequences of a worst/best case scenario? What's the downside of giving this a shot? What's the upside? Can I afford the downside? Convex/Concave Payoffs? What do I have to give up in order to do this? (Opportunity Costs/Capital Outlays) In solving this problem is time on my side? Is this solution monetizable? How? When? (Most of the time this is not immediately important or evident) Action Steps - Okay so I might have a tentative problem worth solving now what? Whats next? Fit the problem/idea into following buckets Do This Now: 1. Move on (face it this is just not the right girl for you...maybe she has a cousin or best friend) 2. Watch list worthy (do later or just secretly afraid to kill it for now...) 3. Must work on it immediately (stop all other projects & risk personal relationships/hygiene to build this) Think About Alternatives. Do This Now! (Potentially subtractive ideas etc.) Search for potential collaborators & mentors. Do This Now! Final Reminders: 1. Just because its my idea/project doesnt mean it's worthwhile. Share idea with others to see if they face same problem. 2. Trial & Error beats prediction. Think but don't over think, err on the side of action/tinkering 3. Chances are that I dont know what I want - and that - I dont know what I don't know. 4. If Im exceptionally passionate I should ignore most heuristics except protecting my downside and work on this project. 5. If Im willing to sacrifice anything to do this (including my life) then Im definitely onto something or completely crazy.