The Scout Approach

The Scout

Put on a scout’s hat to scan for value in other domains — learning from what’s working that might be applied to a community of interest to you.  

It might feel like cheating, but drawing inspiration from other successful ventures is a legitimate way to develop an idea. The key is to identify the core attributes of something that works, then consider ways to apply those characteristics in a new arena. Here’s an example to clarify: the brand I F-cking Love Science has become phenomenally popular over the past few years by engaging non-scientists in the exploration of science.

 

Might there be a parallel opportunity explaining the nuances of tech-related law for non-lawyers? Or a newsletter explaining complex scientific developments for non-scientists? Or the nuances of finance for those outside the profession?

 

Studying successes not only helps in identifying parallel opportunities, it can also help provide ideas for marketing, branding, style, and revenue generation.

 

For example, Quartz’s popular Index newsletter, focused on key numbers in the news, recently had Blackrock’s iShares as a lead sponsor. No content was vetted by or created by iShares, but its branding was present under the newsletter’s title. Learning from that approach, imagine you were developing a service curating the best 10 space travel industry-related articles each week. You might draw on the Quartz Index model and explore the possibility of generating revenue by identifying a lead monthly sponsor.