What frameworks can be applied from Business Ideation to Execution? What is SCAMPER? What is OKR? What is Venture Capital Method? What is Lean Startup Framework?

Successful Frameworks To Apply From Ideation to Execution and How Patreon Applied These Frameworks to Become a $4 Billion Dollar Company

The process of going from ideation to a successful business is not a linear one and can vary depending on the industry and the type of business. Starting a business is an exciting journey that requires creativity, passion, and hard work. 

Video summary of the article:

To help you get started, here are general steps and frameworks that be applied at each step, to get you started:

Ideation: This is where you get to unleash your creativity and come up with innovative ideas that can change the world. Since, Ideation is a creative and concentrated process; those involved should be provided with an environment that facilitates free, open, and non-judgmental sharing of ideas. To help you with this step, you can use various ideation techniques such as sketching, prototyping, brainstorming, and worst possible idea.  

  • SCAMPER framework is good Framework to use during ideation. This framework helps you generate new ideas by asking questions such as “What can I substitute?”, “What can I combine?”, “What can I adapt?”, “What can I modify?”, “What can I put to another use?”, “What can I eliminate?”, and “What can I reverse?”.

Evaluation: Once you have generated your ideas, it’s time to evaluate them and determine which ones have the potential to be successful. This is where the real fun begins as you get to conduct market research and analyze your competition. 

  • To help you with this step, you can use various frameworks such as SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) or PEST / PESTEL analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal). 
  • You can also use the Porter’s Five Forces framework. This framework helps you analyze the competitive forces in your industry and determine your company’s position relative to other companies. The five forces are: Threat of New Entrants, Bargaining Power of Suppliers, Bargaining Power of Buyers, Threat of Substitute Products or Services, and Rivalry Among Existing Competitors.

Business Plan: After evaluating your ideas, it’s time to create a business plan that outlines your goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics for achieving success. This is where you get to put your thinking cap on and come up with a plan that can take your business to the next level. 

  • To help you with this step, you can use various frameworks such as SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) or OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). 
  • Business Model Canvas (BMC) is what we recommend prior to crafting a detailed business plan. This framework helps you visualize your business model and identify key components such as your value proposition, customer segments, revenue streams, cost structure, and key activities.

Funding: Once you have created your business plan, it’s time to secure funding for your business. An alternate to external funding is also bootstrapping. This is where the founders invest their own capital (or through friends and family) to kickstart their venture. External Funding, is where you get to pitch your idea to investors and convince them that your idea is worth investing in. 

  • To help you with this step, you can use various frameworks such as the the Lean Startup Methodology or the Venture Capital Method. This latter framework helps you determine the value of your company and how much equity to give up in exchange for funding.

Execution: Finally, it’s time to execute your plan by launching your business and implementing your strategies. This is where the rubber meets the road as you get to hire employees (if necessary), market your products or services, and build relationships with customers. 

  • To help you with this step, you can use various frameworks such as Waterfall, Agile Methodology or Scrum.

Here's an example of a successful but less known company called Patreon, that has applied many of these frameworks:

Patreon is a membership platform that provides business tools for creators to run a subscription content service. It was founded in 2013 by Jack Conte and Sam Yam. According to TechCrunch, Patreon has tripled its valuation to $4 billion in a $155 million funding round led by Tiger Global¹. However, CrunchBase reports that Patreon has a post-money valuation in the range of $1B to $10B as of April 7, 2021, whilst Forbes also reported that Patreon's valuation is $4 billion.

Here's how they applied the frameworks from ideation to execution:

1. Ideation: Patreon started as an idea to help creators get paid for their work. They used the SCAMPER framework to generate new ideas by asking questions such as "What can I substitute?", "What can I combine?", "What can I adapt?", "What can I modify?", "What can I put to another use?", "What can I eliminate?", and "What can I reverse?".

2. Evaluation: Patreon conducted market research and analyzed their competition to determine if their idea was viable. They used the Porter's Five Forces framework to analyze the competitive forces in their industry and determine their company's position relative to other companies.

3. Business Plan: Patreon created a business plan that outlined their goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics for achieving success. They used the SMART goals framework to create specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals.

4. Funding: Patreon secured funding from investors by pitching their idea and convincing them that it was worth investing in. They used the Business Model Canvas framework to visualize their business model and identify key components such as their value proposition, customer segments, revenue streams, cost structure, and key activities.

5. Execution: Patreon launched their business and implemented their strategies by hiring employees (if necessary), marketing their products or services, and building relationships with customers. They used the Waterfall Methodology framework to manage their projects and ensure that they were delivering value to their customers.