So what is a good start-up idea? How do you even go about finding one if you don’t have an idea weighing on your soul?  How do you narrow your focus if you have several ideas?

Somehow, the topic of start-ups became a four-part blog series for me.  First, themes of my successful start-ups.  Second, themes of start-up failures.  Third, reasons start-up ideas never launch and lastly, this blog on how to identify and short-list start-up opportunities.  Below is a sampling of themes that my partners and I have used as a funneling process to evaluate potential ideas, before getting too deep on the economic evaluation.

• The industry is irrelevant. The underlying economic opportunity is much more interesting.  There are few industries we wouldn’t pursue given the right economic model.

• “Go where they ain’t” as an old business school professor of mine use to say.  I.e., seek off the grid areas that attract much less competition. My brother has a company that picks up sludge from food and beverage processing facilities; I will go out on a limb and state there aren’t lots of Harvard MBAs flocking to this sector.

• There is significant disparity in power along the value chain. Both of my prior start-ups took advantage of this dynamic by offering a service that was critical to the 800 lb. gorilla in the industry, who in turn could force the rest of the value chain to play along and help pay for our offering.

• There is a noticeable gap between the “experience” and the “expectation.”  Each of us is confronted with this scenario often.  Which of these occurrences could uncover an opportunity for your next business?

• Important items/occurrences/events are discussed only hypothetically, when real data could be collected, analyzed and monetized.  This creation of primary data is a key piece of the offering of great consulting firms, like Bain and Company.  Where could you offer new and relevant insights based on primary data – and get paid handsomely for it?

• Larger company frustration points, build vs. buy situations and political situations. It’s often easier for a large company to fund or purchase an outside group than to build the capabilities internally. I’ve witnessed acquisitions that didn’t make sense, but simply satisfied a large company political situation.  Creating a company that can fill these known voids can lead to great exit options in the future. Of course, to be aware of these type opportunities, you need to be intentional about networking in the right circles. Or maybe you work at that large company right now, and already see the voids that could be filled by your new start-up.

• The prevalence of smaller established players.  There are a lot of cash strapped small companies, that much like real estate, can be had cheap if you have the cash.  And often with small companies, the cash-strapped nature of the business can be a function of an owner co-mingling business and personal books vs. the underlying economics of the business itself.  Buying vs. starting from scratch can eliminate a lot of infancy problems.

And more and more, I find myself focusing on a new layer of thinking. In addition to finding the right cash flow business model, I’m equally interested in how the new entity can help crack a serious social problem(s). The excitement of achieving strong business results while simultaneously having a strong Kingdom impact would make getting out of bed each morning and going to work a pretty awesome experience.

How do you identify and short-list your next great business ideas?