It’s common to hear statements like, “I have a great idea, and people are going to love it!” or “All I need to do is build it, and customers will come.” These phrases are particularly popular among first-time entrepreneurs. However, many of these ventures end up failing. Why? Is it due to a lack of intelligence, funding, or a great team? Surprisingly, none of these are the primary reasons. A major factor often overlooked is the absence of Design Thinking from the very beginning.
What is Design Thinking?
You’ve likely heard the term “Design Thinking” before. Broadly, it’s defined as:
– “A process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that seeks improved or disruptive outcomes.”
– “A mindset and approach to problem-solving and innovation centered around human needs.” (Han, 2022)
At its core, Design Thinking puts the user at the center of the process, ensuring that solutions are tailored to real-world problems. So, how can entrepreneurs integrate Design Thinking into their journey? Let me introduce you to the Five-Step Roadmap of Design Thinking. (IDF, n.d.)
1. Empathize
This step focuses on understanding users and their problems through observation, interviews, and empathy mapping. It’s about deeply connecting with the user to uncover pain points.
Empathy is critical for entrepreneurs—it ensures that you’re solving the right problem instead of working in isolation and addressing imagined issues. Techniques include conducting in-depth interviews, observing users in action, and even shadowing them through their processes.
The key is to understand without judgment. Sitting at home brainstorming won’t uncover what truly matters to customers—you must go out, interact, and discover.
2. Define
Here, you organize and analyze the information gathered during the Empathize stage. The goal is to produce a concise problem statement and generate a potential solution or hypothesis.
A strong problem statement should be:
– Clear, concise, and realistic
– Achievable and measurable
As an entrepreneur, you also need to define your target audience by creating personas. Consider these questions:
– Who are the potential customers?
– Who are the stakeholders?
– What constraints exist?
– What does success look like?
Defining these elements sharpens your focus and ensures clarity moving forward.
3. Ideate
This is the brainstorming phase, where diverse ideas are generated to address the problem. The more perspectives, the better, so gather a team and start collaborating.
Effective brainstorming starts with divergent thinking (generating as many ideas as possible) and transitions to convergent thinking (narrowing down the best ideas).
Remember, at this stage, there’s no such thing as a “wrong” idea—encourage creativity and exploration. Many online tools can guide you through structured brainstorming sessions.
4. Prototype
This step is about transforming ideas into tangible representations. A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is often the simplest yet most effective form of a prototype. It doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to convey the core value of your idea.
Prototypes can take various forms:
– A PowerPoint presentation
– A video demo
– A simple app or website
The goal is to create something users can interact with and provide feedback on.
5. Test
Finally, put your prototype in the hands of users to evaluate whether it solves their problems and reduces friction or frustration.
This phase is all about failing quickly to improve along the way. Use the feedback from real users to iterate on your product or service. Testing isn’t just about validation—it’s an opportunity to refine your idea before scaling it further.
A Real-World Example: Uber
Uber is a textbook case (Broussalian, Morris, Adeoye, 2024)of success driven by Design Thinking:
1. Empathize: The founder recognized the difficulty people faced in finding rides in cities.
2. Define: Was the problem due to a lack of taxis or something else?
3. Ideate: What if people could use others’ cars as rides for a small fee?
4. Prototype: The founder started by asking people if they needed a ride and arranging pickups manually.
5. Test: Through trial and error, the Uber app was born, solving a widespread issue with a seamless user experience.
Final Thoughts
Design Thinking is a powerful approach that anchors innovation in human needs. By empathizing with customers, clearly defining problems, brainstorming creatively, building prototypes, and testing iteratively, entrepreneurs can greatly increase their chances of success.
So, before you build your product and assume customers will come, take a step back. Equip yourself with the tools of Design Thinking and set the foundation for solving the right problems from the start.
Reference
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking?utm_source
https://www.eleken.co/blog-posts/design-thinking-examples-five-real-stories?utm_source
https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-design-thinking