What’s the most unconventional way you’ve ever come up with a business idea?
Hey Product Hunt community!
We all know the classic ways to brainstorm startup ideas — scratching your own itch, spotting market gaps, or improving on an existing product. But sometimes, the best ideas come from unexpected places.
Maybe it was…
• A casual conversation with a stranger
• A frustrating life problem you didn’t realize others had too
• An AI-generated idea that surprised you
• A random shower thought that stuck
I’m curious — what’s the most unconventional or surprising way you’ve come up with a business idea?
Please share your story! Let’s inspire each other and maybe even spark some new ideas together. 🙌
(For context — I’m working on NovaStart, an AI-powered idea generation tool — but this thread is purely for community inspiration and discussion. Not a promo, just curious to learn from you!)
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Product Hunt
I won't speak for him, but I quite like @catt_marroll's reasoning for making and launching @Purposeful Poop as a guerilla marketing tactic.
Purposeful Poop
@jakecrump haha thanks for posting up! Marketing feels like there is a lot of room for creativity.
I don't know if I have had any particularly novel business idea inceptions-- most of them are very unoriginal.
I would imagine, (imagining because i havent started one) most successful business ideas come from listening and having the skills to execute once you hear the right thing!
I do not have unconventional ways, it is usually when I have my brisk walks.
But when I was younger (maybe 13 or 14), I had quite a weird friend, and she had very strange ideas that were funny to me, but in the end, we co-created something reasonable. :D
Sometimes it feels that I need someone who is one or two stages weirder than me.