Want to Be a Billionaire? Build Products That Only Require A Single Click

Or as few as possible to achieve the most powerful results

Conceptualising where the next unicorn will come for is an almost impossible task, if it was easy we’d all be wealthy venture capitalists. It’s so difficult because it is almost impossible to project impending developments and entwine them within the confines of an ever evolving world of consumer requirement. That said, one thing is clear, unicorns will be born from companies who simplify processes and make our lives easier.

Streamlining business operations is an age old method of reducing production/creation costs allowing the price that is offered to the consumer to be lower. Technology has embraced this mantra almost ubiquitously creating products and services which distil complicated and convoluted processes into a single click.

History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.

The most successful startups have achieved tremendous success in the last 5 years by distilling processes down to the fewest clicks possible, lowering the barrier for entry and enabling participation with the least amount of effort.

Netflix lets you watch a show with a single click
Twitter lets your send a tweet with a single click
Instagram lets you create a beautiful images with a single click
Uber arranges a ride for you in a single click

What this analysis uncovers is a reinterpretations of existing models in new, innovative ways. There is nothing breath-taking about any of them on their own, they are simply reinventions of analogue technology for a digital world. Where previously you needed to purchase a camera and film then take the picture before having the image developed, which could take hours or days, now happens in seconds with all the technology contained in the palm of your hand.

Their simplicity is what is so challenging. The general consensus is that great ideas are incredibly hard. The opposite could not be more true. It’s the simplification of an idea to make it look so easy that nothing is happening where the difficulty arises.

The most valuable things are often the simplest; they address the confounding frustrations of everyday life through relentless simplification. Remove or automating every unnecessary or time consuming step to create a product that works instantaneously with the absolute minimum of effort.

I want to watch X but it’s not on TV.
I want to blog but it’s too much effort.
I want to share pictures but they’re not beautiful.
I want to contact my family but it costs too much.
I want a taxi but I can’t wait for it.
I want a hotel but there are no rooms available.

Good businesses provide a service that customers appreciate. Great services solve problems so elegantly you forget about the process.

Developing the next great business is about reducing a problem down to it’s purest form. Every day we have the opportunity to address the problems we face but most people don’t even recognize them.

For years people wanted to watch a show but had to adhere to a TV guide. On-demand and Netflix changed the game. With a single click you can watch anything you want.

The best businesses change how we live and how we operate. They simplify the things we want to achieve and save us both time and effort. The best businesses re-imagine existing solutions to problems by employing technology to make completion or participation so much easier.

The biggest opportunities for entrepreneurs are to provide solution in ways which wow users. To amaze blow them away with the power of a single click. You need to impress people with simplicity and confound them with the ease in which everything they wanted was achieved. They don’t care how it’s done they just want the end result.

Uber is the prime example. Who wants to phone up a Taxi operator to be told they have no Cabs. With a single click they established a more transparent and safe service. You say who is picking you up, their rating, and where they are in relation to collecting you.

Never accept the way things have always been done as the only way they can be done.

Appreciation of a problem requires understanding of it.

Identification requires implementation.

Value requires simplification of existing processes.

Next comes a few simple questions which enable you to understand the potential ubiquity of your market

a) What would your company do?

b) How big is the potential market?

c) How could you achieve traction?

d) How will you make it easier/simpler?

If there is a clear path from A-D then the possibility is exponential.

Spotting the problem is the challenge

They stare us in the face every day. Everyone can look but not everyone can see. The next billion dollar business isn’t going to come from an unimaginable product. It will come from a simpler solution to an age-old problem whose value wasn’t recognised. It’s about looking and seeing the same things with new eyes. It’s about imagining new solutions to pre-existing issues and removing barriers for participation

Problems are the heart of every potential business. They provide an opportunity to profit eventually but initially you must show how you will accomplish it. It’s not simply about solving a problem, it’s about blowing people away with simplicity and the user experience. Desperation for profit is counterproductive. Allow your business to gain traction and spread,understand the scale of the problem through expansion and keep meeting people’s needs. If you solve problems people had grown so complacent of that they ignored them, in a way that they are naturally integrated as a simplistic solution to everyday life, profit will come after.

Ultimately, you want to solve a problem so easily that everyone says to you “but anyone could do that” without them ever understanding the complexity under the hood.

Build a product/service that achieves what an existing business does in may steps in a single click and you will be well on your way.

Here’s what I’m Doing

I’m building Cleeyk.

Why do you pay £90/$120 for a service your friend pays £18/$24 for? Is is because you are not aware of the difference or because you can’t be bothered haggling on price?

Cleeyk is a platform which uses the intelligence of the network to collectively bargains on your behalf to ensure you pay the lowest possible price for every recurring expense you have.

Whether that is your mobile phone, your cable television or your car insurance, Cleeyk constantly negotiates your costs down while automatically renewing any services and subscriptions so you don’t have to do a thing ever again, everything is done in a single click. Let me know what you think.