Where do business ideas come from?
They rarely appear in a flash of inspiration.
Most ideas grow step by step.
Startups in Saudi Arabia often start with one question: What do people already do, and how can we make it better? You don’t need a new problem.
You need a new approach.
Let me give you some examples:
Step 1: Everyone will have a smartphone with a camera and internet access. Therefore, what? They will take photos.
Step 2: Everyone will have the ability to share photos. Therefore, what? They will want to share with others, not only store them.
Step 3: People like feedback. Therefore, what? They will want to rate, comment, and engage.
Final step: We should create an app that lets people upload photos, rate others, and post comments. Therefore, what?
The result was Instagram.
Isn’t this interesting?
Example - 2
Step 1: A restaurant in the middle of nowhere ordered 8 mixers from Ray Croc, mixer salesman
Step 2: Ray Croc pitched the restaurant owners a franchising model
Result: What was in result? McDonalds
There are so many examples I can quote here, but the point is:
Every strong business idea follows this simple pattern:
- Start from an observable fact.
- Ask “Therefore, what or What If?” until you reach an actionable outcome.
- Build something that fits real behavior, not assumptions.
Saudi Arabia is full of such opportunities. People spend hours daily on mobile. Small businesses are moving online. Government programs are supporting digital transformation. The shift from offline to online is still happening.
Let me give you a quick tip: Here’s how to apply this thinking:
- Look around. Watch how people buy, work, or interact.
- Write down what is already true.
- Ask “Therefore, what?” again and again.
- Stop when the next step is a product or service.
Let me give you some of my own personal examples:
Everyone uses WhatsApp to send invoices. Therefore, what? We should build a tool that creates invoices automatically from WhatsApp messages.
Another: Every small business uses Instagram for marketing. Therefore, what? We should offer a dashboard to measure post performance and suggest better captions.
Ideas don’t appear by luck. They appear through structured observation.
If you are a founder in Saudi Arabia, you are in the right place and the right time. The market is changing fast. Demand for smarter solutions is growing every day.
Stop waiting for a big idea. Start with “Therefore, what?” today.
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