Professor of Management Practice
Many budding entrepreneurs are not great at generating ideas. They might excel in executing an idea, but they struggle to find a top-notch idea that is worth pursuing. When brainstorming for new ideas, there’s one specific category of ideas that you should try to avoid. They’re called ‘tarpit ideas’.
What are tarpit ideas?
Tarpit ideas are business ideas that initially seem attractive because they could lead to valuable innovations. But ultimately, their execution is too difficult because the plans are too complex, unwanted, or overly ambitious. Often, there's a significant element to the idea that makes a successful implementation nearly impossible. They are named after the tarpits that trapped and consumed prehistoric animals, preventing them from escaping.
Coming up with a new business idea is exciting. But if you get emotionally attached to an idea that’s too complex, it could trap you and sap your energy. It’s a bit like the tarpits that trapped prehistoric animals. Maybe at first glance, they looked like interesting waterholes. But once they fell in, they were stuck. In this video, Professor Yannick Dillen explains how to recognise ideas that seem attractive, but that turn into a sticky mess you can’t get out of.
Can you give an example of a typical tarpit idea?
When teaching the entrepreneurship course to students, a problem they often try to solve is the scarcity of car parks in the city centre. And the solution they come up with is to create a kind of Airbnb for parking spaces. Owners of vacant parking spaces can list these on the platform, and people searching for a parking spot can then rent them for a certain number of hours. At first glance, this idea seems simple and promising – but it’s a classic example of a tarpit idea.
This business idea underestimates the difficulty of finding enough owners who have a vacant parking space on offer. In most large cities, few people have a privately owned driveway in front of their house. And closed garages typically operate with a remote control – or you need a key to access them. So, an Airbnb model for parking in major cities doesn't seem like such a good idea after all.
How can entrepreneurs identify and avoid these tarpit ideas?
For entrepreneurs, identifying and avoiding tarpit ideas is crucial. There are two things you can do. Before rushing to build a solution for an idea, you need to conduct a thorough evaluation, where you assess the required resources, the potential returns and most importantly, the feasibility.
Secondly, you should also be careful not to become too emotionally attached to a particular idea. Emotions can often cloud your judgment. As the saying goes: "The most dangerous thing is to fall in love with an idea". Without proper research on the feasibility of bringing the product to market and without analysing market demand and competition, this is indeed true.
So, remember that not all tempting ideas are golden opportunities. Some are tarpits in disguise. Try to identify them early on, so they don’t take up precious time and resources.