I used to be that guy with a Notes app filled with half-baked ideas and a browser with 50+ tabs of market research. Every “lightbulb moment” would lead to hours of research, only to find that my “unique” idea already had 20 competitors or a fundamental flaw I hadn’t considered. Sound familiar? It got so overwhelming that I’d often abandon ideas before giving them a real chance.

I think AI tools really made a huge difference in my brainstorming sessions. When ChatGPT suggests a business idea, and Claude points out potential issues, I can immediately refine the concept or explore a different angle. The best part is that these tools never get tired of your “what if” questions.

I’ll lay down some techniques and best practices I use to come up with ideas. Note that, to make these work, you do need to perform some manual research about the industry you are targeting beforehand because AI tools will sometimes hallucinate information. You can never be absolutely certain that the information they offer is 100% accurate. It’s an extremely important caveat to keep in mind.

If you’re familiar with AI tools, you know they can sometimes get stuck in obvious suggestions. Here’s how to push them to generate ideas:

Chain Prompting Technique

I use what I call the “Diamond Method” – start broad, go specific, then expand again. Here’s the exact flow:

Initial Broad Sweep

Generate 10 emerging business opportunities at the intersection of [Industry A] and [Industry B]. Focus on problems that became significant in the last 12 months. Format as problem : solution : target audience.

Drill Down

Pick the most interesting idea from above and:

For [selected idea], generate 7 unique angles to approach this opportunity. For each angle, specify: – Unique value proposition – Initial MVP features – Potential early adopters – Main technical requirements

Lateral Expansion

Take the best angle:

“How could this solution be adapted for completely different industries? List 5 unexpected applications, focusing on industries that wouldn’t obviously need this solution.”

Making AI Think Laterally

Here’s where most people go wrong – they accept the first batch of responses. Instead:

Use Constraint Prompts:

“Generate business ideas with these constraints: – Must be profitable within 30 days – Requires less than $1000 to start – Can be run solo – Has potential for automation – Solves a problem for other business owners”

Force Combinations:

“Combine these trending technologies: [AR/VR, AI, Blockchain, IoT] with these traditional industries: [Agriculture, Education, Mental Health, Real Estate] Generate unexpected business ideas from these combinations.”

Tips from My Experience

Switch Models Mid-Flow: Use ChatGPT for initial ideation, then Claude for deeper analysis of the best ideas Save Your Prompts: Keep a prompt template file of your best-performing prompts Pattern Interrupt: If you’re getting generic responses, throw in wild constraints or combine with completely unrelated industries

Hope you found this useful!