Idea one-pager example.

What is an idea one-pager?

An idea one-pager distils a concept to a single page: what it fixes, how it works, and the essentials at a glance, ready to share.

Also called: One-pager, Product one-pager, Business idea one-pager.

Why it matters

Programmes rarely lack ideas; they lack ideas described well enough to judge. An idea in an email or a chat thread can't be compared with another.

One page, in one format, lets ideas compete on their merit rather than on the presenter's storytelling.

The idea format

Innovation Mode describes an early idea in four parts. Ainna's one-pager puts the first three on the page, with the problem, the users, the market and the business model stated in its opening line.

1. The idea and the problem it solves. A plain title, and the need it answers, before any mechanics. In Ainna's document: the problem.
2. Users, value and form. Who it serves, the value to them and to the business, and the shape it takes: an app, a platform, a device, a service. In Ainna's document: at a glance: users, market, business model and form factor.
3. How it works. The core mechanics, the data and the dependencies, enough to judge whether it can be built. In Ainna's document: how it works.
4. The big unknowns. The uncertainties to resolve before investing. In Ainna they move to the assessment and the PRD's risks.

The method as a template: Business Idea Template, on theinnovationmode.com.

What's inside

• What it fixes
• How it works
• At a glance: users, market, business model and form factor

Where it fits

It is distilled from the idea's definition: what it fixes, how it works, the users, the market and the business model.

It comes after Problem Framing Document and Brainstorm Outcomes Deck, and leads to Idea Social Carousel, Pitch Deck and Product Requirements Document (PRD).

Questions

How is an idea one-pager different from a product concept or a business case?

The one-pager is light enough that dozens can be written and compared. A product concept elaborates the chosen idea: its market, personas, technology, go-to-market and monetisation. A business case comes later, to justify the investment.

One-pager or pitch deck?

The one-pager is read in two minutes. The pitch deck makes the case slide by slide, for the meeting.

What should a product one-pager include?

The problem, how it works, who it's for, the market, the business model and the form it takes. Everything else belongs in the PRD.

Read next

• Guide: What Is a Product One-Pager, and How Do You Write One?
• Where VentureForce began: number 0032 on Problem Radar
• All twelve: the document examples, together