6 prompts to generate business ideas with ChatGPT

Use when you have no idea yet, but you do have experience.

I want to start a business. Here is my situation:
- Industries I have worked in: [FILL IN]
- Skills I am genuinely good at: [FILL IN]
- People I can already reach easily: [FILL IN]
- Budget I can risk: [FILL IN]
- Time per week: [FILL IN]

Do not give me generic startup ideas. Instead, propose 5 businesses where MY specific background is an unfair advantage that most founders would not have. For each one, state: the exact customer, the problem they already pay to solve, what they currently use instead, a realistic price, and why my background gives me an edge. Rank them by how quickly I could get a first paying customer.

Use when you know an industry but not what to build.

Act as a researcher. The industry is [INDUSTRY]. The people I can reach are [ROLE, for example: owners of independent dental practices].

List the 10 most expensive, repetitive, or hated tasks these people deal with every month. For each: who does it today, roughly what it costs them in time or money, what tool or workaround they currently use, and how urgent it is. Then tell me which 3 are the best candidates for a small business to solve, and why the other 7 are worse. Be specific and concrete. No generic answers.

Use the moment you have an idea you like. This is the most valuable prompt here.

Here is my business idea: [DESCRIBE IN 2-3 SENTENCES].

Your job is to try to kill it, not to encourage me. Be blunt and specific.
1. Who exactly is the buyer, and what do they do about this problem today?
2. What is the single riskiest assumption, the one that if false makes this whole thing fail?
3. What would it actually cost me to start, honestly, including the things founders forget?
4. Who is already doing this, and why would a customer choose me over them?
5. What is the most likely way this fails in the first 12 months?
6. What cheap test could I run this week to find out if the riskiest assumption is false?

End with a verdict: would you put your own money into this, yes or no, and why.

Use to check whether an idea is newly possible or just newly imagined.

My idea is: [IDEA].

Most ideas are not new, they are newly possible. Tell me honestly: what changed in the last 24 months that makes this viable now when it was not before? Consider cost collapses, new capabilities, regulation, behaviour shifts, and new platforms.

If nothing meaningful has changed, say so plainly and tell me that this is probably an idea people have already tried and abandoned, and explain why it failed before. If something HAS changed, tell me how big that window is and who else is likely already moving into it.

Use once you have chosen an idea and want a concrete plan.

My business idea is: [IDEA]. My customer is: [CUSTOMER].

Give me a concrete plan to get 10 paying customers in 30 days, with no ad budget. Not "do content marketing". I want specifics: exactly where these people already gather, what I say to them, what I offer first, and what I charge. Include the exact message or script I should send. Then tell me the most common reason this plan fails and how to avoid it.

Use to turn a concept into something that can actually make money.

Here is a business concept: [CONCEPT].

The same concept can be a great business or a terrible one depending on its structure. Give me 3 different ways to structure this business, for example a done-for-you service, a productized fixed-price package, or a software tool. For each structure, tell me: how it is priced, whether revenue recurs, how much capital it needs before the first dollar, how fast it reaches revenue, and how hard it is to run solo.

Then recommend one, and be honest about what I am giving up by choosing it.