“3- Elevator Questions” presents a simple and sharp methodology for accessing the critical elements of any business idea. Many Startups spend a lot of time and resources on developing a product or service. Yet after launching the product, the market is less than enthused with the offering, and slowly the product and the company that launched it go into the background discontented, resulting in a high failure rate in startups. Our proposed methodology provides entrepreneurs with an investor’s point of view about their company. The “3-Elevator Questions” Framework provides a simple framework for testing the commercial success of the business. Following this methodology enables the Entrepreneur to communicate his product/service offering, target market, and value proposition concisely. It also enables the Entrepreneur to build a competitive advantage to compete with his competitors. In this paper, we will discuss cases where companies executed a winning strategy by adopting this methodology. In the study conducted, we have obtained desired results with startups, and we feel that established businesses can obtain similar desired results by using this methodology in commercializing new products/services.

1. Oviatt, B. M., McDougall, P. P., & Loper, M. (1995). Global start-ups: Entrepreneurs on a worldwide stage [and executive commentary]. The Academy of Management Executive (1993-2005), 9(2), 30-44.
2. Cooper, R. G. (1979). The dimensions of industrial new product success and failure. The Journal of Marketing, 43(3), 93-103. https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1250151
3. Cooper, A. C., Gimeno-Gascon, F. J., & Woo, C. Y. (1994). Initial human and financial capital as predictors of new venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 9(5), 371-395. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0883-9026(94)90013-2
4. Blank, S. (2013). Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard Business Review, 91(5), 63-72.
5. Thomas, R. J. (1985). Estimating market growth for new products: An analogical diffusion model approach. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2(1), 45-55. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0737-6782(85)90015-3 https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-5885.210045
6. Gourville, J. T. (2006). Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers: Understanding the psychology of new product adoption. Harvard Business Review 84(6), 99-106.

Bosukonda, N. K. (2016). 3-elevator questions a short and sharp methodology for evaluating business ideas. International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, 2(3), 91-95.