The 4 Circles Behind Every Great Founder
Use the Ikigai method to design a startup that fuels your purpose and pays the bills.
In This Edition:
🔹Why the Japanese concept of Ikigai might be the most underrated startup idea filter
🔹A practical breakdown of the 4 pillars of Ikigai, reimagined for founders
🔹A simple 5-step action plan to apply Ikigai to your current (or next) startup
Finding “a reason for being”
When I worked at Google in 2017, a creative lead joined our team after a long career in the creative world, working with major advertisers to develop their campaigns and concepts.
One of his recent wins was an ad campaign for Nescafe, fully centered around the concept of ikigai, the Japanese framework to find purpose in life.
“Ikigai? For a supermarket coffee brand? Really?” (to myself of course).
Surprisingly, the campaign worked. REALLY well. It won a ton of awards and was very well received by the public.
Since then, Ikigai has been a concept that I revisit from time to time to reflect on.
It is a beautiful way to help people find balance, or what the Japanese wording would translate to as, “A reason for being”.
And recently, I realized, it’s not just a poetic concept.
It’s actually a GREAT framework for founders looking to pick the right idea to build.
It’s REALLY hard to find the *right* idea
Most aspiring founders struggle with this ONE thing more than anything else:
What is my idea?
What will my startup be about?
And they should. Launching a startup is one of the most difficult experiences in the business world.
It’s just you, and your idea.
It’s anxiety, pressure, and trying to build something out of nothing, all on your own.
Which you will work on for a LONG time. Years even.
How do you make sure you’re working on an idea that can win?
That YOU can win in (and no one else)?
That’s where Ikigai comes in.
Ikigai helps you understand if what you do intersects across four vital pillars:
What you love
What you're good at
What the world needs
What you can be paid for
If you’re at the center, you’ve hit that sweet spot where you balance passion, skill, needs and viability.
After some tinkering, I realized this framework is an excellent way to evaluate your startup idea as well, and how well it fits with you as a founder.
Now let’s break it down, startup style:
The 4-Point Startup Ikigai
1. What You Love
Passion fuels consistency. Ask yourself:
Does this idea excite you?
Would you use it yourself?
Does it solve a problem you've personally felt?
Do you find yourself talking about it nonstop?
Does it align with your values?
If not… you’ll quit when it gets hard. And it will get hard.
2. What You’re Good At
Leverage is faster than learning. Ask yourself:
Do you already have skills in this domain?
Do you know the market or user deeply?
Do you have insider access or a relevant network?
Or do you have a co-founder who complements your strengths?
Your unfair advantage isn’t optional, it’s your edge versus competition.
3. What the World Needs
Solve real problems. Ask yourself:
Is the market underserved or broken?
Are you bringing something new: tech, perspective, business model?
Are you adapting something successful from another context (à la Uber for X)?
Are people already hacking together solutions?
No demand? No business.
4. What You Can Be Paid For
Revenue isn’t optional. Ask yourself:
Is this a 10x solution compared to what's out there?
Is the market big enough for a healthy business?
Have you validated that people will pay (not just like) your product?
Are you focusing on one strong revenue stream, not ten weak ones?
Is the customer at the center of your idea?
If you’re not sure, test. Learn fast. Pivot faster.
Some pro tips:
Don’t aim for perfection, you’ll paralyze yourself instead of moving forward. See this framework as a direction for you.
You don’t need to score in every circle, but the more you do, the more sustainable your idea will be.
Many ideas sound good. Ikigai helps you figure out if they’re good for you.
And remember: this isn’t a one-time exercise. Return to it often.
Action Items (You Can Do These Today)
🔷 Map your current or future idea across these 4 circles
🔷 Score each section from 1–5
🔷 Identify your weakest area and design one action to validate or fix it
🔷 Share your startup Ikigai map with a mentor or peer for input
🔷 Bonus: Try applying this to a few different ideas and compare
What is the most important part of Ikigai for you?
Let’s get to work, Majd
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Hi, I’m Majd. I help early-stage founders build, go-to-market, and fundraise for their ventures. Here’s how I can support you:
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Reading this, I think my biggest challenge in trying to find that one startup idea is thinking I had to figure it all out in one sitting. Once I don’t. I abandon and don’t make a conscious habit to return to it.
The framework will be a great help
That's so cool -- I recently wrote something about Ikigai as well, turning it into an AI-led brainstorming session!!