5 Essential Ingredients of a Winning Business Idea

Ideas come in all shapes and sizes. But my experiences and the experiences of my many students have taught me that winning ideas -- ideas that are profitable, quick to license, and inexpensive to venture -- share specific traits. Namely, they pave a smooth path to success by clearing the most difficult barriers to bringing a product to market before an entrepreneur has invested significant amounts of time, energy and money into an idea.

If your idea doesn't have the following five ingredients, you may want to assess how much you're willing to put on the line to see it succeed.