Are you thinking about your next step and exploring startup visa business ideas? Every successful venture starts off with an idea. Thus, the right business idea is the seed of future success. 

In this article, I want to help you get started with exploring startup visa business ideas. This article is essentially a “how to” guide for aspiring migrant founders. 

Brief intro about me: I moved to the UK when I was 17 on a student visa. Following the completion of my master’s degree at Newcastle University, I founded my own startup. 

My venture, StudyFlats, simplifies renting for students going abroad. It was built upon my own experience of being an international student in the UK. I scaled this business to over 30 UK cities and also obtained Settlement in the UK via the former Entrepreneur Visa scheme. 

Therefore, I’ve been there! And in this guide, I will hopefully make your life easier as a founder. Believe it or not, exploring startup ideas mainly requires common sense. Some of the largest companies in the world such as Uber are built on relatively simple concepts.

Here are the steps you should take to come up with startup visa business ideas:

Find a personal “pain” point

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What’s something that bothers me? (this can be in any aspect of your life)
• What can be done to make it better?
• Why hasn’t that solution been already offered?

Starting off with things that are personally inconvenient in your life is a great first step in exploring startup visa business ideas.

What are you personally skilled at? What is your passion?

Do you possess a specific skill set or competence in a specialist area? Moreover, this could also be a particular life experience (e.g. going abroad).

As a matter of principle, it’s essential for a founder to know the associated industry of their prospective venture. Therefore, an area in which you are already competent is a great starting point. 

For example: as an international student, I realised that there were no accommodation websites for overseas students. My proposed solution was a website that targeted international students before they moved to the UK.  

The key point here is that I knew my industry / international students because I was one myself. 

Startup visa business ideas relevant to the host market

Finally, another important point to keep in mind is how relevant and applicable your idea is to the target destination. 

In this step, ask yourself these questions:

• Does this idea solve a problem or offer a new solution that is relevant to this market?
• What are the barriers to implementing the idea? Barriers could be cultural, legal and so on. 

Hopefully, these tips will help you in your discovery of startup visa business ideas and ultimately pursue the right one.

Need help? Get in touch with me today or click here to find out more about my Startup and Innovator visa business consultancy. 

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About My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international student (graduate), I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business, StudyFlats.I did so by obtaining an endorsement from Newcastle University under the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Scheme (similar to the current Start-Up Visa). Subsequently, I obtained a further 3-year Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa (which was replaced by the Innovator Visa). I grew my business to over 30 UK cities, and a team of four, and also obtained my Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) in the UK. I now help other migrant entrepreneurs, such as myself, with their businesses, and mainly with obtaining endorsements from the endorsing bodies.