Khalil Fuller knows a thing or two about how to take a small idea and turn it into a big reality. As a math tutor in his native Los Angeles, he found that working basketball stats into his lessons helped keep his students engaged. “Instead of starting math equations with, ‘Sally went to the store,’ I would say, ‘Kobe Bryant took X number of shots,’” he recalls. After switching coasts and enrolling at Brown University, he turned that simple concept into a big idea: NBA Math Hoops, a game in which students compete head-to-head in timed, simulated basketball games by solving math problems based on real world NBA statistics. The game now has an official NBA license, is produced by Hasbro and being piloted in 350 schools across the country. Along the way he won $50,000 from Mass-Challenge, a startup accelerator, and at 19 was named one of the youngest ever Black Male Achievement Fellows by Echoing Green, an organization that supports social entrepreneurship. We asked him for some advice on translating ideas into action.
• The most important step you can take when you have a “great” idea is to figure out if other people think it’s a great idea, and find your first customer. If no one is interested, ask them why: is it just a dud of an idea or does it need tweaking? Learning about the customer and being able to figure out and then clearly articulate your value proposition is the most important first step.
• The most important thing is to have something that is actually beneficial, and then talk to the right person who actually needs that. If you have those two things, it should be simple, and if you don’t, don’t try to force it.
Hear Khalil Fuller speak on May 11 at TEDx Providence.
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