Ask HN: Anyone else feel the idea is more difficult than execution? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feel the idea is more difficult than execution?

#11

Post by ian0 » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 12:51 AM UTC

Execution doesn't just encompass building software, in fact coding is typically the easiest, most enjoyable, least critical part of early stage tech companies founded by people already in tech.

Ideas are trivial. Follow a person around for 24 hours looking at them doing their job and you will have a dozen. Read a bunch of business books and analyse an old vertical you'll have a dozen. Hell ask chatGPT and you'll have a million.

As others have pointed out, whats seemingly missing from your mix is talking to people. If you talk to be people, they will give you problems, then you go about trying to solve them. Along the way you will have ideas on how to do this, most will not work, some will. The way you mitigate the failure risk is by understanding your users, the market better.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feel the idea is more difficult than execution?

#12

Post by ian0 » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 1:27 AM UTC

VoodooJuJu wrote: post #9

Absolutely agree. I shake my head every time I see the "ideas are a dime a dozen" meme parroted on here. Good ideas are actually much rarer, harder to come by. I'll prove it. Go to any of the Ask HN "whats your side business" threads [1] and observe the many interesting responses. Here's a good one: [2]. Next, observe the follow-up questions, "What's your niche? How'd you get started? Wow, very interesting, curious a…

There are a billion and a half brain-farts out there that never got off the ground for each one that does. That is why they are a dime a dozen. You don't pay a million dollars for a single lottery ticket.

These guys know about coconut island because they were out on their boat looking for it. Thats the hard part and how you derisk ideas. Understanding your users and market, figuring out how to execute well through trial and error and graft. (And some luck)

Theres crickets are on the insights to their users, what they know about their market, true. This is why its hard to copycat innovative companies. They know their users and the practicalities of running their particular type of business better than others. The ideas in the linked threads are easy to understand, you could interview their users, read a FAQ to see how it works.

I know the "insights" & "ideas" may seem like the same thing, but they are not. Ideas are second order, once you have the insight, you try various ideas to hone in on something that works. Ideas are lovely - easy, simple to understand. Thats why people flock to them. Insights are usually hard earned. Thats why the meme is incredibly helpful - ie forget your divine inspiration get out there and pick up a shovel.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone else feel the idea is more difficult than execution?

#13

Post by gwnywg » Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 10:50 AM UTC

I, like you, love to build. And I always end up building for others since my ideas have no business potential.

Some ideas I was helping to build were not ideas I would personally call as worth to be built, and yet they ended up to be profitable due to good marketing and sales. I guess my corridor is too short so I have no idea what really good idea looks like...