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Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

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Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#41

Post by ipnon »

I’ve always followed Paul Graham’s advice: “live in the future, then build what’s missing.” If you’re really good at a few different things, and smart enough to learn how to do everything else, then usually the optimal startup idea is somewhere in the middle of that space. For me I’m a good programmer and I love learning languages, so I started building tools that I always wanted but no one else was selling. Once I got a prototype and some users to get feedback from, everything began to slowly snowball from there.

What’s important to clarify is that I’m not building exactly what I had in mind when I first dreamt all this up long ago, but my first idea would never have worked anyway. The best thing I ever did was just launch, because your users (or lack thereof) will quickly prove which ideas are good and which are not. So my advice is just pick the best idea you have right now. Or if you don’t have any idea just solve a problem you or your friends have. Then launch as soon as you can and pivot, pivot, pivot. It’s always going to be an iterative process.

Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#42

Post by ssijak »

I am always surprised that people don't actually have 10+ ideas itching them to do them at any point in time.

Like, just walk around your day without headphones on a no-stress day, and ideas just pour in from the ether. Not to mention if you have a pain point somewhere in your work or elsewhere.

Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#43

Post by hgomersall »

ericmcer wrote: post #23
brotchie wrote: post #14

One sample point of one person's experience: Product's built based on brainstorming: NEVER worked. Product built around solution to actual problems I've experienced: Always worked, BUT may not have a large enough TAM. The best way to actually find problems to solve is to replicate something else (as a learning process to actually find the real product you need to build), or talk to people who have problems: e.g. Try…

That does seem like the best way to go about it, but I have family who are doctors and they frequently talk about how tired they are of tech guys who read "The Mom Test" who now skulk around asking probing questions about pain points in a doctors daily work. It just seems like any time there is a repeatable process for doing something, people will latch onto it and then do it until it is totally exhausted. Tech Entre…

Tbf, medical software is a whole world unto itself. They do actually need serious solutions to their innumerable software problems, but it's really really hard to deliver those solutions for a whole host of reasons, from legislative to monopolies.

Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#44

Post by outworlder »

mherrmann wrote: post #30
rglover wrote: post #25

Just fill needs that you have. Don't like how something existing works? Fix it. Think you can offer a better version of an existing idea? Go for it. Also: ideas are far less important than execution [1]. That's why it's best to work on problems you actually care about. If you don't, you'll end up cutting corners or burning out well in advance of success. [1] https://sive.rs/multiply

I agree with the first half, but strongly disagree with the second half of what you wrote. Ideas matter immensely. If you work on the wrong thing, perfect execution is not going to get you anywhere. If you work on the right thing, then even with mediocre execution will bring you at least some success.

I like to say that ideas are a multiplier.

The best idea in the world without execution: worth zero.

A very simple idea (say, a hamburguer stand) but executed well is worth a lot.

Then you have everything in between.

Like you say, even a mediocre execution on a great idea can be worth something - which is often the case of business software. You do run the risk of a competitor out-executing you, and the risk is greater the worse the execution was.

Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#45

Post by michaelteter »

I have so many ideas. I’m finally building one, and close to ready to seek investment.

All of my ideas are things I need that weren’t available or were missing critical features.

I personally think it’s high risk to attempt to build something for others that you don’t personally need. You’re going to make a lot of assumptions and probably be wrong. It may cost you a lot of time and money.

I can imagine so many people sitting around trying to think of AI related things to build, since that is the insane trend right now. This approach, IMO, is not the right one.

Even building something that already exists - but making it cheaper or more reliable (improving the status quo) is enough.

Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#46

Post by michaelteter »

fm2606 wrote: post #39
mamcx wrote: post #31

> but everything I create or try to do seems like there are already dozens of other solutions doing the same thing The major lesson I have after +20 years doing this: WHO CARES. This concern is valid for a huge company or anybody that wanna get like 70% of the whole market. For solo/small teams? Think of yourself as a street cart vendor that sells hamburgers, and is located on the front of mac donalds. They still sel…

> For solo/small teams? Think of yourself as a street cart vendor that sells hamburgers, and is located on the front of mac donalds. What a great analogy! I always thought of how many lawyer offices there are, from single lawyer to multiple lawyers, but I like your take on it much better.

I like the dry cleaner example. How many dry cleaners are there? Do you go to the best one, or do you go to the one you know exists and is convenient.

Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#47

Post by mlboss »

I like the Brian Armstrong quote that execution produces information.

Releasing something...anything is the first step. First ideas are dumb anyways but it opens up the door to the next iteration of the app.

Also there is a reason that lot of competitors are in a market. There is money to be made. When lot of competitors just niche down. Reduce focus to one segment of the market.

Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#48

Post by Lyngbakr »

rglover wrote: post #25

Just fill needs that you have. Don't like how something existing works? Fix it. Think you can offer a better version of an existing idea? Go for it. Also: ideas are far less important than execution [1]. That's why it's best to work on problems you actually care about. If you don't, you'll end up cutting corners or burning out well in advance of success. [1] https://sive.rs/multiply

    > Just fill needs that you have. Don't like how something existing works? Fix it. Think you can offer a better version of an existing idea? Go for it.
While I don't disagree with this point, what it often leads to is developers creating developer tools, which is a crowded and competitive area.

There are fields out there that are crying out for tech solutions because they are lumbering dinosaurs that haven't changed with the times. One example is the maritime industry. It's amazing how much is still done with pen and paper on a ship. True, there is often a reluctance to adopt new tech, but the younger cohort of mariners are far more eager and receptive to tech solutions than the previous generation.

My suggestion is to look for those industries and talk to folks in those fields about their pain points. The bar may be so low that you could step over it.

Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#49

Post by octopoc »

yu3zhou4 wrote: post #33

I have another problem: ideas are cheap, coding is relatively easy, but talking to customers, marketing and sales in general are difficult as hell. Tried to find a sales co-founder on yc matching but gave up after two unsuccessful early stage startups. Did any of you have a similar problem? How did you solve it and become successful solopreneur?

I'm in the same boat and I'm definitely not successful yet. Here are some HN discussions that I found helpful. If anybody else has input, I'm all ears.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41180492

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18905234

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39076700

[4] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41693844

Re: Ask HN: Solopreneurs, how did you come up with your idea?

#50

Post by nikisweeting »

I took a side project that I built for my own needs (ArchiveBox) and just built it up as an open source project until it was useful to other people too.

At first it seemed like a trivial tool that was just a thin wrapper around wget, so I didn't think anyone else would want to use it, but as I started adding features traction grew and random contributors came out of the woodwork and started helping.

Monetized through consulting, and the consulting money is paying enough to scale the buiness a bit. Next step is releasing a "Pro" version as a SaaS with some fo the features that I cant open source anyway (e.g. CAPTCHA-solving, bot-detection avoidance, etc.).

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