Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Bored with no ideas for next startup

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 98 posts

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#71

Post by [deleted] »

paul wrote: post #65
NSX2 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I mean just Google. Apple in my mind = present an OS GUI according to the needs of the human brain. A lot more than 6 people were/are/will be interested in that. Microsoft = make big business computer functions possible on the home computer (at least originally). Apparently more than 6 people were interested in that. Yahoo's proposition originally = the world wibe web is taking off exponentially and you need some…

Your understanding of Google is not at all accurate.

[deleted]

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#72

Post by NSX2 »

aquateen wrote: post #63
NSX2 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is sooo funny. Almost every week there's a "Ask YC" type of post where a business idea is seeking programming talent, and almost all the time the response is, "Why should I partner with you? What will you do for the startup while I code?" And here we have a "bored software developer" just soliciting free business ideas and the mere suggestion that he should offer something in return seems to be unpopular. Have y…

This is news.yc... have you read any of PG's thoughts on the value of ideas? Here's an idea for bored_dev: Apparently, some people have a bizarre habit of highlighting the text as they read. Write a script that checks whether a user reads the entire text of, say, an EULA, or maybe an essay...

Okay, let's review reality. This "bored developer" is apparently not PG. So PG's opinions/thoughts are not relevant here, since obviously this particular "bored developer" is straying from that view. For example, PG said you don't even really need a good idea - just get started. But this "bored developer" apparently can't start without the good idea, so he apparently is experiencing a different reality at the moment than PG.

Seriously what does my response to "bored developer" have to do whith what PG says/thinks/does/where he goes on vacation? If PG writes an essay that says he thinks oxygen is useless and somebody next to you has an asthma attack, are you going to turn around to them and tell them, "Well, didn't you read PG's latest essay where he tells you he thinks oxygen isn't that important?"

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#73

Post by NSX2 »

paul wrote: post #65
NSX2 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I mean just Google. Apple in my mind = present an OS GUI according to the needs of the human brain. A lot more than 6 people were/are/will be interested in that. Microsoft = make big business computer functions possible on the home computer (at least originally). Apparently more than 6 people were interested in that. Yahoo's proposition originally = the world wibe web is taking off exponentially and you need some…

Your understanding of Google is not at all accurate.

My understanding of Google may not be accurate, but my understanding of why people hand their money over to Google is probably as accurate as it is possible to be.

Misunderstandings of any details you have in mind aside, in general Google too fits into the general idea: before Google started thinking about how to channel its technology to meet the needs of people with money, it was an interesting startup, but not a great business. The second it took the needs of customers with money into account, then those people handed over their money and that made Google a great business.

My point is that in my mind there is a simple distinction that most startups seem to either accidentally or purposely ignore: startup = bunch of guys working on a cool technical thing / business = bunch of guys working on a thing that makes life better for paying customers.

Having not seen Benny Hill since childhood, I assumed that the reason people were starting startups were to transition to businesses which made life better for paying customers.

Apparently I was wrong. People here, for the most part, as well as just about every programmer I've run into over the last year or so trying to start my own thing, seem to be more interested in starting a startup so they could post "Hey guys, check out my cool thing" type of posts.

I don't know where I'm going wrong here, but unless somebody finds a way to transform positive feedback from Hacker News into cold hard cash, that's not a business. At least not IMHO.

But judging by the feedback I get on other posts, not too many people seem to care about starting a business, just starting "startups" where "startup" = somebody pays me money to sit around writing code and drinking Mountain Dew.

I can't see how that's different from a job where you happen to be working on a cool project.

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#74

Post by edw519 »

picnichouse wrote: post #10

Where do you live?

I was wondering the same thing. If he was near me, I could turn him on to about 8 years worth of code that needs to be done in the next 3 months.

13 hours later, he hasn't answered. Either he's not serious, he got hit by a bus, or your question got buried in the noise in this thread.

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#75

Post by edu »

NSX2 wrote: post #56
mixmax wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So why didn't Coffee Connection in Boston make millions selling frappucino? They are the ones that hold the trademark.

Actually, this illustrates my point perfectly. By a lot of accounts, Coffee Connection came out with a similar, but much better tasting ("better executed" as you put it) drink. But though their execution was better, they got bought out by Starbucks. Why? Boston is cold as hell in winter and not too hot the rest of the time. Nobody wants iced drinks when it's cold. Plus Boston is a small city. California, on the other…

  By a lot of accounts, Coffee Connection came out with a similar, but much better tasting ("better executed" as you put it) drink.
Sorry but no. In this context better executed does not mean better tasting. It means marketed in a more appropriate way.

If you re-read you own comment you will see why Starbucks get a better execution than Coffee Connection :)

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#76

Post by nostrademons »

aswanson wrote: post #40
NSX2 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AT&T is too broad and I don't know what you mean specifically, but from a common-sense business perpective, the problem Intel works on is "how to keep making smaller faster better processors" and I think again that's another idea that, technical though it may be, captures the interest of way more than 6 people.

Who was the market for the original telephone/telegraph, who was the market for the original transistor or microprocessor? Whose interest did those things capture initially outside of a small group of technical people? Were they built and people just lined up outside of Walmart to buy them?

Intel was originally in the business of making memory chips, which had a thriving market in minicomputers. They invented the microprocessor because, well, they could. It was the sort of geekish hack that virtually nobody appreciated at the time. They only got big into microprocessors because the Japanese ate the market for memory chips - it was either concentrate on microprocessors, or die.

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#77

Post by NSX2 »

edu wrote: post #75
NSX2 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, this illustrates my point perfectly. By a lot of accounts, Coffee Connection came out with a similar, but much better tasting ("better executed" as you put it) drink. But though their execution was better, they got bought out by Starbucks. Why? Boston is cold as hell in winter and not too hot the rest of the time. Nobody wants iced drinks when it's cold. Plus Boston is a small city. California, on the other…

By a lot of accounts, Coffee Connection came out with a similar, but much better tasting ("better executed" as you put it) drink. Sorry but no. In this context better executed does not mean better tasting . It means marketed in a more appropriate way. If you re-read you own comment you will see why Starbucks get a better execution than Coffee Connection :)

Nope. I think you're just redefining execution and idea to blur the line so that what is the result of a good idea is now under the category of execution.

Why the hell are people still arguing this point.

In my mind the argument of "execution" vs. "good idea" is like arguing whether food or water or air or sleep is more important.

You need all. Case closed.

I think as people who "execute" programmers tend to have (from what I've seen over a year) a knee-jerk "execution is everything" reaction out of some deep insecurity or something.

The very existence of this "I can't think of any good ideas" is testament to the notion that execution is not the be-all end-all.

If I can never find a programming partner, worse case scenario I can still use my contacts to raise capital and then hire programmers, though my negotiating leverage in raising capital would be a lot less than if I had a partner who can help put together the idea.

What is this programmer going to do without a good idea that people want and a good idea how to make money off of it?

Start programming randomly until he accidently codes a useful service people pay for?

"O----kay"

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#78

Post by NSX2 »

paul wrote: post #65
NSX2 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I mean just Google. Apple in my mind = present an OS GUI according to the needs of the human brain. A lot more than 6 people were/are/will be interested in that. Microsoft = make big business computer functions possible on the home computer (at least originally). Apparently more than 6 people were interested in that. Yahoo's proposition originally = the world wibe web is taking off exponentially and you need some…

Your understanding of Google is not at all accurate.

On another note, I just looked at your profile and read some of your articles. Why take issues with "my understanding of Google" when it turns out I'm making a similar point to what you wrote about in terms of being humble enough to put pride aside and find out what people actually want/need/will pay for rather assuming for them only to find out that nobody cares about the brilliant programming of an idea nobody but the programmer appreciates?

Isn't that what you yourself said in one of your posts on your blog, or am I misunderstanding your position?

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#79

Post by mixmax »

NSX2 wrote: post #77
edu wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By a lot of accounts, Coffee Connection came out with a similar, but much better tasting ("better executed" as you put it) drink. Sorry but no. In this context better executed does not mean better tasting . It means marketed in a more appropriate way. If you re-read you own comment you will see why Starbucks get a better execution than Coffee Connection :)

Nope. I think you're just redefining execution and idea to blur the line so that what is the result of a good idea is now under the category of execution. Why the hell are people still arguing this point. In my mind the argument of "execution" vs. "good idea" is like arguing whether food or water or air or sleep is more important. You need all. Case closed. I think as people who "execute" programmers tend to have (fr…

"Why the hell are people still arguing this point."

Because you obviously haven't got a clue what you are talking about, keep contradicting yourself, and don't know anything about neither ideas nor execution. At least not in real life.

I won't reply more to this conversation - it is a pain to write, and probably boring to read.

Re: Bored with no ideas for next startup

#80

Post by [deleted] »

mixmax wrote: post #79
NSX2 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. I think you're just redefining execution and idea to blur the line so that what is the result of a good idea is now under the category of execution. Why the hell are people still arguing this point. In my mind the argument of "execution" vs. "good idea" is like arguing whether food or water or air or sleep is more important. You need all. Case closed. I think as people who "execute" programmers tend to have (fr…

"Why the hell are people still arguing this point." Because you obviously haven't got a clue what you are talking about, keep contradicting yourself, and don't know anything about neither ideas nor execution. At least not in real life. I won't reply more to this conversation - it is a pain to write, and probably boring to read.

[deleted]
Post reply on HN