Ask YC: Can you learn an industry without working in it?

I think one of the best ways to break the barriers software developers/entrepreneurs face in understanding industries outside of the normal niches is to sit down with people in the industry and have a therapy session of sorts. Don't sell anything, but instead listen and learn carefully to what their concerns and problems are.

People in industrial fishing may not think that they have a need for new software, but there are undoubtedly needs and issues within the fishing industry that are completely opaque to those outside of it. And where there are pain points there are opportunities to innovate.

"Can you learn an industry without working in it"

Why would you want to?

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I write software to enable me to do other things, not just for the sake of writing software (although that's pretty cool, too).

I've worked in many different industries and the software needs are astounding. Between what you will witness and what people tell you, you will never lack for ideas or opportunities. I can't imagine sitting in some ivory tower (or cubicle farm) trying to come up with ideas and building solutions. I have to get out there and see what's happening.

Make no mistake about it, I do enjoy sitting and hacking, but only as a means to fulfill much greater ambitions. I can't wait to get out there and implement. For me, that's way more fun than writing the code.

If you wrote code and no one ever used it, would you still be happy? For me, that's a resounding "no". Probably because I've spent so much time in "industry" that I realize there's still so much more to do.

Ask a different question: Where can I find a place in an industry that would give me a better chance to blossom?

This is what business partners are for.

I've considered entering the medical billing industry on several occasions...because my sister owns a medical billing firm with several small to mid-sized clients in Atlanta (large clients have in-house billing departments). And the software in the field is atrocious and expensive. But I wouldn't consider it, if I didn't know just the right person to partner up with that would allow the software to be used immediately for real work with real clients.

Such a partnership doesn't need to be 50/50. You can certainly find someone who is experiencing pains in the industry you're interested in. Invite that person to dinner, bring a note pad, and figure out the smallest functional piece of their infrastructure you could replace that would solve a real problem better than existing tools. Once you've done that, get commitment from that person that when you build it they will use it (not buy it, just use it, for real).

From there, keep working to replace pieces of the existing solution with better ones, while marketing directly to the people who need what you're building. Every new customer will increase the word of mouth network effect within that particular industry, and when they love your first widget, you can then start campaigning for them to buy your second widget. Lather, rinse, repeat, until you've replaced every component in their existing system with a better product.

Another way in is to build ancillary tools that make aspects of the existing solution nicer. Think Lotus evolving from the charts plugin that Mitch Kapor wrote for Visicalc.

I think that not working in an industry often gives you a unique perspective that might as well make you more likely to spot a particular gap its regulars are taking for granted.

Of course you will need some insider knowledge, but oftentimes not all that much - a lot of industries develop similar approaches to solving similar or analogous problems, but with varying access to the underlying knowledge/skill needed to making it effective.

You will need to be a bit of an anthropologist and a good communicator to get the relevant information from people whose working days you plan to optimize/improve with software.

I'd say observation with an unspoiled eye can work wonders :).

Of course. I have a hobby that is also practiced professionally by a lot of businesses and I have been thinking recently of building a software package for the smaller providers since I have a lot of insight into what they need. Because it's also my hobby, I'd be eating my own dogfood and can see what works & what doesn't.