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Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

ycombinator.com

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Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#81

Post by anewaccountname »

jacobbijani wrote: post #37
jamesjyu wrote: post #34

#30 is too meta. Will we eventually have startups that help startups make products for other startups that make products for other startups? It's just not scalable.

I disagree. It is meta, but not too meta. You're right, startups helping startups that help startups will fail. I think there are still enough startups for ONE round of meta. There's nothing that says it will go beyond that.

Since ycombinator would presumably fund companies with this idea, doesn't that make them a startup that helps startups that help startups?

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#82

Post by dood »

brentr wrote: post #63
dood wrote: post #46

I'm passionate about online learning. I like James Burke's knowledge web idea [ http://www.k-web.org/ ], but I'm not terribly optimistic about their approach/implementation. The idea is to make a network of knowledge which enables self-directed learning. Could incorporate tests/games, dependencies (to learn x, you need to learn y, or even complete a subgame), external references for further reading, and possibly a lo…

I think the open source textbook projects in the works might be something that could propel an idea like this forward. Personally, I find the lack of high quality videos about physics, mathematics, and computer science quite irritating. When I do manage to have some free time, I like to watch videos, such as those from Nova. Unfortunately, one can't find many free versions on the internet.

Just in case you hadn't seen it: http://videolectures.net/

Part of the problem is that such videos are hard to find, and not usefully aggregated anywhere (a problem I am indirectly trying to solve ;).

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#83

Post by akd »

pg wrote: post #67
swombat wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no such thing as an original idea. Every idea worth having has been had thousands of times already. There is such a thing as being the first to give a real physical (or commercial) form to an idea, though.

Every idea worth having has been had thousands of times already. Even if this were true (which seems extremely unlikely) someone had to think of it first. So there would have been a point when it was possible to have new ideas. How can you be sure the present is not such a point, when we know there were such points in the past?

Well an idea (such as a flying car) can differ so marginally from its ancestor idea that the two are almost impossible to distinguish. But while the idea can have several thousand iterations, it's usually measured externally only by its popular implementations, discretizing the process and making ideas like Google search seem "new."

Sort of like looking at each generation from chimpanzees to humans.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#85

Post by mixmax »

tx wrote: post #30

Weird. The problem we're tackling at Pikluk is exactly what #2 is about, yet we weren't even invited for an interview in 07 cycle. Something tells me we should have polished our application more.

My startup adresses several of the points in the article, and I didn't get invited to an interview either. Maybe it's the single founder issue? Or maybe my ideas just suck ;-)

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#87

Post by Spyckie »

pg wrote: post #65
Giorgi wrote: post #62

Search engine that concentrates on design? What that supposed to mean?

I don't know. I was just saying that if you want to beat Google, that's their weak spot. Or at least a big one. Most people who read that one will think "huh?" But if someone reads it and thinks "Damn, how did he hear about what we're working on?" that's someone we'd really love to hear from.

The way to approach the Google problem is to ask, when have I been dissatisfied with google search?

And you're right, there are very few weaknesses.

One of the startup approaches to the Google problem is to join forces with them instead of competing with them. Provide a page that wraps google search, but adds additional searchable items into the searchbar (search emails, todo lists, events, facebook, google all through one searchbar).

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#88

Post by Alex3917 »

mikesabat wrote: post #79
Alex3917 wrote: post #22

Some things I want: 1) A way to ensure that each person can only create one account on a website, without having to sacrifice anonymity. 2) A day planner that plans my day for me; based on my to-do list, what my friends are doing, and also what's going on in the local area. Also, populate the bulk of my to-do list automatically based on what my friends in the same classes are adding to theirs. Plan social dates for m…

@ #7 You mention classes so I guess you are on a campus. I am working on a project with a large colledge cafeteria mgt company. Where we are building specific diets (weight loss, strength building etc) from their daily menu and then letting students access the diet/menu selection in a number of cool ways //Hard to explain in a comment If you have ideas, my email is in my profile. Cheers/mike

Interesting concept. I actually interned briefly at CBORD a couple summers ago. One interesting thing I discovered was that small community colleges with cafeteria management systems took great pride in them. For example, several schools featured their systems on the school’s homepage. It's almost as if they believe that giving students a card to swipe to get into the dining halls is what makes one a real college. I don't really have any specific ideas, other than that you should play off the social status aspect at the lower end of the market. I know people selling software to colleges normally think first about the Ivies, but realize that your product is going to be one of the things that the smaller colleges get really excited about. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them actually started talking your product up on their campus tours.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#89

Post by cturner »

I'm working for (somebody else's) startup at the moment and happy with my positioning there, but I've got thoughts coming from a number of these.

> 1. A cure for the disease of which the RIAA is a symptom.

I built songseed.com with the intention of creating a community for artists (perhaps with careers in other fields) who care about the music and aren't hypnotised by the Big Lie that artists get the sign and then make lots of money (something that happens successfully very visibly when it happens but so rarely that it's an extreme statistical oddity).

I'm obviously sending the wrong message in the way that I promoted it, because I found artists to be not very receptive at all to the idea of them giving away their music. IP is a big thing to take on as well. It's basically protection of the educated elite at the expense of consumers in general, and musicians are therefore very likely to be part of the grouping that benefits from it. (this isn't the language I use when discussing it normally - the about page covers that)

Some feedback has focussed on the basic and not particularly pretty UI. My theory is that content is king, and that craigslist never needed fanciness, and I hate javascript where plainness will work.

Then I got stuck because I couldn't find a cofounder I was happy to work with who was interested in it and I'm not very effective when I have to work in isolation. I also found that the dayjob I'd been doing in the meantime had landed me in another spot I'm quite happy with (software messaging and foreign exchange banking - I'm interested in both fields) and so I've neglected songseed.

> 2. Simplified browsing

I've been working on something to do with this just today. I have a feeling that Apple are going to create a platform on the back of Safari, and we have the new MS and Adobe thin platforms coming through. I've been playing around an idea for a while of creating a browser interface but one that doesn't require HTML or Javascript or DOM use for writing applications. I'm getting closer to realising this. I'm currently chipping away at the idea of an interface that works and is quite nice in the browser, but where you can develop an equiv. rich client frontends for it.

> 7. Something your company needs that doesn't exist.

Yet another thing I'm working at. Basically all document production systems you get at the moment suck because they don't handle styles well, except Microsoft Word which sucks because it's so heavy (offers features that allow people to do damage). This is quite incredible given how core document production is to what we do with computers.

Anyway - long story short - I've recently made a release of what I've been working on there at songseed.org. Lot of work to do yet. I want to develop a locked down word frontend to the engine.

> 17. New payment methods

Two thoughts:

- some sort of system that allows you to buy bonds on one-off contracts happening in a liberal country like switerland which would allow you to engage in contracts your gvt wanted to restrict you from engaging in

- some sort of trading system that mixed FX with a whole bunch of wacky synthetics to allow you to easily take positions on things which are normally more complicated. This would be interesting. FX APIs are a developed field as well so there's lots of software liquidity that you could hook into to get started.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#90

Post by wave »

jamesjyu wrote: post #34

#30 is too meta. Will we eventually have startups that help startups make products for other startups that make products for other startups? It's just not scalable.

Sometimes you see posting on HN people saying they don't have a technical background but have a brilliant idea. You can create a company that creates prototype for startups. If you look at http://buglabs.net, they are giving you a tool to create your own product.
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