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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

#191

Post by Tichy »

foompy_katt wrote: post #174

8. Dating. Current dating sites are not the last word. Better ones will appear. This problem falls under the classification of "critical mass" problems. I think any solution that works for one of these types of problems, is likely to work for the others. "Critical mass" is when the problem is not in coming up with a good alternative, the problem is that having a critical mass of users for your solution is going to be…

Is the critical mass really a problem for dating sites? In Germany, the big dating sites simply spend a lot of money on advertising, which seems to work well enough. Also, I would expect that people frequently switch dating sites, so new sites should have relatively good odds of attracting new members.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#192

Post by foompy_katt »

ig1 wrote: post #190
foompy_katt wrote: post #172

5. Enterprise software 2.0. This might be partially solved by my commercial idea for #17. But, that idea breaks down for things which are only rarely sold. And it would be very difficult to apply to corporate buyers, who have varied and changing needs and behaviors. This is where the government could take the lead. The govt. could declare all patents and copyrights, or just certain classes of them, to be public domai…

nationalizing all of the media doesn't sound communist, it sounds like dictatorial fascism.

The government would not have any role in producing or censoring media. Just paying for it, according to what is listened to the most, seen, read, etc. This would actually result in a flowering of original media; successful artists could get paid without having to rely on big businesses to distribute their work, and people would be free to remix music, re-edit video and text, etc.

And in a sense there would be no "censorship of the wallet"- when anyone can read science papers, books, etc., there's a lot more intellectual freedom.

Hopefully I've allayed your concerns, at least in theory. The government has a hand in almost every walk of life, and not all of it takes a fascistic turn. The Founding Fathers even used government to make patents and copyrights possible :).

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#193

Post by foompy_katt »

Tichy wrote: post #191
foompy_katt wrote: post #174

8. Dating. Current dating sites are not the last word. Better ones will appear. This problem falls under the classification of "critical mass" problems. I think any solution that works for one of these types of problems, is likely to work for the others. "Critical mass" is when the problem is not in coming up with a good alternative, the problem is that having a critical mass of users for your solution is going to be…

Is the critical mass really a problem for dating sites? In Germany, the big dating sites simply spend a lot of money on advertising, which seems to work well enough. Also, I would expect that people frequently switch dating sites, so new sites should have relatively good odds of attracting new members.

I was just going off of what Graham wrote- "But no one wants to use a dating site with only 20 users—which of course becomes a self-perpetuating problem. So if you want to do a dating startup, don't focus on the novel take on dating that you're going to offer. That's the easy half. Focus on novel ways to get around the chicken and egg problem."

Since I have no specific familiarity with dating sites, all I could suggest was a vague, general approach. Of course a big dating site might have a lot of money to advertise, but a small one probably can't afford it. But that's obviously one possible way to get some users.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#195

Post by danielsp »

foompy_katt wrote: post #174

8. Dating. Current dating sites are not the last word. Better ones will appear. This problem falls under the classification of "critical mass" problems. I think any solution that works for one of these types of problems, is likely to work for the others. "Critical mass" is when the problem is not in coming up with a good alternative, the problem is that having a critical mass of users for your solution is going to be…

I don't think dating sites and "critical mass" are bound together forever. Change the game with a new approach. Dating sites are walled-off surroundings. That has to change.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#196

Post by dood »

ambition wrote: post #149
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…

A large and frequently overlooked part of what good teachers do: motivating . In my opinion, it's the true hard problem in online learning.

This is a big part of why I like the idea of an interconnected web of knowledge - as opposed to the silos most students are forced into today.

As long as the learner is interested in one small area of knowledge, they can easily follow links to related areas they didn't know they cared about. Because the system shows how knowledge interrelates, motivation in one area can spread naturally around the system. This way, learners work with their interests, instead of being forced to think about things they don't know why they should care about.

Maths is a great example. A lot of kids dislike maths because it seems boring and irrelevent to them. But since maths underpins so much of knowledge, many learners would find themselves needing to understand a mathematical concept to advance in their primary interests - and because they can then see the benefit of learning maths they become self-motivated, and perhaps even gain an appreciation for maths in its own right.

So much of education today goes against the individual's grain - relying on a factory-mentality, where each child/product must move along a variety of production lines in a pre-ordained manner. With a system like the one I imagine, the learning process works with the learner's natural motivations, rather than against it.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#197

Post by Herring »

henning wrote: post #75

Most of these seem really hard to do. I'd rather make a small little application that tries to do something far less ambitious than decapitate Microsoft or Ebay.

About half of them are hilarious. "Solve the chicken and egg problem". He should have added "solve the teenage angst problem". You don't solve it - you endure it.

Ah youth. I wish I had known about YC when I was more idealistic.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#198

Post by Mystalic »

This is one of the most intense links and discussions I've ever seen on HN/YC. I'm going to have to take an hour at least to sift through 185+ comments because I've already seen several valuable insights. Just incredible response.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#199

Post by cbrinker »

At the root of many issues I think is interface design. I'm not just talking about software, I'm talking about hardware. Computers really haven't changed how we interact with them for a good, what, 30 years? Is the mouse and keyboard really the best ways to interact with a computing system? Why don't we have integrated HUDs in our glasses, all of our new cars (granted some like BMW have them optionally on expensive models), or even on clothes and/or accessories we wear?

It would seem to me first that maybe we should rethink human-computer interaction in the first place.

Re: Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund

#200

Post by yummyfajitas »

foompy_katt wrote: post #192
ig1 wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nationalizing all of the media doesn't sound communist, it sounds like dictatorial fascism.

The government would not have any role in producing or censoring media. Just paying for it, according to what is listened to the most, seen, read, etc. This would actually result in a flowering of original media; successful artists could get paid without having to rely on big businesses to distribute their work, and people would be free to remix music, re-edit video and text, etc. And in a sense there would be no "ce…

Um, to determine what is listened to the most, don't they need to track the listening habits of every American?

Ignoring that, do you really want guys like Al Gore (want to censor Prince), Hillary Clinton (wants to censor GTA) or John McCain (wants to censor the Sopranos) having the ability to stop payments to artists they don't like?

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