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Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

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Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#11

Post by aworkerbee »

theonething wrote: post #4

Sorry, I don't have any advice for you. I'm just curious about your work situation. Being the solo dev at a small company sounds interesting. What has your experience been like? And if you don't mind sharing, how did you find your job?

Sure, I connected with a woman on a job board at the beginning of last year, made an MVP for her, then transitioned to a full-time job after that. My experience has been good overall, my experience freelancing was stressful which was why I stopped. I get paid low by HN standards (low 100,xxx) but I'm not micromanaged, can make tech decisions, I didn't have to pass a coding test (which I could never do anyways!).

Downside is that I'm the only tech person, there's no one to bounce ideas back and forth with.

Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#12

Post by [deleted] »

aworkerbee wrote: post #10
webmaven wrote: post #5

> The business I work for isn't revolutionary or anything, but the owners have decades of experience in it so they know the market. THAT'S how. Or at least, that is one of the more reliable ways. Of course, a plan that starts out "First, spend a couple of decades learning everything about a particular niche market... " isn't, by definition, a recipe for overnight success. Nevertheless, you will have to become some so…

Thank you the thoughtful reply. I think "starting with the solution", or the end might be my problem. Not in terms of technology, but I think: how can I make the most money with the littlest effort, with the best chance of success, in order to provide a secure existence for myself, my parents. "I want to solve $PROBLEM" isn't a root desire for me, I just want to make money. You've given me some things to think about!

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#13

Post by salmonlogs »

aworkerbee wrote: post #10
webmaven wrote: post #5

> The business I work for isn't revolutionary or anything, but the owners have decades of experience in it so they know the market. THAT'S how. Or at least, that is one of the more reliable ways. Of course, a plan that starts out "First, spend a couple of decades learning everything about a particular niche market... " isn't, by definition, a recipe for overnight success. Nevertheless, you will have to become some so…

Thank you the thoughtful reply. I think "starting with the solution", or the end might be my problem. Not in terms of technology, but I think: how can I make the most money with the littlest effort, with the best chance of success, in order to provide a secure existence for myself, my parents. "I want to solve $PROBLEM" isn't a root desire for me, I just want to make money. You've given me some things to think about!

Making money is the outcome when you build and sell something of value to others. If you don’t find a problem to solve or a way to deliver value to others they won’t be willing to pay you enough to generate a profit.

As per the comment above you should not underestimate the value gained from experience. Having a deep understanding of a domain or market gives you the ability to see a problem, build a solution then clearly position and articulate why your solution is valuable.

If you purely focus on trying to make money for yourself you are really going to struggle to generate any significant money. You might be able to find a niche here or there but without understanding your customers and users you are unlikely to retain them or grow your user base.

Just my perspective!

Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#14

Post by hertzrat »

Don’t. If you just spend your years learning and trying things, you will naturally find something that doesn’t exist that you need to exist. If some time goes by and you still can’t stop thinking about it, and it still doesn’t exist, that’s your idea. If the idea doesn’t stick and doesn’t keep pulling at you, it’s not the right one. If you force it, you’ll come up with a hundred ideas you don’t care enough about. If you don’t care enough about the idea, you won’t be able to spend years pursuing it

Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#15

Post by mech422 »

throwaway81523 wrote: post #9

Something is perplexing about the request. Most of us have far more ideas than we can execute on. Basically though, if you're at a company in a particular market, identify the pain points that potential customers in that market have, then figure out how to fix them.

>>Most of us have far more ideas than we can execute on

Hmm - not sure about the 'most of us' bit...

Coming up with a viable business idea is a lot harder then coding it for me.

Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#16

Post by ben-gy »

The question itself is flawed - would recommend rewriting (and adjusting your mindset for this to) “Finding a problem of your own....” - this mindset change should (hopefully) set you on a path of solving problems you experience daily, weekly, or monthly - IMHO solutions you build from this POV will be much more personally rewarding and open up entrepreneurial pathways should you want to follow that route.

Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#17

Post by ben-gy »

ojciecczas wrote: post #3

Find an entrepreneur and ask him how a software can solve his problem. Filter out the problems that are not so relevant to him, that he's going to pay for a solution. Repeat this process as much as you can and try to find your niche. And go for it.

Or her...

Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#18

Post by sdevonoes »

> So my question is, how the hell do you come up with an idea of your own that you can sell?

If you can't come up with original ideas, copy existing ones and make them better. Get some experience with that and eventually you'll come up with something original.

I think you are in the right path; making rich others doesn't make much sense.

Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#19

Post by akg_67 »

> ... but the owners have decades of experience in it so they know the market.

This statement is the key of finding idea. Pick a market, Immerse yourself in the market, consume everything about the market, talk to everyone in the market, analyze everyone in the market ...

Re: Ask HN: Finding an idea of your own to work on as a programmer

#20

Post by knandraina »

I have been in the same situation for a long time. And I joined a new company and I found out a big problem I need to deal every week/week. While I've tried to solve it by myself my team is also impacted. The whole company is impacted by it. Then I've done user research to users outside of my company and then I started to build a little product by myself. I'm at the beginning of journey but it is really exciting.

I'm sure there are problems you need to handle every day or week but maybe there are not important enough, or you have already found a solution/hack to solve this issue.

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