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Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

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Re: Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

#31

Post by TheMakeA »

dvt wrote: post #28
lquist wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure that your example proves that YC is no longer interested in RFS #5. I think RFS# 5 covers companies that could be huge, but I'm not convinced that I would ever want to code on a tablet.

RFS #5 has nothing to do with the essay linked. See http://ycombinator.com/rfs.html for all the "Request for Startups" bullet points. Personally, I think it's a dumb RFS to begin with. From a professional standpoint, I couldn't handle developing on anything else but two 24+ inch monitors (if not three) and a mechanical keyboard. Not that I couldn't do it on a laptop or tablet, it just makes me about 300x more product…

There would definitely be some pains going from huge monitors to a small tablet. The bigger side of our plan was that it wouldn't just be possible to develop from a tablet, but really, from anywhere. Develop iPhone apps on your Windows box, or Chromebook, for example.

I think that in the future it might be possible that developing on a tablet might just mean hooking your tablet or other sub $300 device up to two 24+ inch monitors. Think developing iPhone apps from a $25 Raspberry Pi, thanks to the cloud :-)

Re: Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

#32

Post by dvt »

I think some people tend to take pg's startup ideas too seriously. I mean, I've heard talks by him in which he explicitly says not to take these too seriously. They are examples and only examples. So right now, for example, it's pretty obvious security is a big thing. It doesn't (shouldn't?) take pg to tell you that. All you have to do is read the news.

Find a big problem (it just happens that dating is one) and fix it. Don't plan on getting in YC (or any other incubator) or being successful simply because you picked something off one of pg's lists. I'd say the most important qualities of an entrepreneur is to be in tune with these problems without getting any sort of external guidance. It's not a good thing when someone comes on HN and posts a post-mortem about their YC experience beginning by citing an RFS or one of pg's "idea" essays. Personally, I think that some RFSs from 2009 (http://ycombinator.com/rfs.html) are downright silly -- 5 and 3 in particular. Moral of the story: find something you're passionate about -- a problem, a niche, etc. -- and build something to fix it. If it happens to fit into one of the RFSs or pg's ideas, oh well, good for you I guess.

Re: Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

#33

Post by Charos »

stephengillie wrote: post #27
TaylorAlexander wrote: post #6

I thought I had read in one of those that PG really wants to replace banks and credit cards. Or maybe it was someone else. Either way, that's one of the things I'd love to get into as far as "big picture" stuff (along with a cloud-based "space station" on venus, but the bank thing might be slightly less difficult). I'd completely revamp the entire purchase process, as much as legally possible (and realistically doing…

Maybe Mint should scrape Amazon and other retailers in addition to bank websites? Would you trust Mint to keep your Amazon password in addition to your bank's? (Maybe Mint should pivot slightly to include password database management? :p ) Right now, our system is pretty much how you describe it, where the financial institution only gets the basic information of who and how much. And if you want more detail, the reta…

Mint is now owned by Intuit. Are the original founders still with the project? If not, I'd be surprised to see them take such a precient direction.

Re: Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

#35

Post by Havoc »

lquist wrote: post #17
TheMakeA wrote: post #12

From personal experience, it seems like YC may no longer have an interest in funding RFS #5. Our entire interview was spent trying to explain why someone would possibly want to code on a handheld. Full disclosure: Our demo and Altair BASIC was a way to develop native iPhone apps in the cloud, from a tablet or other device. We wanted to expand to Android apps, and eventually be a general cloud compile/debug/run servic…

Not sure that your example proves that YC is no longer interested in RFS #5. I think RFS# 5 covers companies that could be huge, but I'm not convinced that I would ever want to code on a tablet.

>I'm not convinced that I would ever want to code on a tablet.

Well when I type on a on a 10 inch tab - two thoughts cross my head A) This is not working B) This could work given a bit more size and refinement.

So I would not discount tablets as dev devices. Perhaps not as a hardcore workstation, but as a starbucks dev station sure - soon.

Re: Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

#36

Post by awwstn »

dvt wrote: post #32

I think some people tend to take pg's startup ideas too seriously. I mean, I've heard talks by him in which he explicitly says not to take these too seriously. They are examples and only examples. So right now, for example, it's pretty obvious security is a big thing. It doesn't (shouldn't?) take pg to tell you that. All you have to do is read the news. Find a big problem (it just happens that dating is one) and fix…

I totally agree with most of this. I'm actually not really looking to start a company or apply to YC in the near future, so I mostly posted this because I found it interesting how spot on he was 5 years ago and I'm curious what his more recent thoughts are on this. Also, I'd like to know if my own predictions and thoughts are aligned with those of the guy who's gotten it right so many times before.

Trust me, I wasn't planning to request a list of startup ideas from him so that I could pick one of them out of a hat and apply to YC with it. :-)

Re: Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

#37

Post by _delirium »

roc wrote: post #30
taylorbuley wrote: post #5

News will morph significantly in the more competitive environment of the web. So called "blogs" (because the old media call everything published online a "blog") like PerezHilton and TechCrunch are one sign of the future. News sites like Reddit and Digg are another. But these are just the beginning. I'll make the bold claim that we haven't yet seen this "morph" in media. The blog concept is now staid yet Buzzfeed is…

The morph happened, but it's got nothing to do with media format . It has to do with source and accuracy. The big change is that we don't get our science from OMNI, our glimpses of new cars from popular mechanics or our poll forecasting from CNN. We get specific stories from subject matter experts who can communicate without oversimplifying into nonsense and who have a true need to deliver truth above advertising or…

I haven't seen the last part. Many popular blogs are delivering nonsense and not being sidelined. The blog-news industry is full of poorly researched speculation sourced mainly from Twitter and Wikipedia (not always with attribution), reblogged images from Reddit, sensationalized summaries of university press releases, top-10 lists, etc., etc.

Re: Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

#38

Post by mindcrime »

In light of a couple of recent stories on HN, including the one on the passing of Doug Engelbart, I'll offer this up as a source of ideas for startups:

Everthing old is new again... and some ideas that seem old haven't actually been completed yet. Other ideas seem to fail, but only because they are "before their time".

With that in mind, I'd suggest going back and reading the writings of people like Doug Enbelbart, Ted Nelson and other computing pioneers (and not just computing pioneers, really, but any great thinkers. How about Nicola Tesla, for example?) and look for places where they proposed amazing things years or decades ago, that still don't exist, or don't exist as fully as they could. On that same basic note, go back in time and re-read some old issues of Infoworld, Computer World, Information Week, Business 2.0, Red Herring, Fast Company or Wired from the late 90's or early 2000's and mine for "before their time" ideas that might be ripe for a second shot.

Hanging around hackerspaces is also a great way to gain exposure to a constant stream of interesting ideas and approaches.

Re: Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

#39

Post by thufry »

scott_s wrote: post #10
kamakazizuru wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it probably always will be - so long as the man / woman imbalance with dating doesnt even out!

I'm not sure what imbalance, exactly, that you mean, but I don't see anything of the sort as the reason that online dating isn't going anywhere. The fundamental problem I see is that meeting new people is hard. Particularly after school, with a full-time job, if you recently moved to where you live, and if you don't live in a city (being close helps, but it's not the same).

On what basis are you saying that "online dating isn't going anywhere?" One could call Facebook the most successful online dating site, one-third of married couples last year met online, and couples who meet online are less likely to divorce. That sounds pretty impressive to me!

Re: Ask PG: Will you post an update to "Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund"?

#40

Post by obviouslygreen »

mindcrime wrote: post #38

In light of a couple of recent stories on HN, including the one on the passing of Doug Engelbart, I'll offer this up as a source of ideas for startups: Everthing old is new again... and some ideas that seem old haven't actually been completed yet. Other ideas seem to fail, but only because they are "before their time". With that in mind, I'd suggest going back and reading the writings of people like Doug Enbelbart, T…

Excellent points, particularly with respect to looking outside of hackerdom.
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