Start with a Problem, Not an Idea • Hacker News Board

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#21

Post by dinkumthinkum » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 11:32 AM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #14

tomjen wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People often come up with water as an example, but it fails on many levels: In many cities the "native" water is full of chlorine If you travel to a foreign country, you may not be able to drink the native water at all If you are not at home, getting water may not be possible unless you by it in bottles. Bottles enable you to carry around water, which is useful for car trips, etc.

On the contrary, if smart people can be convinced to ignore the practically inexhaustible and freely available supply of water in every building in most first world countries, then I think the de-commoditization of water was an astounding success. (I mention this because it is intellectually interesting to me, not because I hold contempt in my heart for people who buy bottled water, by the way.) Incidentally: HN does…

I think this falls flat as well. Many people have tap water at home that is a) hard and/or b) doesn't taste very good. You can tell the difference.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#22

Post by vidarh » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 11:55 AM UTC

s3graham wrote: post #5

This is part of the perverse reason I can't get behind the advice to start a startup immediately after university. Suffering at a large company for a while isn't self-flagellation, it hands you hundreds of things needing solutions.

True. On the other hand the longer you wait the more likely you are of having established a high cost of living for yourself and other limiting factors.

Example: I have a mortgage, a wife who is studying and a 6 week old baby.

Today I need to bring in at least 2500 GBP after tax per month for us to break even or set aside sufficient savings first to make up for the shortfall; when I started my first company I had no dependents, no commitments of any kind, shared a flat with my co-founders that we rented for about 1000 GBP/month, and beyond that we paid ourselves 600GBP/month each. There were four of us, so in effect we were each living on 850 GBP/month after tax while getting things off the ground.

In other words the threshold for me to start a company now is much higher than it was, and that is excluding the "luxuries" that drives the income I expect to have even higher. Then I could jump at anything exciting; now I won't consider something unless I think it has a reasonable shot at making me a solid salary and with a shot at making it big.

Doesn't mean I'm not still working on various ideas, but it takes more before I can afford to take the risk of going it full time and I need to choose more carefully.

If you have a good idea, right after (or before - I quit after a year, but since went back and got a degree) university is a good time to throw yourself into it. You're likely used to living on little money.

If you make it big, it doesn't matter, and if you don't you get plenty of chances to have a go at the grind of a larger company later while contemplating your next move.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#23

Post by eterno » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 12:08 PM UTC

Couldnt DISAGREE more. The advice is extremely banal bordering on common sense but most importantly discounts the fact that a lot of startups are built not to solve any existing problem but perhaps to just better an existing solution.

The semantics are crucial here, because solving a problem almost implies that it is something a customer 'understands' to be a problem and not just satisfed with the status quo - that is true for almost everything - give me a better house, car, laptop, email, search etc. etc. anyday and if its really good enough I will switch.

The biggest startups were not found by scratching an 'itch' but through founders idiosyncratic views of the status quo and how they belived (without an MBA, without a customer survey and without figuring out if it was really an 'itch') on what was a better way, and for a long time without any external validation.

Selling books online - how does that even make sense, the internet was supposed to get rid of books but Amazon found a way. The iPod - if no one even knew something like this can be built, how can it possibly be a part of their 'itch'. Twitter - I bet there was no itch here too.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#24

Post by wlievens » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 12:27 PM UTC

axod wrote: post #18

wlievens wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Excellent example is the "Mexican Cola" story: coke with real sugar that costs way more than coke with corn syrup. Or iPods, really.

I don't see why this is a good example. Coke with corn syrup is far cheaper to produce, but tastes really bad. Coke with real sugar costs more to produce, and tastes better. Care to enlighten?

The article I read about it gave me the impression that the difference in taste was very minor. I rarely drink Coke and I've never tasted both in comparison, so I could very well be wrong. Forgive me my ignorance.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#25

Post by maurycy » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 12:38 PM UTC

What is the problem behind Twitter, by the way?

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#26

Post by iends » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 12:56 PM UTC

eterno wrote: post #23

Couldnt DISAGREE more. The advice is extremely banal bordering on common sense but most importantly discounts the fact that a lot of startups are built not to solve any existing problem but perhaps to just better an existing solution. The semantics are crucial here, because solving a problem almost implies that it is something a customer 'understands' to be a problem and not just satisfed with the status quo - that i…

Your last little blurb is off the mark: Mp3 players existed long before the iPod, but they had poor usability and no centralized store to legally purchase music. Bookstores existed long before amazon, but their inventory was limited. Blogging existed long before twitter, but it was a bit overkill to use existing solutions for micro-blogging.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#27

Post by ruibal » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 1:15 PM UTC

http://paulgraham.com/ideas.html. Similar, no?

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#28

Post by edw519 » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 1:22 PM UTC

drawkbox wrote: post #17

s3graham wrote: post #5

This is part of the perverse reason I can't get behind the advice to start a startup immediately after university. Suffering at a large company for a while isn't self-flagellation, it hands you hundreds of things needing solutions.

There might be something to this. Work at a big company or any company really in an industry to find the anti-patterns or problems that you never knew. I have worked on systems for Healthcare communication, strategic marketing, online promotions and game development. Almost everything I am working now it based on problems or immense walls built up at companies in those industries that I wouldn't have had the insight…

"There might be something to this."

There is something to this.

I have accumulated enough business problems to stay busy for 3 lifetimes. The only issue is "What's most important?"

To anyone searching for startup ideas, get a job. You won't be searching for long.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#29

Post by edw519 » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 1:25 PM UTC

eterno wrote: post #23

Couldnt DISAGREE more. The advice is extremely banal bordering on common sense but most importantly discounts the fact that a lot of startups are built not to solve any existing problem but perhaps to just better an existing solution. The semantics are crucial here, because solving a problem almost implies that it is something a customer 'understands' to be a problem and not just satisfed with the status quo - that i…

"The biggest startups were not found by scratching an 'itch' but through founders idiosyncratic views of the status quo"

These are outliers. For every Google, there are thousands of successful startups built to scratch an itch.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#30

Post by ahoyhere » Wed, Jun 17, 2009, 1:40 PM UTC

iends wrote: post #26

eterno wrote: post #23

Couldnt DISAGREE more. The advice is extremely banal bordering on common sense but most importantly discounts the fact that a lot of startups are built not to solve any existing problem but perhaps to just better an existing solution. The semantics are crucial here, because solving a problem almost implies that it is something a customer 'understands' to be a problem and not just satisfed with the status quo - that i…

Your last little blurb is off the mark: Mp3 players existed long before the iPod, but they had poor usability and no centralized store to legally purchase music. Bookstores existed long before amazon, but their inventory was limited. Blogging existed long before twitter, but it was a bit overkill to use existing solutions for micro-blogging.

Yes, but everyone was happy with the status quo of MP3 players at the time. Nobody wanted the iPod. Everybody said it would fail. And certainly no one was asking for a centralized music store. Pfff!

I don't really agree with OC on other points, but the iPod really didn't scratch an itch. It changed the game by creating something new, not something that "solved a problem."

To say the iPod solved a problem is pure hindsight.