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Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

blog.startupprofessionals.com

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Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#41

Post by krschultz »

wlievens wrote: post #13
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.

I'm not sure if working at a large company is the most efficient way to get inspired.

It's not getting "inspired", its finding all the problems they have and are incapable of fixing due to bureaucracy, then stepping out of the place and coming back with a product that solves the problem. It is often easier to get money out of big companies than change.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#42

Post by axod »

ahoyhere wrote: post #31
wlievens wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You're forgiven! (Plus... a packaged food product from Mexico being super-premium? Interesting idea.) For reference, here is the deliciousness Coke spectrum, from best to worst: YUMMY... Coke with real sugar in a glass bottle Coke with real sugar in a can Coke with real sugar in a plastic bottle Coke with HFCS (yum!) in a can or glass bottle (makes no diff) Coke with HFCS in plastic ...GROSS For the record, Dr Pepper…

Of course All Pepsi beat Coke in taste tests ;) It's far sweeter.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#44

Post by amalcon »

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?

FYI, you can just go to the grocery store around passover and stock up on "Coke with real sugar" (find the ones with yellow lids) for the exact same price as "Coke with corn syrup". I don't find it tastes any different, but I prefer it because real sugar is better for you. Well, more like "mildly less bad for you", but still.

If you want to know how to get food without garbage in it, go find some non-rich people who have moral or religious restrictions against the garbage, and then do what they do. It actually works.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#45

Post by run4yourlives »

tomjen wrote: post #10
patio11 wrote: post #6

Take a luxury and make it a commodity. It works the other way, too. Water is a commodity -- a commodity which is, essentially, free at the margin -- that is also a multi-billion dollar business in the US. Much the same could be said about food. (I am about to step on some toes. Turn away if you're easily offended.) There are entire industries which are designed around the proposition "You are too good to consume X. P…

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.

One of the key things about good marketing is that when it works, you'll have people reiterating your talking points for you without even realizing it.

Case in point the above comment. Those of us in our thirties remember the world without bottled water, and life went on.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#46

Post by didip »

maurycy wrote: post #25

What is the problem behind Twitter, by the way?

Your question brings up my age old question. Communication on the internet has been solved multiple times, again-and-again, since IRC/mailing list (That's as far back as I can remember).

Then, why there's still room to grow for IM, Meebo, and now Twitter?

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#47

Post by run4yourlives »

The counter of course is the Blue Ocean Strategy, in which the product solves a problem that people didn't know they had.

Given the innovation of the web, Blue Ocean is just as viable than these other four methods.

There are several ways to implement a winning business, talking points tend to forget that.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#48

Post by skmurphy »

pchristensen wrote: post #35

Somebody has been plagiarizing pg: http://www.paulgraham.com/ideas.html OP: "Fix something that’s broken. In business, it seems to me that the traditional banking business models are broken or at least no longer fit the purpose. On the other end of the spectrum, Internet dating sites don’t seem to work. They have millions of users, so they must be promising something people want. And yet they work horribly. Just ask…

Good catch: I took a hard look and have to agree that the number and phrasing of the exact matches seem to be well above the level of coincidence. I posted this on the site, curious as to what the reply will be. ---

I posted a pointer to this on http://news.ycombinator.com/ at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=661440 and this reply http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=661875 pointed out exact matches for six sentences in an October 2005 essay by Paul Graham at http://www.paulgraham.com/ideas.html

here are the matches:

   [dating sites]
   They have millions of users, so they must be promising something people want. 
   And yet they work horribly. 
   Just ask anyone who uses them.

   [T]ake a luxury and make it into a commmodity. 
   People must want something if they pay a lot for it. 
   And it is a very rare product that can't be made dramatically cheaper if you try.
Were you influenced by Graham's essay? The number and length of exact matches seem well above the level of coincidence.

Re: Start with a Problem, Not an Idea

#49

Post by skmurphy »

skmurphy wrote: post #48
pchristensen wrote: post #35

Somebody has been plagiarizing pg: http://www.paulgraham.com/ideas.html OP: "Fix something that’s broken. In business, it seems to me that the traditional banking business models are broken or at least no longer fit the purpose. On the other end of the spectrum, Internet dating sites don’t seem to work. They have millions of users, so they must be promising something people want. And yet they work horribly. Just ask…

Good catch: I took a hard look and have to agree that the number and phrasing of the exact matches seem to be well above the level of coincidence. I posted this on the site, curious as to what the reply will be. --- I posted a pointer to this on http://news.ycombinator.com/ at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=661440 and this reply http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=661875 pointed out exact matches for six sentenc…

Martin Zwilling wrote back

   Thanks for the note. I have added a credit link at the end, and an apology note 
   as a comment to the blog following yours. 
   I’ll be more diligent on this in the future
He also added a postscript to the post this afternoon

   P.S. I would like to give credit to an October 2005 essay by Paul Graham for a 
   couple of the ideas above, at http://www.paulgraham.com/ideas.html
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