TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving? • Hacker News Board

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#11

Post by osuburger » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:28 PM UTC

ssebro wrote: post #10

I know you didn't ask for product feedback, but I think your product has a problem: You need early adopters to start using it, but early adopters naturally hear about the news and developments that you claim to deliver. In otherwords, I shared your product with a few coworkers, we signed up, then we all independently decided that we'd hear about those things naturally, through other channels. Sounds like a vitamin.

Totally fine with the feedback. Thanks for checking us out! To address your point though, we've actually found that we have a pretty awesome mix of users that consists of both early adopters and more "normal" people. For example, my dad loves movies and gadgets but never reads any tech blogs or hears about this stuff normally. He likes using our site because he can hear about things he is interested in but normally never wouldn't have been exposed to. But again, thanks for the feedback; user acquisition is obviously always an issue.

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#12

Post by SparksZilla » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:32 PM UTC

timjahn wrote: post #9

I agree with you. But we're wrong. We're just saying this because in our eyes, these "problems" aren't worth solving. We're not interested in them. matchist (matchist.com), my current venture, wants to help freelance developers cut out all the bad things about freelancing. We want to save you time, money, and headaches. I love this problem. It NEEDS to be solved. But you might think it's the stupidest problem around.

I don't identify with your problem, but I totally believe that it's a problem. I was at Disrupt and saw a lot of really cool companies solving real problems. That said, I also saw a lot of sexy apps and sites that really aren't addressing problems at all. They do cool things, look nice, and work well, but they really aren't addressing problems. Thoughts?

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#13

Post by ssebro » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:35 PM UTC

osuburger wrote: post #11

ssebro wrote: post #10

I know you didn't ask for product feedback, but I think your product has a problem: You need early adopters to start using it, but early adopters naturally hear about the news and developments that you claim to deliver. In otherwords, I shared your product with a few coworkers, we signed up, then we all independently decided that we'd hear about those things naturally, through other channels. Sounds like a vitamin.

Totally fine with the feedback. Thanks for checking us out! To address your point though, we've actually found that we have a pretty awesome mix of users that consists of both early adopters and more "normal" people. For example, my dad loves movies and gadgets but never reads any tech blogs or hears about this stuff normally. He likes using our site because he can hear about things he is interested in but normally n…

It seems a little weird that someone who loves movies doesn't hear about them through any other sources. While I wanted to sign up for some of the movies, I knew I'd see ads for them on TV, or at bus stops when they launched. I've literally never missed the launch of something that I cared a lot about, because by definition I'd be the kind of person they'd be trying to reach. But the proof is in the data - if you're getting active users, then that's all that matters. Congrats :)

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#14

Post by bpatrianakos » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:41 PM UTC

callmeed wrote: post #8

Wait, what? You're writing a rant about other entrepreneurs not solving problems when your startup is "google alerts for video games and movies" with no apparent business model? >> You need to be a painkiller, not a vitamin. If you read that article, he actually says "very few are (painkillers)" ... being a vitamin isn't bad, it's just easier to market a painkiller ... >> I feel like an asshole for saying all this, b…

Going to a conference and then publicly ripping the participants (while being or not being a hypocrite about it) is just about as trendy as starting a startup. I bet there will be 199 more posts strewn about HN just like this by the time the conference is done.

Edit: I want to add that everyone loves to repeat all the smart things they read on other blogs on their own blogs in some vain attempt to seem wise but how many people actually get it or even follow their own advice? Saying something isn't the same as doing it.

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#15

Post by dchuk » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:52 PM UTC

While it's important to initially form an idea around a problem to be solved, the focus really should be on building a product to solve a problem in such a way that it would be painful for your customer to stop using your product.

That's how you create enough demand to properly charge for your product versus offering it for free and it being considered just a really cool idea.

That being said, there's quite a few "startups" launching every week that are really just neat projects or ideas, but aren't proper startups/products/businesses. That doesn't make them bad, just not in the same category as something that charges money. They're essentially trying to solve a problem they created themselves...said another way, they're a solution in search of a problem.

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#16

Post by willholloway » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:54 PM UTC

callmeed wrote: post #8

Wait, what? You're writing a rant about other entrepreneurs not solving problems when your startup is "google alerts for video games and movies" with no apparent business model? >> You need to be a painkiller, not a vitamin. If you read that article, he actually says "very few are (painkillers)" ... being a vitamin isn't bad, it's just easier to market a painkiller ... >> I feel like an asshole for saying all this, b…

> Wait, what? You're writing a rant about other entrepreneurs not solving problems when your startup is "google alerts for video games and movies" with no apparent business model?

I see a clear business model. If you have thousands of people that want to know about upcoming movies and games you have a valuable asset for film and game studios.

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#17

Post by diego » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:55 PM UTC

"What problem are you solving" is dogma. At the earliest stage, a startup is an experiment to see if people want something.

There are tons of examples of companies that started as toys, and ultimately became businesses. In hindsight you can always come up a description of the problem they were solving at the time, even if nobody knew the problem existed. You could do this for Twitter today: they solved the problem of (exercise to the reader).

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#18

Post by bpatrianakos » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:56 PM UTC

SparksZilla wrote: post #12

timjahn wrote: post #9

I agree with you. But we're wrong. We're just saying this because in our eyes, these "problems" aren't worth solving. We're not interested in them. matchist (matchist.com), my current venture, wants to help freelance developers cut out all the bad things about freelancing. We want to save you time, money, and headaches. I love this problem. It NEEDS to be solved. But you might think it's the stupidest problem around.

I don't identify with your problem, but I totally believe that it's a problem. I was at Disrupt and saw a lot of really cool companies solving real problems. That said, I also saw a lot of sexy apps and sites that really aren't addressing problems at all. They do cool things, look nice, and work well, but they really aren't addressing problems. Thoughts?

The startup gods have proclaimed that you must solve a problem and now everyone seems to be taking it as an absolute truth. The startup gods are wrong.

Listen, solving a problem is what we need more of in this world. It's hard, its rewarding, and the idea of it is sexy though the problem itself may not be. That said, solving some problem is not the only way to succeed or be relevant. Some things can be cool and sexy and total non-needs and still be a huge hit. Some things that are just fun and entertainment are not just successful but important in our lives! Yes, important! Like Zynga. I fucking hate them but they make freaking games and they're doing damn well (their downward spiral is irrelevant and unrelated to my point). How about the cheeseburger network (you know, Lolcats, I can has cheeseburger and all that?). Useless, entertaining, non-problem-solving ideas that are big hits.

I honestly say fuck solving problems. You know whats really important when it comes to starting a startup no matter if it solves a problem or not? It's this question:

Can I get people to give me money for this?

If the answer is yes then it's a good idea. Solving problems is awesome and if you think of something that solves a problem that you'll get money from that's even more awesome. But all this talk of solving problems seems more about people trying to make themselves feel superior or trick themselves into thinking they're changing the world rather than anything having to do with business.

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#19

Post by Pongo_the_Great » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:56 PM UTC

callmeed wrote: post #8

Wait, what? You're writing a rant about other entrepreneurs not solving problems when your startup is "google alerts for video games and movies" with no apparent business model? >> You need to be a painkiller, not a vitamin. If you read that article, he actually says "very few are (painkillers)" ... being a vitamin isn't bad, it's just easier to market a painkiller ... >> I feel like an asshole for saying all this, b…

To second this, perhaps a little more solidly:

Q) Who owns Reddit? Q) Who owns the GawkerJezebel"to infinity and beyond" series of sites

...

And so on. Then add the 6 major players, and the actual Corporations who have entire multi-million dollar departments of people doing this stuff, and handing it off to other major companies. You know, those old school "Mad Men" type establishments. Then the other tiers of viral media, advertising and so on. Then the "cool" players who get free stuff before the market to generate desire.

The OP needs some serious perspective. In the eyes of everyone looking at your site, you're not an entrepreneur, you've just told everyone you know 0% about how the market works.

>Painful. This shit flies with HN? Interesting.

Re: TC Disrupt Experience - Seriously, What Problem are You Solving?

#20

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Sep 12, 2012, 11:57 PM UTC

bpatrianakos wrote: post #14

callmeed wrote: post #8

Wait, what? You're writing a rant about other entrepreneurs not solving problems when your startup is "google alerts for video games and movies" with no apparent business model? >> You need to be a painkiller, not a vitamin. If you read that article, he actually says "very few are (painkillers)" ... being a vitamin isn't bad, it's just easier to market a painkiller ... >> I feel like an asshole for saying all this, b…

Going to a conference and then publicly ripping the participants (while being or not being a hypocrite about it) is just about as trendy as starting a startup. I bet there will be 199 more posts strewn about HN just like this by the time the conference is done. Edit: I want to add that everyone loves to repeat all the smart things they read on other blogs on their own blogs in some vain attempt to seem wise but how m…

[deleted]