How to Get Startup Ideas • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#181

Post by zalew » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 4:13 PM UTC

nlh wrote: post #176

zalew wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

tx for the answer. due to the price tag I always thought most of the people that afford it, can afford to buy one as well. I guess you pay a lot of insurance. have you had any problems like 'spoiled kid rents a murcielago, wrecks on the first corner?' or some fun/weird stories? (needless to say the whole business of owning such cars must be fun :) maybe you could do an AMA on reddit)

NP :) Yep, we've actually had that _exact_ scenario (though I suppose it's not terribly surprising, but funny that you got it exactly correct). Dumb kid (over 21, but still a kid) from CT rented a Murcielago to show off, made it about 10 minutes and this happened: http://imgur.com/fV4Ph I recall someone did a similar AMA a few years ago, but indeed, maybe it's time for another one.

haha :) ouch. I don't know why I particularily mentioned the Murci, maybe because I remember a similar story on wreckedexotics website (borrows from dad, the rest is obvious). I also recall TopGear describing this Lambo as particularily safe but only to a certain point after which it spins you to a certain crash. Yet I somehow expect more noob wreckages from RWDs.

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#182

Post by lifebeyondfife » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 4:34 PM UTC

animal wrote: post #170

lifebeyondfife wrote: post #161

This has given me a little shot of confidence. I've just finished my first mini-site with potential revenue stream. From the few places I've marketed it thus far, not many have really "got" what problem I'm trying to solve. But it's a problem I genuinely have and am thrilled to have a solution to it. I just need to find the others who'd like to drink from the well. (Well idea: as I've gotten older I no longer care to…

This sounds like something I'd be interested in. Link?

Cheers, currently working on some write-ups for my blog about how I - as a pure desktop/server developer - found my first web project. http://whatsnewmusic.com/

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#183

Post by lilsunnybee » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 4:35 PM UTC

flipside wrote: post #93

shadowsun7 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, though, this idea seems to fall squarely into the 'yeah, I could see myself using that. Maybe' category. This isn't a huge pain point.

If you take another look at my original post, my point was that I still can't articulate why this is such a huge pain. If it helps to put it in perspective, I abandoned a Nanoengineering phd doing promising work in medical diagnostics because our rating system solves an incredibly painful problem for me and I'm convinced it's a more important contribution to the world. To make a (hopefully apt) comparison, what pain…

If not knowing what movie to spend your disposable income and leisure time on is an incredibly painful problem for you, you desperately need a bit of perspective.

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#184

Post by stevanl » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 5:03 PM UTC

flipside wrote: post #133

precisioncoder wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing I would suggest is when you mention it, have a link ready with an email signup so people like me who are intrigued can easily sign up to get a mail when the beta releases. The name seems fairly popular at least a google search for "Tinj" or "Tinj movie reviews" didn't work. (Although the hacker news thread came up with the second search)

I'll definitely need to take a day to improve our SEO before we launch. In the mean time, you can sign up at http://tinj.co

One minor point I'd raise with the .co is a while ago I read (on HN I think) that one a particular startup had a lot of feedback from users saying "you're missing an 'm' in your logo/url". It might confuse some people that aren't familiar with how ccTLD/gTLD's work.

If you've come across this before, forgive the pestering, I just thought it was fair to point out before you've launched.

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#185

Post by emmett » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 5:05 PM UTC

flipside wrote: post #105

emmett wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain, in one sentence, what it is that you're building that's different from existing movie ratings sites? Try this template: "it's like Rotten Tomatoes, except ..." It's like Rotten Tomatoes, except you rate on 3 axes instead of just 1. It's like Rotten Tomatoes, except you rate the movie by answering questions about what parts you liked. It's like Rotten Tomatoes, except your ratings are automatically po…

It's certain that the problem is me, and my poor communication skills, I never blame the audience. Describing what we're doing and illustrating the pain points aren't the same thing. How about this: Tinj is a rating system that lets people externalize opinions about movies in context so they can receive comprehensive recommendations. See? Told you I still suck at this. Here's a problem we're solving: Given that opini…

Right, I understand that pain points and solutions are not the same thing. I didn't ask for you to describe the pain points. I really am asking what you're building. In a concrete way, what does it actually do?

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#186

Post by lubujackson » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 5:16 PM UTC

Good essay. My trick is to realize that humans simply cannot produce ideas, they can only refine them (whether or not that is true doesn't really matter). By thinking that, the only option you have is to LISTEN for ideas and spend all your time trying to whittle down what you hear to something that has a nugget of interest. And then if you worry that idea in your head 4 times as long as a normal person would, you are bound to get to an interesting place with it. I'd recommend that even if you don't want to make a startup because it makes the world a more interesting place to be.

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#187

Post by lubujackson » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 5:22 PM UTC

flipside wrote: post #98

tomhoward wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fundraising & customer acquisition are like dating; logic doesn't get you very far. The points PG makes might be valuable in convincing yourself that it's a field worth pursuing, but for convincing people to give you their attention and their cash, you need a different approach, which will usually involve some combination of: stories , charisma , status , social proof , exclusivity , to name just the first that come…

You're right, convincing others is a whole different ball game. Since I clearly suck at it, I've done my best to suck a little less each time I try. Here's hoping pg writes that essay next.

Try the Richard Feynman approach - if you really want to understand what you're doing, try to teach it. Like, write a manual about what your business does, explain it to mom, etc.

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#188

Post by lubujackson » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 5:36 PM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #163

flipside wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See if you can follow this: Ratings are a form of feedback. Feedback helps people learn. Therefore, if we can build a better rating system that lets people share more and better feedback, then we can speed up learning and improve the flow and evolution of ideas. Also, this system wasn't designed for movies, it was designed for answers on Quora. Movies are just a better beachhead.

I think part of your problem might be that you are solving a problem that a small group of people have, and only a small group will ever have. Most people just aren't that into movies; they decide to see a movie (or not) based on the trailer; they view movies as a way to kill two hours or a pretty safe date activity. The number of people who really have a significant "pain point" in deciding what movies to see is pre…

You're not the droid they're looking for. Since Netflix gave $1 million to random people for improving their recommendation engine a bit, I'd say there's a lot of value to be created here.

It never hurts to think bigger, too. If they do somehow achieve a big advance in selecting movies, it could probably be applied to books and movies too, right?

It's hard to think of a more impactful problem for the entire entertainment industry than better matching of products to consumers.

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#189

Post by tolos » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 6:38 PM UTC

consciousness raising:

> When searching for ideas, look in areas where you have some expertise. If you're a database expert, don't build a chat app for teenagers (unless you're also a teenager). Maybe it's a good idea, but you can't trust your judgment about that, so ignore it. There have to be other ideas that involve databases, and whose quality you can judge. Do you find it hard to come up with good ideas involving databases? That's because your expertise raises your standards. Your ideas about chat apps are just as bad [emphasis mine], but you're giving yourself a Dunning-Kruger pass in that domain.

Re: How to Get Startup Ideas

#190

Post by joeag » Tue, Nov 20, 2012, 6:45 PM UTC

If you're not sure if there is a pain you are solving, try the Nail it Then Scale it cold call test. Cold call 10 target customers and briefly describe what you think their pain is and how your solution eliminates it. Usually you will have to leave a voicemail. If you don't get at least 50% return calls, you haven't identified a pain bad enough to support "a 2 person startup that nobody has ever heard of with a rudimentary solution" - which is what you will be!