Ask HN: We have a great team and capital but can't find a good idea

Have you understood them 8)

Sorry, couldn't resist it but as many have pointed out here: a business generally develops from solving a problem and monetizing it.

Problem -> Ahah! -> I can charge for this -> Business

Almost certainly you lot are already aware of that basic fact. For now I would personally suggest that you might want to consider what the basic premise implied by your post (in my head anyway):

Profit == Purpose

... means.

You imply money at the moment isn't an issue - you cool kids have already been successful financially in previous endeavours. Why not help fix a small part of society in some way? I suspect that will lead to a financially successful in the long term.

That's what I'm going to do.

I'm a bit late to the game here, but maybe we can jive. I have various ideas in the cryptocurrency space. Solo founder, working for 3.5 years on various ideas. I'm into private fund growth and market data/pipeline sales. Willing to meet about my recent pivot (to market data sales) and the need for partners on my end.

Drop me a line: brandon.lawrence.bradley at gmail dot com

Cheers!

Before 'Slaves 2.0' there was 'Slaves 1.0'. This existed in Africa and before white men and guns were involved it wasn't a bad system at all. If you did something seriously wrong then you were not sent to prison, instead you were sold into slavery. The idea was that you worked off your debt - however much you were sold for - and then when the debt was done you could go back home.

The triangular trade changed that. People were being shipped off forever, the deal of 'slavery' had changed from a reasonable system for maintaining the rule of law to true heart of darkness stuff.

In 'Slavery 1.0' people didn't have the right to do whatever they wanted with their slaves, they could not rape and kill them, as white man did.

I would actually prefer 'Slavery 1.0' to the legal system and prison, none of which is really being judged by your neighbours. If I could sell my lazy friend that owes me money into slavery, e.g. to the coffee shop down the road, with the coffee shop owner taking my friend on as a slave and giving me the money owed then that could work for me. I doubt the coffee shop owner would really want to rape/kill/beat up my friend, but he might want him working really hard from really early in the morning until quite late in the evening.

Or, without the benefit of 'Slavery 1.0' I could take my friend to court and then when he doesn't pay he could end up in prison. I would still not get my money back. The coffee shop would not have a slave, they would have to hire a wage slave instead.

So let's think more positively about 'Slavery'. What could 'Slavery 3.0' be like and is there an app for that?

What if I could put my friend up on the 'slavery app' with my price? I just want £3K-5K back. How can the small print in the EULA that my friend/slave-to-be signs up to have legal consequence? If my friend cannot be bothered pouring beverages all day and does a runner, then some lucky Pokemon player that finds him should be rewarded somehow, with my friend sold on to a 'riskier' slave market, perhaps picking coffee beans in Kenya where he is unable to find his way home.

Much like 'Slavery 1.0' the slave is not humiliated or deprived of the basics, all needs are met but no luxuries or pay are given. Instead the person that sold the 'slave' gets that.

So go for the app, but call it 'Slavery 3' and make it a lot more fun than the misery of this VC funded Uber/AirBnB sharing economy nonsense. Poke fun at capitalism, the world of work, the legal system and our idea of history whilst doing it and every small child will be wanting to sell their sister's pet hamster into slavery for some perceived valid reason. Maybe make the app step in for the 'tribal elders/jury' so part of 'Slavery 3' could be to do with voting whether someone should be allowed to be 'sold' or not.