How to Get Startup Ideas
paulgraham.com
How to Get Startup Ideas
1–10 of 239 posts
Re: How to Get Startup Ideas
#2I've been trying to work out what problems I have right now that I'd like to solve, and I really can't think of any that excite me, tech or otherwise.
I eagerly await for a problem to come into my life to which the solution is only a few weekends of Ruby away.
Re: How to Get Startup Ideas
#3"For example, a social network for pet owners. It doesn't sound obviously mistaken. Millions of people have pets."
I once worked on a social network for dog owners. Not pet owners, dog owners. And not actually dog owners, but their dogs. A place for people to have a social network of ... dogs.
But all the features made it an interesting enough project. The guy even came up with enough money to pay the web agency I was working at for the development - yes, outsourcing core product to an agency.
It took a year for the project to go from "I need devs" to "Build this". By then I had already given my notice at the agency with the dream of launching a cool startup.
I don't know that the dog social network ever launched.
Re: How to Get Startup Ideas
#4I've been trying to work out what problems I have right now that I'd like to solve, and I really can't think of any that excite me, tech or otherwise. I eagerly await for a problem to come into my life to which the solution is only a few weekends of Ruby away.
I have plenty. I am eagerly awaiting market opportunities.
Re: How to Get Startup Ideas
#5Couldn't agree any more.
Ideas should stem from problems. The "problem" with only solving problems for yourself, however, is that you may not be hitting a real market. The tech niche isn't exactly the norm (it's the .1%).
Lean methodologies behind testing problems and market needs are definitely making it better, but it's still extremely time -consuming, can get costly, and can lead to nothing (which is still better than building a product that doesn't go anywhere).
Landing pages, blog posts, setting controls & changes, analyzing the results and transferring those to actual needs and potential customers.
It's a mess.
If only there was something to solve this "problem" of figuring out which problem-solvers are market viable and which aren't quickly and affordably (without the massive learning curve).
My team and I just may have to give tackling this one a try :)
Re: How to Get Startup Ideas
#6[deleted]
Re: How to Get Startup Ideas
#7another suggestion for sourcing ideas is to identify weaknesses in popular products then build something where that weakness becomes a strength (e.g., browsing in smartphones => iphone, search in portals => google).
re the unsexy filter, success can create sexiness. nike sells shoes. amazon sells books. salesforce sells enterprise software. yet these are all considered cool, sexy companies for the most part. if you build something people love, you can make it sexy. worry less about if something is sexy today, and worry more about building something people will love tomorrow. sexiness will follow.
Re: How to Get Startup Ideas
#8After 20 years of entrepreneurship, of struggles and successes, of spending man years of that time thinking about startup ideas, and having learned so many lessons the hard way, I can say the following:
pg's essays are so true and correct that I could practically cry.
If enough people read these essays (especially this and the recent "growth" essay), it could materially boost the economy.
Re: How to Get Startup Ideas
#9What is the difference between a "problem" or an "inconvenience" that is worthy for a startup to tackle? Alot of startups seem to have trouble deciphering that- sometimes spending immense efforts of time and money on a 'problem' that really is frivolous at best.
...On the other hand, I suppose for some ideas you would never know unless you tried to execute it...
Re: How to Get Startup Ideas
#10pg drew a graph explaining "the well" after Startup School: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4685655