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I see your point but that implies that on rare occasions hotels are sold out at a specific time and place. I don't think that is the problem AirBnB solves

by gmarx 10y ago

nostrademons 10y ago
I'm wondering if this may dovetail with another piece of common YC advice, "start by going narrow & deep". I didn't start using AirBnB until 2013, and I used them because they were remarkably polished and made the experience super-easy. They weren't at all a "hair on fire" problem for me. But I could imagine that at some point in time, there was a group of people who were so desperate for a place to stay that they'd crash on a couple of airbeds at a stranger's place. And that gave those strangers the idea that maybe this was something worth looking into and investing time into perfecting. The importance of that initial core group of users may be feedback. I've had to give up startup ideas because I launch them and then there is literally nobody who cares. And then with no users, there are no guideposts as to which direction to improve the product in. It's all guesswork, and random ideas don't have a particularly high chance of success. This may also dovetail with the known advantage that you get from solving your own problem. If it's your own problem, then you know at least one person wants it, and you can use yourself for feedback on improving the product. Then hopefully once it's good enough for you, you can find some other folks that'll find it good enough to try out, and use their feedback to evolve the product.
- mwseibel 10y ago
  Exactly!!!
- rrecuero 10y ago
  Great write up. You hear many times the advice of getting MVP out and then "just" listen to your customers and the data. A lot of times, as you said, there is virtually nobody that cares and few feedback. You are just treading through a desert without nothing to guide you...
mwseibel 10y ago
That is the problem they started solving - and customers pulled the rest of the product out of them
- gmarx 10y ago
  I don't remember their story in detail but I think they started as a couch surfing alternative. Given the rule of supply and demand I'm guess there was not "no hotel rooms available" there was "no hotel rooms available cheaply". offering a cheaper alternative is great, but I can't consider it a hair on fire problem

I see your point but that implies that on rare occasions hotels are sold out at a specific time and place. I don't think that is the problem AirBnB solves

by gmarx 10y ago

I see your point but that implies that on rare occasions hotels are sold out at a specific time and place. I don't think that is the problem AirBnB solves

nostrademons 10y ago

I'm wondering if this may dovetail with another piece of common YC advice, "start by going narrow & deep". I didn't start using AirBnB until 2013, and I used them because they were remarkably polished and made the experience super-easy. They weren't at all a "hair on fire" problem for me. But I could imagine that at some point in time, there was a group of people who were so desperate for a place to stay that they'd crash on a couple of airbeds at a stranger's place. And that gave those strangers the idea that maybe this was something worth looking into and investing time into perfecting. The importance of that initial core group of users may be feedback. I've had to give up startup ideas because I launch them and then there is literally nobody who cares. And then with no users, there are no guideposts as to which direction to improve the product in. It's all guesswork, and random ideas don't have a particularly high chance of success. This may also dovetail with the known advantage that you get from solving your own problem. If it's your own problem, then you know at least one person wants it, and you can use yourself for feedback on improving the product. Then hopefully once it's good enough for you, you can find some other folks that'll find it good enough to try out, and use their feedback to evolve the product.

mwseibel 10y ago
Exactly!!!
rrecuero 10y ago
Great write up. You hear many times the advice of getting MVP out and then "just" listen to your customers and the data. A lot of times, as you said, there is virtually nobody that cares and few feedback. You are just treading through a desert without nothing to guide you...

mwseibel 10y ago

That is the problem they started solving - and customers pulled the rest of the product out of them

gmarx 10y ago
I don't remember their story in detail but I think they started as a couch surfing alternative. Given the rule of supply and demand I'm guess there was not "no hotel rooms available" there was "no hotel rooms available cheaply". offering a cheaper alternative is great, but I can't consider it a hair on fire problem