5 ms·

Startup ideas are like kittens, I'm giving 'em away

47 points by vyrotek 16y ago

davidedicillo 16y ago
Yes, and like kittens, there's no such thing as a free one ;) I love the idea, I really wish we had the time to build something like that. I'd be a user too.
frio 16y ago
You know, this is an idea I had too, and then sat on (much like the author describes). Not Oregato, but a hub for sharing ideas and generating new software projects; I have a tonne of things I'd like to implement, and nowhere near enough time to make them. Some sort of centralised idea repository (a wiki is almost fit for purpose, but makes it hard to categorise, rank and index ideas) where anyone can throw their thoughts for others to comment on, and still others to pick up, would be awesome.
- noverloop 16y ago
  maybe something like quirky.com might work for apps too
- thiele 16y ago
  It seems like there is a lot of interest in the "idea hub" concept. I actually first envisioned Almost Startup this way, but never found time to execute it. It began as a wiki, then a Wordpress MU installation, and then I finally decided to just ship it as a Posterous blog. The "idea hub" could start out as simply as a group blog and then transition over to something more substantial if there is interest.
  - frio 16y ago
    I think it's something that not only has legs in terms of scratching our (collective, it seems :)!) itches, but has the potential to be pretty big. I've started hacking on it in Django a few times, only to be waylaid by other stuff and having to set it aside. I might write up a big blog post when I get the time detailing how it'd work in my head, and see if it can be expanded from there. I'll keep an eye on Almost Startup too; I really like the concept and it looks like an interesting hub :).
    - thiele 16y ago
      If you (or somebody else) can manage to pull together a proper "idea hub", I'll happily contrbute!
- photon_off 16y ago
  There's a website I visited two years ago all about sharing ideas. Some funny, some business, some absurd. It was an amazing place, but I cannot for the life of me recall the URL!
  - khafra 16y ago
    halfbakery?
    - photon_off 16y ago
      Thank you so much!
mrj 16y ago
I want to do something awesome but haven't hit on a good idea yet. I think about code not business stuff. I would use this. :-)
joshbert 16y ago
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you present an idea. Seriously Justin, this was a great presentation. You probably have several ideas already, but maybe you would like to take a look at this spreadsheet: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ag-R_ZlGO21NdE9HSWRkbjNyUGRxS2JIV3NxYVdiaXc&hl=en https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ag-R_ZlGO21NdE9HSWR... It's chocked full of ideas, maybe you could pick what you consider the best ones out of the bunch and elaborate on them as you have done for Oregato? Either way, thanks for the wonderful inspiration!
- thiele 16y ago
  Thanks Josh! Don't worry I have plenty of other posts rattling around in my head, haha.
- nhebb 16y ago
  Is there some trick to editing Google Spreadsheets? I've never edited a shared document before. I signed in, clicked an open row, started typing, and ... nothing.
petercooper 16y ago
Or like cats - recycled.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
jiganti 16y ago
It's funny that people try to show that ideas have no value by giving theirs away, when the value of an idea could probably be quantified by how inclined someone is to not give it away.
- thiele 16y ago
  It's not my point to show that ideas don't have value. I simply don't have the bandwidth to execute on a lot of ideas and I think there's more value to putting them out than keeping them to myself. If I thought the idea didn't have value I wouldn't take the time to write it out and post it.
  - vyrotek 16y ago
    There's also something interesting that happens when you try to fully write out an idea. When I do it, I usually only finish writing about the good ideas. Sometimes when you sit down and take the time to think out something you realize its not that great half way through writing it. Ideas are rarely very original anyway so you might as well write them out and if you get feedback then maybe you're on to something and can revisit it later. If anything, writing alone is an interesting filter mechanism for the idea hub. In the meantime, keep making Mugasha awesome!
Locke1689 16y ago
I think this is great. One thing that I've been thinking about recently is that all my startup ideas are very technically sophisticated. That is, while they might indeed have the potential to make a big impact, they also involve a lot of detailed technical work and focus in computer science. I think part of that is that I'm simply exposed to systems far more than most other fields, so it's interesting to see the kind of stuff other people come up with. I would never think of Twitter, for example.
lzw 16y ago
No, please don't! I have so many ideas already, they torment me, all crying out in the middle of the night, saying things like "why won't you do me?" and "remember how excited you were when you thought of me!" and " I guess you really DON'T want to be a billionaire!" They clog my days between sprints on my main product with distraction, making me eager to get the next sprint done so I can work in something REALLY good, when what I need to be doing is relaxing and recovering so I can do my best work in ten next phase if my real product. The one that is shipping and making money. Please don't let this idea giveaway become a trend! How how I long for the day when people demanded you dignity an nda before telling you their idea. Seriously, though, whittling down ideas seems to be half the work, and I am tormented by coming up with a great idea at least once a day. Only about %50 of them are obviously unfeasible which leaves way too many... It is really a burden because they do distract me. I think this giving away has merit, now which ones to give the boot to?
wccrawford 16y ago
It's funny, I've had a LOT of ideas for video games lately, mostly just small game mechanics ideas. I really, really want to write a game that incorporates them, but I'm finding that I just don't have time. I've been considering starting a game ideas blog and putting them all out there for anyone to use. Don't get me wrong, some are good and some are bad... But I think some are REALLY good and the bad ones could probably be improved. Sometimes just sorting good from bad depends on perspective, too. I haven't quite given up on the game yet, though, and I'd like to be the first to implement some. Apparently this guy is past that stage and has decided to just give the ideas away.
- thiele 16y ago
  Yeah, I know the feeling you're talking about. There's still some ideas that I'm not ready to let out for free yet. Oregato is one I've had for quite awhile. I like the idea, but I'm not so passionate about it that I can envision working on it full time for multiple years. So it's easier to put it out there.
JoeAltmaier 16y ago
What if a boxing promoter said "I know this guy, you fight him and we'll share the money?" Pay squat for an idea, and you've paid too much.
bconway 16y ago
Good post, it reminded me of this one: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1649260 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1649260
pshirishreddy 16y ago
well said than well done (:

47 points by vyrotek 16y ago

Yes, and like kittens, there's no such thing as a free one ;) I love the idea, I really wish we had the time to build something like that. I'd be a user too.

frio 16y ago

You know, this is an idea I had too, and then sat on (much like the author describes). Not Oregato, but a hub for sharing ideas and generating new software projects; I have a tonne of things I'd like to implement, and nowhere near enough time to make them. Some sort of centralised idea repository (a wiki is almost fit for purpose, but makes it hard to categorise, rank and index ideas) where anyone can throw their thoughts for others to comment on, and still others to pick up, would be awesome.

noverloop 16y ago
maybe something like quirky.com might work for apps too
thiele 16y ago
It seems like there is a lot of interest in the "idea hub" concept. I actually first envisioned Almost Startup this way, but never found time to execute it. It began as a wiki, then a Wordpress MU installation, and then I finally decided to just ship it as a Posterous blog. The "idea hub" could start out as simply as a group blog and then transition over to something more substantial if there is interest.
- frio 16y ago
  I think it's something that not only has legs in terms of scratching our (collective, it seems :)!) itches, but has the potential to be pretty big. I've started hacking on it in Django a few times, only to be waylaid by other stuff and having to set it aside. I might write up a big blog post when I get the time detailing how it'd work in my head, and see if it can be expanded from there. I'll keep an eye on Almost Startup too; I really like the concept and it looks like an interesting hub :).
  - thiele 16y ago
    If you (or somebody else) can manage to pull together a proper "idea hub", I'll happily contrbute!
photon_off 16y ago
There's a website I visited two years ago all about sharing ideas. Some funny, some business, some absurd. It was an amazing place, but I cannot for the life of me recall the URL!
- khafra 16y ago
  halfbakery?
  - photon_off 16y ago
    Thank you so much!

mrj 16y ago

I want to do something awesome but haven't hit on a good idea yet. I think about code not business stuff. I would use this. :-)

joshbert 16y ago

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you present an idea. Seriously Justin, this was a great presentation. You probably have several ideas already, but maybe you would like to take a look at this spreadsheet: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ag-R_ZlGO21NdE9HSWRkbjNyUGRxS2JIV3NxYVdiaXc&hl=en https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ag-R_ZlGO21NdE9HSWR... It's chocked full of ideas, maybe you could pick what you consider the best ones out of the bunch and elaborate on them as you have done for Oregato? Either way, thanks for the wonderful inspiration!

thiele 16y ago
Thanks Josh! Don't worry I have plenty of other posts rattling around in my head, haha.
nhebb 16y ago
Is there some trick to editing Google Spreadsheets? I've never edited a shared document before. I signed in, clicked an open row, started typing, and ... nothing.

petercooper 16y ago

Or like cats - recycled.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

jiganti 16y ago

It's funny that people try to show that ideas have no value by giving theirs away, when the value of an idea could probably be quantified by how inclined someone is to not give it away.

thiele 16y ago
It's not my point to show that ideas don't have value. I simply don't have the bandwidth to execute on a lot of ideas and I think there's more value to putting them out than keeping them to myself. If I thought the idea didn't have value I wouldn't take the time to write it out and post it.
- vyrotek 16y ago
  There's also something interesting that happens when you try to fully write out an idea. When I do it, I usually only finish writing about the good ideas. Sometimes when you sit down and take the time to think out something you realize its not that great half way through writing it. Ideas are rarely very original anyway so you might as well write them out and if you get feedback then maybe you're on to something and can revisit it later. If anything, writing alone is an interesting filter mechanism for the idea hub. In the meantime, keep making Mugasha awesome!

Locke1689 16y ago

I think this is great. One thing that I've been thinking about recently is that all my startup ideas are very technically sophisticated. That is, while they might indeed have the potential to make a big impact, they also involve a lot of detailed technical work and focus in computer science. I think part of that is that I'm simply exposed to systems far more than most other fields, so it's interesting to see the kind of stuff other people come up with. I would never think of Twitter, for example.

lzw 16y ago

No, please don't! I have so many ideas already, they torment me, all crying out in the middle of the night, saying things like "why won't you do me?" and "remember how excited you were when you thought of me!" and " I guess you really DON'T want to be a billionaire!" They clog my days between sprints on my main product with distraction, making me eager to get the next sprint done so I can work in something REALLY good, when what I need to be doing is relaxing and recovering so I can do my best work in ten next phase if my real product. The one that is shipping and making money. Please don't let this idea giveaway become a trend! How how I long for the day when people demanded you dignity an nda before telling you their idea. Seriously, though, whittling down ideas seems to be half the work, and I am tormented by coming up with a great idea at least once a day. Only about %50 of them are obviously unfeasible which leaves way too many... It is really a burden because they do distract me. I think this giving away has merit, now which ones to give the boot to?

wccrawford 16y ago

It's funny, I've had a LOT of ideas for video games lately, mostly just small game mechanics ideas. I really, really want to write a game that incorporates them, but I'm finding that I just don't have time. I've been considering starting a game ideas blog and putting them all out there for anyone to use. Don't get me wrong, some are good and some are bad... But I think some are REALLY good and the bad ones could probably be improved. Sometimes just sorting good from bad depends on perspective, too. I haven't quite given up on the game yet, though, and I'd like to be the first to implement some. Apparently this guy is past that stage and has decided to just give the ideas away.

thiele 16y ago
Yeah, I know the feeling you're talking about. There's still some ideas that I'm not ready to let out for free yet. Oregato is one I've had for quite awhile. I like the idea, but I'm not so passionate about it that I can envision working on it full time for multiple years. So it's easier to put it out there.

JoeAltmaier 16y ago

What if a boxing promoter said "I know this guy, you fight him and we'll share the money?" Pay squat for an idea, and you've paid too much.

bconway 16y ago

Good post, it reminded me of this one: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1649260 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1649260

pshirishreddy 16y ago

well said than well done (: