Some random thoughts: 1. Good ideas are cheap. You sound like you're after a killer idea. There are very few killer ideas. Amazon was originally just buying bo

Some random thoughts: 1. Good ideas are cheap. You sound like you're after a killer idea. There are very few killer ideas. Amazon was originally just buying booms online. Google? A search engine. eBay? An auction site. 2. What matters is execution not the idea. 3. Just because someone else is doing it doesn't mean it's already done. You can have a different (better) take or simply do it better. 4. Pain points are a good starting point. Look at your life. What hires? What could be better? 5. Software is a great starting point because a decade an onternet startup took $5 million whereas now it is as little as $20k. 6. Don't get caught up in hype. For example social media is now (IMHO) hugely overhyped. You need to be somewhat contrarian. 7. Realize when a field is "done". For example, location. You would need a veru different take at this point to compete in this very crowded market. 8. Timing is everything. There was a video on demand startup or two every month before Youtube struck gold. 9. Success will take longer than you think it will.