6 ms·

No one wants to advertise their money making niche ideas, especially if they are easy to copy.

pen2l 8y ago
Yep. There are probably lots of HN users who have really nifty side projects but won't disclose it for more or less the reasons you cite.
harel 8y ago
Ideas are not worth much. Only execution matters.
- osrec 8y ago
  This is very true. I happily discuss my ideas publicly for feedback. Helps with failing faster. Execution and luck are more important than the idea itself. In fact, I would say most ideas aren't really worth much (some are, but those are one in a million).
  - westoncb 8y ago
    I think that's the difficulty a lot of people have with this: it seems to them like their idea might be one of those "one in a million". Part of the difficultly for me has been realizing that the it's not just a rare, good idea that matters—but that it's a rare and good business idea specifically. For instance, I've had a couple projects that gained interest by researchers, which I took as evidence that they might be uncommonly good; but getting the attention of researchers is different from getting the attention of investors for a reason, and it's still questionable whether either has even above average value as a business idea...
    - osrec 8y ago
      The thing is, most people are actually good at generating ideas. It's really not the hard part. The fact that your great idea has probably already been done by someone before you is a testament to this fact. Sit me down for an hour and I could probably come up with 10 good business ideas, and I bet if I Google each idea, someone's already doing it. That's not a reason to be disheartened though. What you're looking for is an arbitrage opportunity in execution. Do you back yourself to execute better than the other guy that got there first? If yes, then press on. Nothing is more saturated than the market I chose (accounting/business management app). But the incumbents are cocky and out of date, and I felt my execution could win me a good share of customers. A definite gamble, but it's working out alright :)
- dpcan 8y ago
  Well, sometimes. But a lot of industries suffer from too many people poorly executing ideas. Makes it even harder for the "good guys" to catch a break, acquire, and keep customers. Some examples are SEO, entertainment, and mobile games.
  - justin_oaks 8y ago
    Sounds like Sturgeon's law: Ninety percent of everything is crap. "Everything" can mean every industry and their products. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law
- aclsid 8y ago
  Sounds like somebody participated in an accelerator :)
  - harel 8y ago
    :) Never ever.
- ryanwaggoner 8y ago
  A list of validated-but-under-exploited ideas definitely has a lot of value.
- rl3 8y ago
  >Ideas are not worth much. Only execution matters. I'd argue both matter. It's just as easy to execute really well on a half-baked idea and get nowhere.
- Delameko 8y ago
  That's the problem, though, isn't it? Someone could see a $500/pm idea in this thread, being developed by a solo dev, and think: "that's a good idea". They put a team of seasoned devs on it and created their own $500k/pm version.
  - harel 8y ago
    If that is the case, that idea was in the wrong hands to begin with. All the successful ventures you see seeded by an idea but grow to the success that they are because of execution and good ol' fashioned luck. There is nothing original or groundbreaking in Slack for example. Nor are they the only ones playing in that space. But Slack are Slack because they executed well enough and luck was on their side (right place right time).
- jacknews 8y ago
  That's not true, witness many deals for movie plots, where people simply pitch an idea and outline, and collect, sometimes big, money. Of course the movie does actually have to be made, and well, to succeed, but the idea for it is valuable in itself, so long as it is actually an original and interesting idea. A cynic might suggest that VCs spread the "ideas are worthless" meme for their own benefit. Or perhaps they only ever really encounter the "uber, for doughnuts" type pitches which indeed generally have little value.
  - harel 8y ago
    Films are not startups. A film is a sum of it's parts in a very even way. A good film must have a good story AND good acting and good cinematography, and good music. When the balance is broken the film suffers in some regards. When that balance is too broken it flops. Also, a film has a life shelf of a month give or take (in Cinema). Businesses hope to last (just a bit) longer.
- ransom1538 8y ago
  I love this terrible sentence. But no (unfortunately). The idea is everything. A great idea and terrible team usually succeeds. An amazing team and terrible idea almost always fails. VCs can only control the team. That is why they push this idea really hard.
  - harel 8y ago
    They idea is not worth much in the sense that if you thought of it, there is a 98% chance someone else has thought of it before you, and 95% chance a few others are already doing it. The remaining few percents on both cases determine that the idea is not worth much. Great ideas with done badly can succeed, but those successes are usually short term and fade away, in particular when someone else copies the idea and does it better. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Really. Not that hard to come up with them. Coming through with one to a launch and running a business with it - that's the hard part.
    - ransom1538 8y ago
      "Ideas are a dime a dozen. Really. " Really? Pitch me one.
      - harel 8y ago
        Find an industry you are familiar with, or perhaps a friend or family member. Find their pain points. Find how technology can help. Then see if it is something that they will pay for. Look around your daily life. Find problems to fix. Most likely someone else is already fixing them and if not, they will once you start if your idea is good enough. Two ideas for you off the top of my head: Do CRM right for SMBs. (Sounds simple, but it's not, because of the S and the M in SMB). Do time tracking right (timesheet management for contractors etc.). Never saw a single solution that didn't suck to the extreme. Bonus tip: Here's a thing though: non techies won't have the advantage a technical person (i.e., adventurous software developer) has: The tech can do it with minimal resources and overheads. If you also have a business sense - that's great. Otherwise break existing market by offering a superior service dirt cheap (but not free!). Once you reach a critical mass, grandfather the existing accounts in their original early bird price and nudge the cost for new customers up a bit. Automate as much as you can and you have a side income with potential to be main income.

Yep. There are probably lots of HN users who have really nifty side projects but won't disclose it for more or less the reasons you cite.

harel 8y ago

Ideas are not worth much. Only execution matters.

osrec 8y ago
This is very true. I happily discuss my ideas publicly for feedback. Helps with failing faster. Execution and luck are more important than the idea itself. In fact, I would say most ideas aren't really worth much (some are, but those are one in a million).
- westoncb 8y ago
  I think that's the difficulty a lot of people have with this: it seems to them like their idea might be one of those "one in a million". Part of the difficultly for me has been realizing that the it's not just a rare, good idea that matters—but that it's a rare and good business idea specifically. For instance, I've had a couple projects that gained interest by researchers, which I took as evidence that they might be uncommonly good; but getting the attention of researchers is different from getting the attention of investors for a reason, and it's still questionable whether either has even above average value as a business idea...
  - osrec 8y ago
    The thing is, most people are actually good at generating ideas. It's really not the hard part. The fact that your great idea has probably already been done by someone before you is a testament to this fact. Sit me down for an hour and I could probably come up with 10 good business ideas, and I bet if I Google each idea, someone's already doing it. That's not a reason to be disheartened though. What you're looking for is an arbitrage opportunity in execution. Do you back yourself to execute better than the other guy that got there first? If yes, then press on. Nothing is more saturated than the market I chose (accounting/business management app). But the incumbents are cocky and out of date, and I felt my execution could win me a good share of customers. A definite gamble, but it's working out alright :)
dpcan 8y ago
Well, sometimes. But a lot of industries suffer from too many people poorly executing ideas. Makes it even harder for the "good guys" to catch a break, acquire, and keep customers. Some examples are SEO, entertainment, and mobile games.
- justin_oaks 8y ago
  Sounds like Sturgeon's law: Ninety percent of everything is crap. "Everything" can mean every industry and their products. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law
aclsid 8y ago
Sounds like somebody participated in an accelerator :)
- harel 8y ago
  :) Never ever.
ryanwaggoner 8y ago
A list of validated-but-under-exploited ideas definitely has a lot of value.
rl3 8y ago
>Ideas are not worth much. Only execution matters. I'd argue both matter. It's just as easy to execute really well on a half-baked idea and get nowhere.
Delameko 8y ago
That's the problem, though, isn't it? Someone could see a $500/pm idea in this thread, being developed by a solo dev, and think: "that's a good idea". They put a team of seasoned devs on it and created their own $500k/pm version.
- harel 8y ago
  If that is the case, that idea was in the wrong hands to begin with. All the successful ventures you see seeded by an idea but grow to the success that they are because of execution and good ol' fashioned luck. There is nothing original or groundbreaking in Slack for example. Nor are they the only ones playing in that space. But Slack are Slack because they executed well enough and luck was on their side (right place right time).
jacknews 8y ago
That's not true, witness many deals for movie plots, where people simply pitch an idea and outline, and collect, sometimes big, money. Of course the movie does actually have to be made, and well, to succeed, but the idea for it is valuable in itself, so long as it is actually an original and interesting idea. A cynic might suggest that VCs spread the "ideas are worthless" meme for their own benefit. Or perhaps they only ever really encounter the "uber, for doughnuts" type pitches which indeed generally have little value.
- harel 8y ago
  Films are not startups. A film is a sum of it's parts in a very even way. A good film must have a good story AND good acting and good cinematography, and good music. When the balance is broken the film suffers in some regards. When that balance is too broken it flops. Also, a film has a life shelf of a month give or take (in Cinema). Businesses hope to last (just a bit) longer.
ransom1538 8y ago
I love this terrible sentence. But no (unfortunately). The idea is everything. A great idea and terrible team usually succeeds. An amazing team and terrible idea almost always fails. VCs can only control the team. That is why they push this idea really hard.
- harel 8y ago
  They idea is not worth much in the sense that if you thought of it, there is a 98% chance someone else has thought of it before you, and 95% chance a few others are already doing it. The remaining few percents on both cases determine that the idea is not worth much. Great ideas with done badly can succeed, but those successes are usually short term and fade away, in particular when someone else copies the idea and does it better. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Really. Not that hard to come up with them. Coming through with one to a launch and running a business with it - that's the hard part.
  - ransom1538 8y ago
    "Ideas are a dime a dozen. Really. " Really? Pitch me one.
    - harel 8y ago
      Find an industry you are familiar with, or perhaps a friend or family member. Find their pain points. Find how technology can help. Then see if it is something that they will pay for. Look around your daily life. Find problems to fix. Most likely someone else is already fixing them and if not, they will once you start if your idea is good enough. Two ideas for you off the top of my head: Do CRM right for SMBs. (Sounds simple, but it's not, because of the S and the M in SMB). Do time tracking right (timesheet management for contractors etc.). Never saw a single solution that didn't suck to the extreme. Bonus tip: Here's a thing though: non techies won't have the advantage a technical person (i.e., adventurous software developer) has: The tech can do it with minimal resources and overheads. If you also have a business sense - that's great. Otherwise break existing market by offering a superior service dirt cheap (but not free!). Once you reach a critical mass, grandfather the existing accounts in their original early bird price and nudge the cost for new customers up a bit. Automate as much as you can and you have a side income with potential to be main income.