7 ms·

Find A Small Problem And Build A Simple Solution.

68 points by j_camarena 15y ago

discreteevent 15y ago
This may sound naive but has anyone got any advice or links to advice on the best way to find real problems to solve, big or small. Preferably small, though because with the big ones its often harder to tell whether they are something that people really want. I'm looking for a way of finding the kinds of things where its relatively easy to tell whether they have a good chance of making some money right now. Its a tall order,I know but you never know what people know until you ask.
- patrickyeon 15y ago
  "The Best of edw519", http://edweissman.com/53640595 http://edweissman.com/53640595 "How do I find business problems to solve" is answered a few times over, from different angles, in Ed's comments collected there. I'm not going to tell you which answers exactly, because you should probably read the whole thing.
- AznHisoka 15y ago
  I think it's best to tackle a small problem in a big space. Like helping people track their weight, which is small in scope, but the number of people who need to lose weight is gigantic. That way, you can gradually increase in scope as you gain more traction, instead of being limited.
- dean 15y ago
  Rob Walling (http://www.softwarebyrob.com/ http://www.softwarebyrob.com/) has a book called 'Start Small, Stay Small' that sounds like what you are looking for. He talks about finding a problem to solve, and has lots of practical tips and advice on how to determine if there is a market for the solution.
jluan 15y ago
Find a big problem, identify a basis for its vector space, and build that basis. My opinion is that all "small problems with simple solutions" that have become successful were actually cases of big problems masquerading as small ones.
- j_camarena 15y ago
  So true. The problem i see is that people limit them selves saying "to do X first i need W and i don't have W". You need to start with anything, NOW. No excuses. NOW... then you will find a bunch of new "problems" to solve. You are in a "blind spot" until the ball starts rolling.
  - pbhjpbhj 15y ago
    >You need to start with anything, NOW. No excuses. // So I've got a problem and an outline solution. I just need R&D capital and a few months in a workshop to create a prototype, get a patent and then take that looking for investments ... How do I start "NOW" with what I have, no money, no time, no workshop. Enthusiasm doesn't solve every problem.
    - j_camarena 15y ago
      Well; those are excuses from my point of view. You can save money and sure you can invest less time on hackernews and more in your ptoject. If you can't do anything of that for what you have in mind try to go for something smaller but always thinking in the long-pitch. I'm just saying ..
      - pbhjpbhj 15y ago
        I can't save money, really I can't. Time I can probably manage a little of, but then I use HN for relaxation when I'm tired so it's not really productive time that I'm using up. The project is nothing without capital and a workshop; just dead. Sure there's other things to do but then I'm giving up on the project and that would be falling to the point you attacked that to do X [this project] I need Y and Z.
dsafasdf 15y ago
6k usd in a year? wow!
j_camarena 15y ago
La versión en español del articulo esta aqui // The Spanish version of the article is here: http://jcamarena.com/espanol/encuentra-un-pequeno-problema-y-construye-una-solucion-simple/ http://jcamarena.com/espanol/encuentra-un-pequeno-problema-y...
variousbagels 15y ago
This might be a great article and I wouldn't even know it. I can't get past the first few sentences because it is thoroughly riddled with typos, missing capitalizations, and other careless errors that would've been fixed if this post wasn't written free-thought and was re-read before publishing. Try presenting yourself professionally online. Often times what you say is just as important as how you say it.
- j_camarena 15y ago
  Thanks for the feedback :)!... I'm still reading and fixing typos .. but i was finishing the Spanish version of my article first. Also, my English is not pretty good because is not my primary language.
  - variousbagels 15y ago
    I apologize that that came off as rude. Your English is a lot better than my Spanish.
    - j_camarena 15y ago
      no problem, i already fixed some of the typos :).
      - Mz 15y ago
        I’ts true?. Do i need to diversify my startup? Or its a better idea to put all the eggs in one basket?. Should be (or at least a better version, not promising it's perfect): Is it true? Do I need to diversify my startup? Or is it a better idea to put all my eggs in one basket? (Feel free to copy and paste if you can't tell what I did different.) best of luck
        j_camarena 15y ago
        thanks
sun123 15y ago
I guess,finding a problem to solve is in itself sort of a talent.
- discreteevent 15y ago
  That could be true but I think that very few people really have that talent. Most people have only one or two good ideas and those come from observing something in a domain that they are in. That's why pg gives the advice to work on something you know about because no doubt he has observed the relative success rate of people who work on things inside and outside of their domains. I think there may be a few people who do have the talent to find problems outside of their immediate domain but I also think that like any 'talent' its probably something you could learn and develop by observing those people, how they think, what they do etc.
- pknerd 15y ago
  True and finding a very important makes it more special.
highace 15y ago
This hit home for me. Previously we had identified a problem, but instead of just getting out there and getting started with the quickest working solution, we spent ages building a fully comprehensive service that did it all and more. The outcome: we wasted resources building things we didnt need and werent used, while our competitors sailed off into the sunset.
- tomblomfield 15y ago
  +1 This happens so often with early start-ups, including my own. I wish someone had told me; Build something that provides an basic minimum quantum of utility. Release it immediately. Iterate. Or maybe they did tell me, but I wasn't listening.

68 points by j_camarena 15y ago

This may sound naive but has anyone got any advice or links to advice on the best way to find real problems to solve, big or small. Preferably small, though because with the big ones its often harder to tell whether they are something that people really want. I'm looking for a way of finding the kinds of things where its relatively easy to tell whether they have a good chance of making some money right now. Its a tall order,I know but you never know what people know until you ask.

patrickyeon 15y ago
"The Best of edw519", http://edweissman.com/53640595 http://edweissman.com/53640595 "How do I find business problems to solve" is answered a few times over, from different angles, in Ed's comments collected there. I'm not going to tell you which answers exactly, because you should probably read the whole thing.
AznHisoka 15y ago
I think it's best to tackle a small problem in a big space. Like helping people track their weight, which is small in scope, but the number of people who need to lose weight is gigantic. That way, you can gradually increase in scope as you gain more traction, instead of being limited.
dean 15y ago
Rob Walling (http://www.softwarebyrob.com/ http://www.softwarebyrob.com/) has a book called 'Start Small, Stay Small' that sounds like what you are looking for. He talks about finding a problem to solve, and has lots of practical tips and advice on how to determine if there is a market for the solution.

jluan 15y ago

Find a big problem, identify a basis for its vector space, and build that basis. My opinion is that all "small problems with simple solutions" that have become successful were actually cases of big problems masquerading as small ones.

j_camarena 15y ago
So true. The problem i see is that people limit them selves saying "to do X first i need W and i don't have W". You need to start with anything, NOW. No excuses. NOW... then you will find a bunch of new "problems" to solve. You are in a "blind spot" until the ball starts rolling.
- pbhjpbhj 15y ago
  >You need to start with anything, NOW. No excuses. // So I've got a problem and an outline solution. I just need R&D capital and a few months in a workshop to create a prototype, get a patent and then take that looking for investments ... How do I start "NOW" with what I have, no money, no time, no workshop. Enthusiasm doesn't solve every problem.
  - j_camarena 15y ago
    Well; those are excuses from my point of view. You can save money and sure you can invest less time on hackernews and more in your ptoject. If you can't do anything of that for what you have in mind try to go for something smaller but always thinking in the long-pitch. I'm just saying ..
    - pbhjpbhj 15y ago
      I can't save money, really I can't. Time I can probably manage a little of, but then I use HN for relaxation when I'm tired so it's not really productive time that I'm using up. The project is nothing without capital and a workshop; just dead. Sure there's other things to do but then I'm giving up on the project and that would be falling to the point you attacked that to do X [this project] I need Y and Z.

dsafasdf 15y ago

6k usd in a year? wow!

j_camarena 15y ago

La versión en español del articulo esta aqui // The Spanish version of the article is here: http://jcamarena.com/espanol/encuentra-un-pequeno-problema-y-construye-una-solucion-simple/ http://jcamarena.com/espanol/encuentra-un-pequeno-problema-y...

variousbagels 15y ago

This might be a great article and I wouldn't even know it. I can't get past the first few sentences because it is thoroughly riddled with typos, missing capitalizations, and other careless errors that would've been fixed if this post wasn't written free-thought and was re-read before publishing. Try presenting yourself professionally online. Often times what you say is just as important as how you say it.

j_camarena 15y ago
Thanks for the feedback :)!... I'm still reading and fixing typos .. but i was finishing the Spanish version of my article first. Also, my English is not pretty good because is not my primary language.
- variousbagels 15y ago
  I apologize that that came off as rude. Your English is a lot better than my Spanish.
  - j_camarena 15y ago
    no problem, i already fixed some of the typos :).
    - Mz 15y ago
      I’ts true?. Do i need to diversify my startup? Or its a better idea to put all the eggs in one basket?. Should be (or at least a better version, not promising it's perfect): Is it true? Do I need to diversify my startup? Or is it a better idea to put all my eggs in one basket? (Feel free to copy and paste if you can't tell what I did different.) best of luck
      - j_camarena 15y ago
        thanks

sun123 15y ago

I guess,finding a problem to solve is in itself sort of a talent.

discreteevent 15y ago
That could be true but I think that very few people really have that talent. Most people have only one or two good ideas and those come from observing something in a domain that they are in. That's why pg gives the advice to work on something you know about because no doubt he has observed the relative success rate of people who work on things inside and outside of their domains. I think there may be a few people who do have the talent to find problems outside of their immediate domain but I also think that like any 'talent' its probably something you could learn and develop by observing those people, how they think, what they do etc.
pknerd 15y ago
True and finding a very important makes it more special.

highace 15y ago

This hit home for me. Previously we had identified a problem, but instead of just getting out there and getting started with the quickest working solution, we spent ages building a fully comprehensive service that did it all and more. The outcome: we wasted resources building things we didnt need and werent used, while our competitors sailed off into the sunset.

tomblomfield 15y ago
+1 This happens so often with early start-ups, including my own. I wish someone had told me; Build something that provides an basic minimum quantum of utility. Release it immediately. Iterate. Or maybe they did tell me, but I wasn't listening.