4 ms·

Ask HN: What business pain points aren't being addressed well today?

I'm evaluating business pain points in search of a problem to solve with software. What software do you wish someone would create to solve a problem for your business? Do you see an underserved market that could use some attention? Is there a pain point that happens once a quarter or annually that no one has bothered to solve because manual processes have been working up to this point? Bonus: Any suggestions for lists or sites (such as https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/13-startup-ideas) that catalog business ideas for software?

CleverLikeAnOx 4y ago
Regulatory compliance. How can I know what laws are applicable? Accessibility, taxation, privacy, record retention, etc. are all areas that I think many businesses could use help.
- NoPicklez 4y ago
  As someone who works in compliance this absolutely. Think of data breaches as an example, do you know how long you need to keep particular records for? Do you have a process to remove records once you no longer need them? Additionally, businesses often need help in understanding the costs/risks with compliance vs non-compliance in order to direct their attention in the short term.
- TheLoafOfBread 4y ago
  This is actually something what meaningfully trained AI could do today. I.e. you will give it a request in human language (Am I allowed to do X) and AI will search through laws and returns results like: According to law A you are allowed to do X and according to law B you are forbidden to do X, but law B is valid only under this or this condition. Yeah that would simplify a lot of things.
  - mmcconnell1618 4y ago
    I like the idea of a natural language interface for manual requests. I wonder how that system could be applied at scale to an entire business. I know there are tools that can discover and classify data (for example, personally identifiable information) in storage. Maybe the AI system could proactively display known legal requirements for the types of data a business actually retains.
uptownfunk 4y ago
The best idea is to work on something you are passionate about.
- xkqd 4y ago
  Until you find that no one is willing to pay your hosting bills because they’re not interested in a product that’s like, “Uber for birds”
  - autotune 4y ago
    Yep, 100 percent this. I had to take several jobs recently that were not my passion but paid the bills. Of course, I also failed in those jobs because of that reason, but think I have finally found one that matches my interests and passions and comes with a nice pay bump to boot. I have a very hard time motivating myself to even get out of bed in the morning if the work I am paid to do during the day is not interesting.
- legitster 4y ago
  You can be passionate about helping people solve their problem.
netman21 4y ago
Same day closing. Gartner talked about this 20 years ago. ERP and accounting systems that do not require 4-8 weeks to close the books every quarter. Same solution for scenario planning. What is the impact of a sole supplier in Thailand deliver just in time being flooded out for 3 weeks? What happens to the bottom line if days outstanding receivables grow to 54 or 90?
- mmcconnell1618 4y ago
  Same day closing sounds like a feature that would need to be a part of the underlying ERP. The scenario planning ideas sound more possible as add-on/extensions to the main system. Thanks for the area to investigate.
- hyuuu 4y ago
  how does scenario being run today? like Excel modeling?
PaulWaldman 4y ago
It sounds like you're in search of a problem with the intention of developing a solution, which is great. I find though that B2B solutions generally require extensive domain knowledge and likely network connections. In fact, many B2B software companies are started by someone trying to scratch their own itch. Have you encountered any business challenges that you may have more insight on than the general public?
- WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
  I agree. You only know about the pain and how to fix it when you encounter the problem. Pick a business field and I'm sure there are hundreds of pain points to deal with but looking at it from the outside it's unlikely to easily be seen.
legitster 4y ago
Localization is probably one of the most expensive business processes that return the least bang for your buck. You can also never go wrong targeting sales. A business may not give a rip about time wasting nuisances, but even in the worst quarters the sales team always has a seemingly bottomless pool of resources to throw on prospecting tools.
- samuelstros 4y ago
  What makes you believe that localization has the a low bang for your buck return?
  - legitster 4y ago
    It's really expensive. Just to get a short email translated using one of the official services might cost a few hundred dollars.

CleverLikeAnOx 4y ago

Regulatory compliance. How can I know what laws are applicable? Accessibility, taxation, privacy, record retention, etc. are all areas that I think many businesses could use help.

NoPicklez 4y ago
As someone who works in compliance this absolutely. Think of data breaches as an example, do you know how long you need to keep particular records for? Do you have a process to remove records once you no longer need them? Additionally, businesses often need help in understanding the costs/risks with compliance vs non-compliance in order to direct their attention in the short term.
TheLoafOfBread 4y ago
This is actually something what meaningfully trained AI could do today. I.e. you will give it a request in human language (Am I allowed to do X) and AI will search through laws and returns results like: According to law A you are allowed to do X and according to law B you are forbidden to do X, but law B is valid only under this or this condition. Yeah that would simplify a lot of things.
- mmcconnell1618 4y ago
  I like the idea of a natural language interface for manual requests. I wonder how that system could be applied at scale to an entire business. I know there are tools that can discover and classify data (for example, personally identifiable information) in storage. Maybe the AI system could proactively display known legal requirements for the types of data a business actually retains.

uptownfunk 4y ago

The best idea is to work on something you are passionate about.

xkqd 4y ago
Until you find that no one is willing to pay your hosting bills because they’re not interested in a product that’s like, “Uber for birds”
- autotune 4y ago
  Yep, 100 percent this. I had to take several jobs recently that were not my passion but paid the bills. Of course, I also failed in those jobs because of that reason, but think I have finally found one that matches my interests and passions and comes with a nice pay bump to boot. I have a very hard time motivating myself to even get out of bed in the morning if the work I am paid to do during the day is not interesting.
legitster 4y ago
You can be passionate about helping people solve their problem.

netman21 4y ago

Same day closing. Gartner talked about this 20 years ago. ERP and accounting systems that do not require 4-8 weeks to close the books every quarter. Same solution for scenario planning. What is the impact of a sole supplier in Thailand deliver just in time being flooded out for 3 weeks? What happens to the bottom line if days outstanding receivables grow to 54 or 90?

mmcconnell1618 4y ago
Same day closing sounds like a feature that would need to be a part of the underlying ERP. The scenario planning ideas sound more possible as add-on/extensions to the main system. Thanks for the area to investigate.
hyuuu 4y ago
how does scenario being run today? like Excel modeling?

PaulWaldman 4y ago

It sounds like you're in search of a problem with the intention of developing a solution, which is great. I find though that B2B solutions generally require extensive domain knowledge and likely network connections. In fact, many B2B software companies are started by someone trying to scratch their own itch. Have you encountered any business challenges that you may have more insight on than the general public?

WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
I agree. You only know about the pain and how to fix it when you encounter the problem. Pick a business field and I'm sure there are hundreds of pain points to deal with but looking at it from the outside it's unlikely to easily be seen.

legitster 4y ago

Localization is probably one of the most expensive business processes that return the least bang for your buck. You can also never go wrong targeting sales. A business may not give a rip about time wasting nuisances, but even in the worst quarters the sales team always has a seemingly bottomless pool of resources to throw on prospecting tools.

samuelstros 4y ago
What makes you believe that localization has the a low bang for your buck return?
- legitster 4y ago
  It's really expensive. Just to get a short email translated using one of the official services might cost a few hundred dollars.