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Extreme questions to trigger new, better ideas
- cc101 4y agoThis seems to offer a never failing font of innovative ideas. Thanks
- smcleod 4y agoI think you accidentally a typeface.
- cc101 4y agoYour right. It's not a word I remember ever using before. I should have looked it up. : )
- smcleod 4y agoI only mentioned it because I thought of a silly joke to reply with! ;)
- mkl 4y agoNo, it's correct usage. "Spring, source, fountain" [1], "a productive source" [2]. [1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/font https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/font [2] https://www.dictionary.com/browse/font https://www.dictionary.com/browse/font
- smcleod 4y agoWow! TIL - thanks for the information - I had no idea!
- quanticle 4y agoIf you were never allowed to provide tech support, in any form, what would have to change? Am I the only one who thinks that the answer to that question, for quite a few companies, is, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. In fact, that's pretty much what we do right now."
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- chii 4y agoWhat if we switched the question around: you have to provide individualized tech support for each customer? Essentially, they would get hand-holding. What would need to change?
- 8n4vidtmkvmk 4y agoI'm trying to think of how that would change the product. I would have to hire a team of folks to actually provide tech support, for sure. But the product? Would need less attention to detail because we'd always be a phone call away. Edit: Maybe I can train a ChatGPT embedding on how to use my product and force customers to use that...
- pjc50 4y agoThe support team will provide you with a set of suggestions as to how to change the product, unless you slap them down constantly.
- 8n4vidtmkvmk 4y agoThat's true. That kind of does happen actually. I let my business partner take all the calls and he sometimes asks me to change stuff based on recurring confusion.
- 082349872349872 4y agoWith high enough margins, you get customers who are willing to provide an engineer or two specifically to travel to you and learn how your product works.
- llanowarelves 4y agoThe bigger they get, the more true it is.
- meltyness 4y agoThe application of whatever conceptual model was being used here doesn't encompass the biggest innovations of the last few decades, open-source and user-generated content. Or in terms of the language of the article: how can we enlist the customer to work for us for free?
- smartbear 4y agoHa, I love it, thank you! I'll consider adding that. (Already added one new section thanks to other great ideas from others.)
- TeMPOraL 4y ago> how can we enlist the customer to work for us for free? That idea is kind of covered in the "No tech support" section, where they talk about the benefits of customer self-service.
- gnicholas 4y agoI like this. In the past, we've considered making our B2C products completely free, as a way to drastically increase our rate of adoption and spur further adoption of our B2B product (which is much more lucrative). But we've never pulled the trigger, out of a fear that we'd be giving up existing revenue, and because it would make it hard to start charging again later if we decided it was the wrong decision. Although I like this, I'm still not quite sure what to do with my answers to these big questions. That is, I shouldn't just go and do things because it popped into my head as an answer to an extreme question. If it were a low-risk great idea, on the other hand, I should obviously do it. But what about all those ideas in the middle, which seem like they carry a significant risk, but could also yield a significant reward?
- toast0 4y ago> because it would make it hard to start charging again later if we decided it was the wrong decision. You don't have to tell people it's free. Tell them it's free for the first year, and don't actually charge them for future years. Automatically extend their subscription at 30 days. Or only charge some people. Or cut them off when it expires, and then extend them 7 days after expiration. Lots of options if direct revenue isn't super required and you've got room to expirement.
- gnicholas 4y agoGreat suggestions. We've experimented with a free "student pass" (1/4 our users are university students), but it hasn't had a huge impact. This might be because there's some friction involved. Our current focus is on revamping our freemium structure, so that instead of 2 weeks of unlimited usage and then extremely limited functionality thereafter, it would instead offer indefinite usage on a limited number of websites (it's a browser plugin that enhances text to make it easier/faster to read). Previously we've (not surprisingly) seen a ton of uninstalls at 2 weeks, and with the new structure we're hoping to hang onto more users for the long haul. Some of them would eventually convert, and some would just continue to think about us and recommend to friends. But another side effect is we could increase the number of 'favorite sites' that people get, up to some arbitrarily large number so it's effectively free unlimited usage. Interestingly, the development that got us to pull the trigger on this change is the manifest v3 transition, which required us to revamp a lot of stuff about our extension so we figured we'd go for it. If this turns out to be a big plus for adoption, I guess we'll be thankful for being forced into the transition?
- placebo 4y agoRefreshingly thought-provoking suggestions. Hilarious relevant cartoons too.
- kingastachura 4y agointeresting one
- wiz21c 4y agoOne question is missing : "what if we had to pay for our environmental footprint" ? Since so few ask it in a meaningful way, I dare to say it is still, unfortunately, a pretty extreme questions for those it should be asked to.
- throwaway82388 4y agoPlenty of think tanks and NGOs are on it. Google “personal carbon quota”
- ThrowAgain 4y agoIs it? EU talks a lot about national carbon footprint, and GCP launched carbon calculator https://cloud.google.com/carbon-footprint https://cloud.google.com/carbon-footprint. Sure, noone asks this in explicit way but given current trends it feels like we are going in this direction very fast.
- pelasaco 4y agowell, EU talks a lot about national carbon footprint and normally the solution is to send the carbon footprint overseas, then the national problem is solved.
- cube2222 4y agoThis is actually being changed and was discussed here on HN[0]. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33833017 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33833017
- gricardo99 4y agoWhat would be the most fun thing to build? This really got me thinking, and excited! But then… It has to be something that makes our product better, not a random technology or unrelated market. :( Boo! Not so much fun anymore.
- smartbear 4y agoWell, for a hobby project, you definitely should consider the first and not the second! Indeed, even for a company, it's wise to be in "Explore" mode sometimes / somewhere, in which case again the constraint might hamper ideas. So I'd agree with you, removing that constraint could be a great idea!
- thom 4y agoI don’t hold most startup accelerators in high regard, but the one very stimulating activity we did was based on the ‘business model canvas’. It’s a marginally useful thing in itself to document all the moving parts of your business (real or imagined) but I really enjoyed a session we spent just working on hypotheticals like in this article, like what if this key resource is no longer available? What if you need new channels? You immediately realise that your business is a vector in a high-dimensional space and you can explore in any direction you like looking for some sort of fit. It was a great way of shaking us out of linear thinking, and instilling a sense of agility all the way down in a company.
- ankit219 4y agoVery thought provoking read. One question I do wonder at times, and is probably applicable here is: "what if I removed all the constraints, what would I do differently and how would things change?". Eg: Suppose nuclear fusion is successful, and you can actually power whole of earth for 800 years with 1 cup of hydrogen. That is, you don't have to worry about energy anymore. How would that change the human behavior both in short and long term? Or to go to a more individual level, "If time wasn't a constraint for me, would I ship it differently?" and so on.
- pjc50 4y ago> power whole of earth for 800 years with 1 cup of hydrogen And no capex? I mean, renewables already consume zero "fuel", but they do have considerable capital investment. "Cheap" energy in a box would obviously be completely transformative given how much of society is structured around extracting energy and using it efficiently to move things around or heat people or things. Depending on how cheap this is an even bigger transformation for developing countries. You could even start to think about terraforming.
- DrBazza 4y ago> "what if I removed all the constraints, what would I do differently and how would things change?". Eg: Suppose nuclear fusion is successful, and you can actually power whole of earth for 800 years with 1 cup of hydrogen. Build cheap and plentiful desalination plants on the west coasts of Africa, South America and Australia, and possibly re-green the Sahara and Outback.
- magarnicle 4y agoHow would you keep the Outback green? I'm no climate scientist, but I've wondered why it is the way it is. Is it due to the lack of a mountain range on the Australian west coast, so the air doesn't get pushed up to cool? Edit I forgot in this imagined world we have 'free' energy, so you can just pump water in.
- DrBazza 4y ago
- quickthrower2 4y agoGood questions. I particularly like the 10x price one. That might mean 10x revenue or 10% of the customer base for the same revenue.
- sublimefire 4y agoThis applies to the salaries as well :) What do I need to do to get 10x salary this/next year?
- smartbear 4y agoThis is a really good one. Could also apply the concept to the whole business in keeping with the pattern, i.e. "What if we _had_ to 10x revenue in the next 12 months, no matter the cost or impact on existing customers?" This might be related to "what if we had to 10x prices," but of course revenue = price X N, so it brings up the N question, which is fantastic to do. I'll consider how I might be able to add this to the article without too much overlap with "10x prices".
- smartbear 4y agoYeah, or maybe it's "both." :-) Which, if your goal is profitability, might be a great thing.
- kryptiskt 4y ago"What would <a random 1970s software/technology> look like redesigned as a modern web or cloud implementation?"
- college_physics 4y agoI am missing: "How could we make the world a better place while doing good business?" Probably too extreme a question.
- xoptions 4y agoWhat do you think about utopia?
- college_physics 4y agoAccording to search behavior at least, interest in utopias is growing steadily since the fifties. The fans of the "you never had it so good" theory must work a bit harder https://www.google.com/search?channel=fs&client=ubuntu&q=utopia+etymology https://www.google.com/search?channel=fs&client=ubuntu&q=uto... Interestingly, while from the beginning the word utopia was used to refer to a desirable (perfect) society, etymologically it simply means a place that does not exist. In contrast to dystopia, which is clearly a bad place.
- tremon 4y agoetymologically it simply means a place that does not exist This isn't true, I think? Assuming that it derives from the Greek τόπος (location), it literally means "good place" (εὖ-τόπος). The no-such-place translation in Greek would probably be ἄτοπος, but that's an existing word and uses one of the other meanings of τόπος (it means uncommon or absurd).
- TeMPOraL 4y agoOk, so a slightly less extreme version: "What would you do if you discovered that your company's core product or service has a net negative influence on the world?". This is a hypothetical, so assume the evidence you have is clear and the conclusion correct.
- safety1st 4y agoIt's not extreme, but it's somewhat naive. If you want to make the world a better place, there are usually better ways to do so than via a for-profit business. PR stunts aside, a business is where you allocate capital that needs to generate a return. Why overload this concept? Invest your money in a nonprofit or a charity instead. If you want to ride a horse, don't argue with a cow because it isn't a horse. Milk it, sell the milk, and buy a horse. ...And if this is not a discussion about how you personally are allocating your capital, your best next step is to go generate more capital because then you can invest it however you damn well please. :)
- IAmGraydon 4y agoI love this article. It really comes down to eliminating mental barriers that keep your thinking and your goals capped within a limited range.
- sakerbos 4y ago“Brainstorming” is hard—staring at a blank whiteboard, wondering whether someone could make a real-life “dark mode” whiteboard, then realizing that’s what a blackboard is, only dustier - this cracked me up!