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I think Paul over simplified this one. The average hacker is attracted to things like recipe sites because these are solutions which can be accomplished entirel

I think Paul over simplified this one. The average hacker is attracted to things like recipe sites because these are solutions which can be accomplished entirely by code and execution. They are driven away by problem spaces which require foreign skills or unknown social networks, namely startups involving payment processing and banks. So really a schlep is just a hard problem, one that the person considering it doesn't have the skills or know-how to solve. It's easy to say that there is hidden value in these "schlep niches" but not if you don't have the slightest inkling of how to approach it. It'd be like me telling the average hacker to go start a farm.

mixmax 15y ago
Startups aren't only for hackers, though you might easily be deceived into thinking so if you live in the Valley or spend a lot of time on HN. Ingvar Kamprad started Ikea, Richard Branson started Virgin and Warren Buffett started Berkshire Hathaway - all very successful entrepreneurs that wouldn't be able to code an if-then loop if their life depended on it.. It's about niches in the market, not about who fills them. For any given hard problem in a marketniche there's probably someone out there who is passionate about it. Hacker, MBA, farmer, or something entirely different.
- sireat 15y ago
  Sorry to nitpick, but Warren Buffett did not start Berkshire Hathaway, he bought an ailing textile manufacturing company in 1960s thinking he could turn it around. He could not, but Berkshire eventually became a holding company for most of his investments. Warren Buffett is more of an example of meta-enterepreneur, that is he is great at investing in companies with great entrepreneurs (and managers). Your original point still stands.
unoti 15y ago
It's funny. "Starting a farm" seems like it'd be easier than my current schlep, which is figuring out how to market an app. Researching "how to start a farm" seems like a problem I could sink my teeth into a lot easier. To me that supports your thesis.
- sopooneo 15y ago
  I know you use it as a general example, but do some very basic research on what it would take to start a farm... and not go broke within a year. You will feel differently.
pg 15y ago
The founders of Stripe didn't know any more about banking than farming when they decided to start the company. It was precisely their willingness to undertake alien problems (= schleps) that made them so effective.
- tansey 15y ago
  It was the same way with my startup. I had no idea how Hollywood or fashion worked, but I had a problem [1] and when I asked people if they knew how to solve it, they just gave me back a similar problem they once had [2]. At that point, I figured this was a good company to build. If it's even possible, the entertainment and fashion industries may require even more schlepping than the banking industry. Instead of dealing with lots of regulation and paperwork, now you're frequently dealing with self-obsessed, anti-technology narcissists who are completely unwilling to help you do anything. But we muddled through and did the work that everyone else doesn't want to do. And that's why we're launching this week. [1] I wanted to buy my girlfriend the sunglasses that Bella was wearing in Twilight, but couldn't find them anywhere. [2] Johnny Depp's sunglasses in Blow, a necklace from Real Housewives, etc.
  - nl 15y ago
    Having to watch Twilight is a schlepp too far for me.

mixmax 15y ago

Startups aren't only for hackers, though you might easily be deceived into thinking so if you live in the Valley or spend a lot of time on HN. Ingvar Kamprad started Ikea, Richard Branson started Virgin and Warren Buffett started Berkshire Hathaway - all very successful entrepreneurs that wouldn't be able to code an if-then loop if their life depended on it.. It's about niches in the market, not about who fills them. For any given hard problem in a marketniche there's probably someone out there who is passionate about it. Hacker, MBA, farmer, or something entirely different.

sireat 15y ago
Sorry to nitpick, but Warren Buffett did not start Berkshire Hathaway, he bought an ailing textile manufacturing company in 1960s thinking he could turn it around. He could not, but Berkshire eventually became a holding company for most of his investments. Warren Buffett is more of an example of meta-enterepreneur, that is he is great at investing in companies with great entrepreneurs (and managers). Your original point still stands.

unoti 15y ago

It's funny. "Starting a farm" seems like it'd be easier than my current schlep, which is figuring out how to market an app. Researching "how to start a farm" seems like a problem I could sink my teeth into a lot easier. To me that supports your thesis.

sopooneo 15y ago
I know you use it as a general example, but do some very basic research on what it would take to start a farm... and not go broke within a year. You will feel differently.

pg 15y ago

The founders of Stripe didn't know any more about banking than farming when they decided to start the company. It was precisely their willingness to undertake alien problems (= schleps) that made them so effective.

tansey 15y ago
It was the same way with my startup. I had no idea how Hollywood or fashion worked, but I had a problem [1] and when I asked people if they knew how to solve it, they just gave me back a similar problem they once had [2]. At that point, I figured this was a good company to build. If it's even possible, the entertainment and fashion industries may require even more schlepping than the banking industry. Instead of dealing with lots of regulation and paperwork, now you're frequently dealing with self-obsessed, anti-technology narcissists who are completely unwilling to help you do anything. But we muddled through and did the work that everyone else doesn't want to do. And that's why we're launching this week. [1] I wanted to buy my girlfriend the sunglasses that Bella was wearing in Twilight, but couldn't find them anywhere. [2] Johnny Depp's sunglasses in Blow, a necklace from Real Housewives, etc.
- nl 15y ago
  Having to watch Twilight is a schlepp too far for me.