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If you find a novel problem, there are two possibilities. The first is that people have been living without a solution to that problem for 100,000 years and nev

by jjk166 3y ago

If you find a novel problem, there are two possibilities. The first is that people have been living without a solution to that problem for 100,000 years and never noticed. It doesn't matter how life changing your solution might be, you will need to convince people that their lives need this particular form of improving. The other possibility is that people are well aware of the problem and everyone before you that has tried to solve it has failed. You will need to convince people with money and talent that you can succeed at this herculean feat, and then you actually need to do so. On the other hand, if you find a problem that people are already spending money to deal with, and you can offer a solution that's better (faster, cheaper, more flexible, more convenient, etc.), then you're in the money. You don't need to be particularly brilliant or creative, just bold enough to try something different. There will be a few that go for the exceptional route, but the generic startup is going to go for the generic product, for exactly the reason that it became a generic product in the first place.

idopmstuff 3y ago
There are at least two other possibilities. First, the problem may only have started to exist (or to become a real problem) in the relatively recent past. Carbon capture technology is a good example - 1000 years ago we didn't need to capture carbon. Maybe 100 years ago it would've been a good thing to get started on, but we didn't know the underlying problem was a problem yet. Second, the problem may have existed for some period of time, but only recently has the technology developed to solve it. I'm sure when people had horses and buggies, some of them thought that it would be nice if they could just tell the horses where to go and then go to sleep in the back. That wasn't possible, and it similarly wasn't possible for early cars to have any kind of self-driving technology. Now we're at the point in terms of hardware and software that it at least appears to be a tractable problem.
- jjk166 3y ago
  Your first option is part of my first option - the problem developing recently is a possible explanation for why people lived without a solution in the past, but you still need to convince people its now a problem they need to spend their money on solving. As we can see specifically with handling climate change, that's easier said than done. Your second option is part of my second option - some new technological development may allow you to do what no one has done before, but you must still convince people that you have this capability. As we see with self driving cars, many have claimed that hardware had reached the point it was achievable only to realize the problem is harder than they thought.
  - MichaelZuo 3y ago
    Did Otto Benz or Henry Ford need to 'convince' any horse and buggy owners or riders? I can't find evidence that they spent any more than a small effort, less than a quarter of a year of full time marketing, before they got serious traction. They simply built and offered a better and compelling enough product that little to no convincing was needed.

by jjk166 3y ago

idopmstuff 3y ago

There are at least two other possibilities. First, the problem may only have started to exist (or to become a real problem) in the relatively recent past. Carbon capture technology is a good example - 1000 years ago we didn't need to capture carbon. Maybe 100 years ago it would've been a good thing to get started on, but we didn't know the underlying problem was a problem yet. Second, the problem may have existed for some period of time, but only recently has the technology developed to solve it. I'm sure when people had horses and buggies, some of them thought that it would be nice if they could just tell the horses where to go and then go to sleep in the back. That wasn't possible, and it similarly wasn't possible for early cars to have any kind of self-driving technology. Now we're at the point in terms of hardware and software that it at least appears to be a tractable problem.

jjk166 3y ago
Your first option is part of my first option - the problem developing recently is a possible explanation for why people lived without a solution in the past, but you still need to convince people its now a problem they need to spend their money on solving. As we can see specifically with handling climate change, that's easier said than done. Your second option is part of my second option - some new technological development may allow you to do what no one has done before, but you must still convince people that you have this capability. As we see with self driving cars, many have claimed that hardware had reached the point it was achievable only to realize the problem is harder than they thought.
- MichaelZuo 3y ago
  Did Otto Benz or Henry Ford need to 'convince' any horse and buggy owners or riders? I can't find evidence that they spent any more than a small effort, less than a quarter of a year of full time marketing, before they got serious traction. They simply built and offered a better and compelling enough product that little to no convincing was needed.