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Yes! All startups are created to solve a problem, regardless of the tools used. Apps are simply tools to solve human problems. Because humans will always have c

Yes! All startups are created to solve a problem, regardless of the tools used. Apps are simply tools to solve human problems. Because humans will always have challenges to address, software will remain a vital tool. While AI makes writing software much easier. It's likely to lead to an explosion of new apps. Only those that fill a genuine need will survive. Your job is to identify these new problems and determine which apps to build. Simple apps are a thing of the past. If an LLM can generate an app in a few sittings, it isn't a saleable product. However, people will still pay for a fully engineered application that solves a complex problem that AI cannot easily replicate. Regarding copies, there is always room for more than one solution to the same need. Your challenge is to figure out how to stand out. A fundamental business hurdle, that has existed since the beginning. Here's an idea that always bear's fruit. We humans love to do things as easy as possible. Write something that saves energy, time and is simple then people will pay for it.

hooverd 9mo ago
Plus, how many of these existing apps were just databases wired up in different ways?
- coliveira 9mo ago
  And how many of these apps were just files wired up in different ways?
- LPisGood 9mo ago
  This is why I like using mathematical or algorithmic approaches to solve difficult problems. Writing programs that use statistics, mathematics, optimization, analytical geometry, etc guarantee a certain level of security from the swarms of CRUD merchants flooding the market.
latexr 9mo ago
> All startups are created to solve a problem And most of the time that problem is “the founders don’t have as much money as they want”. > Apps are simply tools to solve human problems. Because humans will always have challenges to address, software will remain a vital tool. You make it sound like it’s something noble, but let’s not pretend most software companies these days don’t have “make me rich” as the top goal. Effectively everything VC backed (yes, including by Y Combinator) falls in that category. That’s why pivots are a thing. Most founders these days don’t give a shit about what they’re building or customers, they only care about the payoff.
- cowboy_henk 9mo ago
  That's a cynical take, but a more positive interpretation is that pivots are needed if your company isn't actually solving a problem. Otherwise people would pay for it, and the founders would be getting rich. So you need to pivot until you actually create a solution to a problem that people will pay for.
  - latexr 9mo ago
    > That's a cynical take One that you apparently agree with, given the rest of your comment. > you need to pivot until you actually create a solution to a problem that people will pay for. In other words: You don’t care about the problem, you care about the profit from selling a solution. If a startup is “created to solve a problem” and then pivots to solve a different problem because the first one wasn’t profitable, that means profit was the priority, not solving the problem.
    - pousada 9mo ago
      Of course profit is a priority how else are you going to pay the bills/employees etc?
      - deleted 9mo ago
        [deleted]
      - latexr 9mo ago
        “The”, not “a”. There is a chasm of difference between “I care about this problem and want to solve it, but I also need to think how to make it sustainable” and “I don’t really care what I’m tackling, as long as I make bank”. Both exist. The second one is ever more the norm.
        tock 9mo ago
        Why is this a problem? As long as the problem gets solved.
raw_anon_1111 9mo ago
These startups were not created to solve a problem, some didn’t even have a technical person. These startups were created to be VC bait and hopefully sell out to the bigger fool https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Uy2aWoeRZopMIaXXxY2EZqQ-p1XkybYp21llKCfLsME/edit?usp=drivesdk https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Uy2aWoeRZopMIaXXxY2E...

hooverd 9mo ago

Plus, how many of these existing apps were just databases wired up in different ways?

coliveira 9mo ago
And how many of these apps were just files wired up in different ways?
LPisGood 9mo ago
This is why I like using mathematical or algorithmic approaches to solve difficult problems. Writing programs that use statistics, mathematics, optimization, analytical geometry, etc guarantee a certain level of security from the swarms of CRUD merchants flooding the market.

latexr 9mo ago

> All startups are created to solve a problem And most of the time that problem is “the founders don’t have as much money as they want”. > Apps are simply tools to solve human problems. Because humans will always have challenges to address, software will remain a vital tool. You make it sound like it’s something noble, but let’s not pretend most software companies these days don’t have “make me rich” as the top goal. Effectively everything VC backed (yes, including by Y Combinator) falls in that category. That’s why pivots are a thing. Most founders these days don’t give a shit about what they’re building or customers, they only care about the payoff.

cowboy_henk 9mo ago
That's a cynical take, but a more positive interpretation is that pivots are needed if your company isn't actually solving a problem. Otherwise people would pay for it, and the founders would be getting rich. So you need to pivot until you actually create a solution to a problem that people will pay for.
- latexr 9mo ago
  > That's a cynical take One that you apparently agree with, given the rest of your comment. > you need to pivot until you actually create a solution to a problem that people will pay for. In other words: You don’t care about the problem, you care about the profit from selling a solution. If a startup is “created to solve a problem” and then pivots to solve a different problem because the first one wasn’t profitable, that means profit was the priority, not solving the problem.
  - pousada 9mo ago
    Of course profit is a priority how else are you going to pay the bills/employees etc?
    - deleted 9mo ago
      [deleted]
    - latexr 9mo ago
      “The”, not “a”. There is a chasm of difference between “I care about this problem and want to solve it, but I also need to think how to make it sustainable” and “I don’t really care what I’m tackling, as long as I make bank”. Both exist. The second one is ever more the norm.
      - tock 9mo ago
        Why is this a problem? As long as the problem gets solved.

raw_anon_1111 9mo ago

These startups were not created to solve a problem, some didn’t even have a technical person. These startups were created to be VC bait and hopefully sell out to the bigger fool https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Uy2aWoeRZopMIaXXxY2EZqQ-p1XkybYp21llKCfLsME/edit?usp=drivesdk https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Uy2aWoeRZopMIaXXxY2E...