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"All we needed was an idea for a product that people were willing to pay for" This is the difficult part, in my opinion. Sure, "Ideas are all around us" but f

"All we needed was an idea for a product that people were willing to pay for" This is the difficult part, in my opinion. Sure, "Ideas are all around us" but finding one that people will genuinely pay for, in a market big enough to be profitable yet not already saturated with high quality competitors, is very difficult.

jammur 14y ago
I think this is the problem that the "Lean Startup" methodologies aim to solve, enabling you to cheaply and quickly test out ideas in order to find the one that will satisfy the criteria you listed.
- marshallp 14y ago
  Yeah, it's such a simple thing that nerds don't seem to get. Put out ads on craigslist, adwords, indiegogo. Whatever sells, do that. The biggest problem is having more ideas than time to write them into an ad, there's too many potential products. You can outsource the creation of whatever sells so executing isn't even that big a hurdle (though you do have to be careful with initial pricing on the ad so that costs don't get you).
  - davedx 14y ago
    Do you have examples of these ads? I'd love to see how other people phrase them as I'm investigating this kind of stuff for myself at the moment.
markkanof 14y ago
I don't want to downplay your point, because it's certainly not trivial identify a problem where people are willing to pay for the solution to that problem. However, if you know anyone in an industry other than software development, this can be a great source of ideas. Just ask a few questions about what their day to day job responsibilities entail. Then sit back and let them talk. I find that most people pretty quickly start talking about the pain points. Some of those pain points are likely to be something that people would pay to solve. Plus you give your friend/family member/acquaintance a chance to vent which they probably appreciate as well.
- chc 14y ago
  This suggestion always drives me batty, because it sounds like a good idea, but either my acquaintances are just spectacularly unhelpful or it requires some great skill that is always omitted from the suggestion.
  - shagbag 14y ago
    If they allow it, you could go with them to their workplace and have them explain what they're doing as they do it. This will give you a much better idea of what their workday actually entails and make up for your friends' inability to describe their activities.
  - nodelt 14y ago
    The missing piece is your own analysis. They cannot tell you how to solve their problem, you must do that. They can only tell you where their problems lie. Combining your greater understanding of the wider internet domain and your ability to ask pertinent questions, with what you and your team might be able to accomplish, possible solutions will sometimes reveal themselves.
    - vdm 14y ago
      They can't even identify the essential problem in many cases, because they don't know how technology can help. They can only describe the symptoms, and you have to diagnose the problem, like a doctor.
- salemh 14y ago
  As a non-programmer who has some frustration of trying to automate his work schedule the last several years, I think many users don't understand WHAT could be automated, or consolidated, or integrated, etc. Like many things in starting a business, what "sounds" simple is in fact pretty difficult. Learning to ask the right questions is also difficult in just figuring out the needs of your "acquaintances/friends." If you can find just one small annoyance factor, and ask a secondary question just a little bit deeper, then a little bit deeper, then a little bit deeper, you may hit a wall of "I don't know," and that could be a potential solution. Like regular conversation, questions tend to tree from one another.
tlogan 14y ago
The problem is that products "that people were willing to pay for" are not necessary products which will EVER get you into startup mode (high growth). It can be a very good business but it will never be a startup. So in SV a lot of people abandon these kind of ideas because majority of VCs and incubators will not invest into these ideas. So young entrepreneurs ends up chasing non-profitable "get eyeballs" first think about profit latter ideas. And, no - market is not saturated with high quality competitors - for example, you can make Basecamp for "industry X" (i.e. teachers?, doctors?) you will make money to live quite comfortable.
- grey-area 14y ago
  The problem is that products "that people were willing to pay for" are not necessary products which will EVER get you into startup mode (high growth). It can be a very good business but it will never be a startup. For certain definitions of startup. NB if you ask a VC what they'd call a startup, it's in their interests to funnel you into thinking startups only ever go through VCs, go for growth rather than profit, and must end in an exit event (IPO or sale to another SV company). If you choose to accept that definition, you are limiting your choices dramatically. If not being a startup can be a very good business, why not try it out? What have you got to lose? Not much. What have you got to gain? Valuable experience, and maybe some profits. Most startups actually began as just very good businesses (very small in scale), and take years to grow to something more substantial, changing along the way. So in SV a lot of people abandon these kind of ideas because majority of VCs and incubators will not invest into these ideas. 37 signals (for example) is a successful company which many would call a startup (at least in their early days), but was not funded by VCs or incubators. That's not the only way to start or grow a company.
- rimantas 14y ago
  > you can make Basecamp for "industry X" Or just bingo cards creator ;)
speleding 14y ago
Nobody said it has to be an original idea. It's not difficult to find an idea for a product that people are willing to pay for that is already being done by someone else, but that you can do slightly better/different/cheaper. In fact, I would venture that has a much better chance of success than an original idea.

jammur 14y ago

I think this is the problem that the "Lean Startup" methodologies aim to solve, enabling you to cheaply and quickly test out ideas in order to find the one that will satisfy the criteria you listed.

marshallp 14y ago
Yeah, it's such a simple thing that nerds don't seem to get. Put out ads on craigslist, adwords, indiegogo. Whatever sells, do that. The biggest problem is having more ideas than time to write them into an ad, there's too many potential products. You can outsource the creation of whatever sells so executing isn't even that big a hurdle (though you do have to be careful with initial pricing on the ad so that costs don't get you).
- davedx 14y ago
  Do you have examples of these ads? I'd love to see how other people phrase them as I'm investigating this kind of stuff for myself at the moment.

markkanof 14y ago

I don't want to downplay your point, because it's certainly not trivial identify a problem where people are willing to pay for the solution to that problem. However, if you know anyone in an industry other than software development, this can be a great source of ideas. Just ask a few questions about what their day to day job responsibilities entail. Then sit back and let them talk. I find that most people pretty quickly start talking about the pain points. Some of those pain points are likely to be something that people would pay to solve. Plus you give your friend/family member/acquaintance a chance to vent which they probably appreciate as well.

chc 14y ago
This suggestion always drives me batty, because it sounds like a good idea, but either my acquaintances are just spectacularly unhelpful or it requires some great skill that is always omitted from the suggestion.
- shagbag 14y ago
  If they allow it, you could go with them to their workplace and have them explain what they're doing as they do it. This will give you a much better idea of what their workday actually entails and make up for your friends' inability to describe their activities.
- nodelt 14y ago
  The missing piece is your own analysis. They cannot tell you how to solve their problem, you must do that. They can only tell you where their problems lie. Combining your greater understanding of the wider internet domain and your ability to ask pertinent questions, with what you and your team might be able to accomplish, possible solutions will sometimes reveal themselves.
  - vdm 14y ago
    They can't even identify the essential problem in many cases, because they don't know how technology can help. They can only describe the symptoms, and you have to diagnose the problem, like a doctor.
salemh 14y ago
As a non-programmer who has some frustration of trying to automate his work schedule the last several years, I think many users don't understand WHAT could be automated, or consolidated, or integrated, etc. Like many things in starting a business, what "sounds" simple is in fact pretty difficult. Learning to ask the right questions is also difficult in just figuring out the needs of your "acquaintances/friends." If you can find just one small annoyance factor, and ask a secondary question just a little bit deeper, then a little bit deeper, then a little bit deeper, you may hit a wall of "I don't know," and that could be a potential solution. Like regular conversation, questions tend to tree from one another.

tlogan 14y ago

The problem is that products "that people were willing to pay for" are not necessary products which will EVER get you into startup mode (high growth). It can be a very good business but it will never be a startup. So in SV a lot of people abandon these kind of ideas because majority of VCs and incubators will not invest into these ideas. So young entrepreneurs ends up chasing non-profitable "get eyeballs" first think about profit latter ideas. And, no - market is not saturated with high quality competitors - for example, you can make Basecamp for "industry X" (i.e. teachers?, doctors?) you will make money to live quite comfortable.

grey-area 14y ago
The problem is that products "that people were willing to pay for" are not necessary products which will EVER get you into startup mode (high growth). It can be a very good business but it will never be a startup. For certain definitions of startup. NB if you ask a VC what they'd call a startup, it's in their interests to funnel you into thinking startups only ever go through VCs, go for growth rather than profit, and must end in an exit event (IPO or sale to another SV company). If you choose to accept that definition, you are limiting your choices dramatically. If not being a startup can be a very good business, why not try it out? What have you got to lose? Not much. What have you got to gain? Valuable experience, and maybe some profits. Most startups actually began as just very good businesses (very small in scale), and take years to grow to something more substantial, changing along the way. So in SV a lot of people abandon these kind of ideas because majority of VCs and incubators will not invest into these ideas. 37 signals (for example) is a successful company which many would call a startup (at least in their early days), but was not funded by VCs or incubators. That's not the only way to start or grow a company.
rimantas 14y ago
> you can make Basecamp for "industry X" Or just bingo cards creator ;)

speleding 14y ago

Nobody said it has to be an original idea. It's not difficult to find an idea for a product that people are willing to pay for that is already being done by someone else, but that you can do slightly better/different/cheaper. In fact, I would venture that has a much better chance of success than an original idea.