I really like this. Here's an example of one of PG's essays run through the algorithm: [http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html http://paulgraham.com/startupid

I really like this. Here's an example of one of PG's essays run through the algorithm: [http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html] The most important thing to understand about paths out of the initial idea is the meta-fact that these are hard to see. Empirically, the way to have good startup ideas is to become the sort of person who has them. If you know a lot about programming and you start learning about some other field, you'll probably see problems that software could solve. Some of the most valuable new ideas take root first among people in their teens and early twenties. So if you're a young founder (under 23 say), are there things you and your friends would like to do that current technology won't let you. But there may still be money to be made from something like journalism. Similarly, since the most successful startups generally ride some wave bigger than themselves, it could be a good trick to look for waves and ask how one could benefit from them. If you ran examples of PG's essays through this, people would see the immediate benefit.