How to Get Startup Ideas
Title: How to Get Startup Ideas URL Source: https://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html Markdown Content: Image 1: How to Get Startup Ideas November 2012 The way to get startup ideas is not to try to thi
How to Get Startup Ideas
How to Get Startup Ideas (Paul Graham, Nov 2012)
A source-grounded deck on Paul Graham’s core argument: don’t brainstorm “startup ideas.” Instead, notice real problems you personally have, avoid plausible-but-fake ideas, and look for urgent demand that starts narrow and deep (a “well”).
Slide 1
Don’t try to think of startup ideas
Look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself.
Slide 2
The best ideas share 3 traits
They’re wanted by founders, buildable by founders, and underestimated by others.
Slide 3
Why personal problems matter
Working on a problem you have helps ensure the problem really exists.
Slide 4
A failure mode: build from a made-up model
If you don’t pay attention to users, your world model can drift away from reality.
Slide 5
The “sitcom startup” trap
Brainstorming yields plausible-sounding ideas that are actually bad.
Slide 6
Example: social network for pet owners
It sounds plausible, but “maybe” interest can sum to zero users.
Slide 7
Start with urgent need
At launch you need some users who want it urgently—even a crappy v1.
Slide 8
Choose the “well,” not the “broad shallow hole”
Nearly all good startup ideas start with a small number of users who want it a lot.
Slide 9
What “well-shaped” looks like in practice
Microsoft (Altair Basic) and Facebook (Harvard-only) began narrow, because the first users wanted it a lot.