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Ask YC: How to Find Problems to Solve?

4 points by paraschopra ↗ HN
Recently, on my blog, I have compiled a short list of resources which help startups find problems to solve. The link to the post is: http://tinyurl.com/4n9uw2

The resources include researching Twitter conversations via Summize and Twistori, creating Google alerts for the term 'survey', researching on Yahoo Answers, etc.

I am wondering what resources/methods do you use to find problems to solve?

12 comments

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aitoehigie
solve your own problems, you will be surprised at the number of people that have the same problem that you do.
dreish
And the key there is being able to look at your everyday life and get annoyed by things that aren't as easy or as good as they should be. It takes a certain combination of imagination, creativity, a tendency for thoughts to wander off the task at hand, and persistent dissatisfaction with regular habits and with the way things are.
edw519
Get a job.

They'll give you plenty of problems to solve.

Many of which you can build a business around.

iamelgringo
Agreed.

The project I'm working on right now is to build online tools to make contract nurses lives easier. It comes from my working as a contract nurse for 10 years, and knowing what problems that niche market has.

I have a bunch of other ideas/problems in need of solving on the back burner if this one doesn't work out. Most of them are issues that I've come across and said, "I'd love it if I had something that would help me do X, Y or Z..."

aitoehigie
"Please not a job!!!... anything but that" For some people, just the act of thinking about getting a job is simply life threatening. Start a Startup instead, it pays in the long run, if not financially, just think about the experience you will gain.
jobeirne
My current job doesn't provide enough problems to solve... Nor are most of them novel.
corentin
Problems find me. And, unless you're a very lucky person, I bet they find you as well, so just pick the one that annoys you the most.
brandonkm
Use products/services that you think are solving a problem and observe what their doing right and what their doing wrong, come up with your own twist on the problem you want to solve and apply good design in your effort to solve that problem.
tadej
Experience, open-mindedness, open eyes, serendipity.

Using Twitter, Google Alerts & co. is just another way of having your eyes open (really wide, in this case), but they are hardly enough.

Do your thing, follow your bliss, and problems will find you - specifically searching for one is like searching for a girlfriend at a party.

es
Start working as a freelancer and you will see a lot of ideas floating around.
steveplace
Read: WSJ

economist

inc

Check what current businesses are trying to solve. Don't use techcrunch... instead go right to the source. See what the VC's are investing in by looking at their portfolios on their website. Explore those startups... you'll probably see something that says "you can do better"

also: irc #startup