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Ask HN: Tips/Links on how to find out what people want?

11 points by discreteevent ↗ HN
I'm looking for any resources or advice people might have on how to go about finding what people want. I'm also particularly interested in things that may not be world changing i.e. little, possibly local, things that people want and that might have a more immediate return. I know its the million dollar question and that it sounds naive but I know also that a lot of people have thought about it so it would be interesting to see if anyone has any help at all. Thanks.

9 comments

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patio11
Talk to people. Find out what sucks about their lives, preferably in the vicinity of a pile of money. Fix problem.

Here, an exercise for you: go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Search careers. Sort by percentage of workers who are female (this is the one of the quickest proxies I'm aware of for "of little interest to Silicon Valley"). Find someone who does one of the top 10. Ask what about her job is terrible.

euroclydon
I followed Patrick's formula and made a web application that lets women (I suppose men too, but every single customer seems to be female) create a very niche craft item that they could make in Illustrator if they had the skills or inclination, but that is dirt simple to do in my program.

I now receive glowing emails from customers telling me how much fun they're having and pictures from their weddings or parties. It feels good to make people happy with software.

I would recommend googling for "how to Illustrator $craft[i]" until you find one that involves eleven complicated steps, and then make a simple special purpose app to do the same thing in two steps.

tptacek
I nominate that last graf for "smartest thing anyone's going to say on HN this week".
chc
I'm not sure if this is a difference in regional terminology or just a deficiency in my vocabulary, but what on earth does "craft item" mean in this context? As I understand the phrase, it means something like "a thing made out of yarn." But I don't think Illustrator is much use in building those.

EDIT: OK, getting upvotes, so at least I know I'm not simply thick.

EDIT 2: It finally occurred to me to check out euroclydon's profile, so I see he's talking about http://www.makecupcakewrappers.com/. I get it now.

Poiesis
Wow, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Not kidding at all here. You're basically executing off of an established, proven business plan.

swah
You went as far as copying his buttons :)
kayhi
Pick a topic that you have some interest in since you may end spending a great deal of time on it and find the major mailing lists and forums.

Write down the common questions, how tos, and explanations - think about if you can provide a solution.

HeyLaughingBoy
Walk down the street. Every business you see that isn't closing down is doing things people want.

Go online. Find out what people are searching for. Look at the vendors who provide those products/services. Figure out how to do it better/differently/more efficiently than them.

Make up random word combinations that seem likely and google them. What businesses are built around those concepts? Are there forums where users congregate online. I remember in one of Spolsky's podcasts he made up "software for the rubber industry, or something." I used to drive by Rubber Industries Inc. every morning and chuckle to myself. There is no concept so strange that someone hasn't made a business of it yet.

Coming up with business ideas should be nothing short of trivial. The hard part is finding something that matches your skillset and interests and that is used by a customer base you can reach cheaply enough. It doesn't have to be world changing or incredibly technical: people make millions of dollars washing cars for pete's sake! I'm sure the car washing business needs software!

huhtenberg
It is really rather simple - start with yourself, and then see if your annoyance with something is shared by other people.