Ask HN: Whats more important? Size of the target market or Passion for an idea.

The possibility of riches.

Passion for the field/area which would be affected by your startup.

The idea of starting something successful "from scratch".

The lifestyle that can be had from running your own successful company.

Try using this if you can: http://news.ycombinator.com/newpoll

This really depends. Is the purpose of your startup to make you financially independent for the rest of your life? Are you already set and are now wanting to try changing the world? Can you live in your parents' basement for a few years while your great idea 'changes the world'?

If you don't love what you're doing, it will ultimately be difficult to stick with it for any extended period of time (2+ years). However, many startups can be sold off in that sort of shorter timeframe, making it mostly irrelevant if you care much for the work.

C) is two very different things. As previous articles/threads (try google search) have suggested, quitting because you hate your job is not the right place to start but maybe good motivation to take the final leap. The satisfaction of seeing something you built from the ground up can be satisfactory and keep you motivated.

I don't know about D). I don't know what you are imaging about the lifestyle but all of it is hard (and hopefully enjoyable) work. If you are looking for less or easier work, look elsewhere.

I think you need both A) and B) to the extent they feed off each other and when your not hitting on cylinder A) for motivation, you are hitting cylinder B) and vice versa.

I didn't see anything on target market, but from a business perspective... Investors are going to ask you about this.

It has been said that a large part of what commonly makes a startup successful in the end is the persistence and determination of the founders. If you can generate more persistence in yourself by being passionate about what you are doing, then I think you are more likely to find a way to be successful.

Lifestyle.

Another incentive for starting a startup is because you have some cool hack you want to try out.

Changing the world. I can make money in far less risky ways, and I can pursue my passions in my free time. I am actually somewhat surprised that you managed to fit the word "lifestyle" and "running your own successful company" into the same sentence.

Having said that, I seriously doubt I will ever found a startup - I plan to make a chunk of money and have a life first.

I'm not sure if one specific reason would be more important than others.

For instance, I wouldn't want to work on something that I'm not passionate about (incentive B). However, over the long-term, I also wouldn't want to work on something that doesn't have a reasonable market (incentive A).

imo your description of incentive A is mistaken.Thinking about the target market doesn't mean that "you only really care about making money".

For example, many entrepreneurs would rather work on their startups than on something else that may think of as more lucrative. However, for the business to survive, the business needs to make money and so it a good entrepreneur would also try to understand the target market and think about whether it can sustain the business (and give up the business if it isn't able to make money).

A, but its not about the money. If you don't have a value proposition you don't have a business. Is there a pain point that you solve? How painful is it? Where there is a real need will yield success. And I mean success in the interpretation that correlates to your business's or NPO's goal.

The order for me would be CDBA. If I were to to it, that is.