Looking for Startup Ideas Problems

Most future founders start by looking for a startup idea. This is wrong. The first, most important thing is not to start with an idea but with a problem you want to solve in an industry that excites you. It is great if you already have industry connections and insights, but more importantly, it is an area you want to work in.

Noticing problems

"The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common: they're something the founders themselves want, that they themselves can build, and that few others realize are worth doing." Paul Graham

The best founders don't start with an idea but with a frustration. Instead of asking "What startup should I build?" the better question is: "What problems do I keep running into?" Most people ignore these problems because they seem small, too specific, or boring, but those are usually the best starting points.

Paul Graham calls this noticing problems, not inventing ideas. The best founders are more sensitive to broken things; their instinct is to fix the problems and not put up with them. Brian Chesky couldn't afford rent in San Francisco and noticed millions of others had the same problem, so that frustration became Airbnb. Patrick and John Collison were developers bothered by how complicated it was to accept payments online, so they built Stripe.

On the Edge of Technology

The best way to approach ideation if you want to build a startup is to stay aware of and up to date on global technology trends and specific industry milestones.

"If you're the right sort of person, you have the right sort of hunches. If you're at the leading edge of a field that's changing fast, when you have a hunch that something is worth doing, you're more likely to be right." Paul Graham

It's important to note that being on the leading edge of an industry doesn’t mean you have to build it. Being a power user is a great way to understand the future of a field. And when you understand the future of the field, you can understand which pieces are missing.

Where to Look for Problems

The most common advice for early founders is to identify their own problems they would like to solve, but that advice can be flawed. The direction is sensible, but the probability that you have encountered a problem big enough to build a unicorn from is lower than most assume. Not every problem we have is worth solving, and not every problem we would like to solve has the global potential to make a dent in said industry. It is good to think of your own frustrations as an entry point into a problem space, not the final destination.

It is also not necessary to come up with problems on your own. Some of the most prominent global investors publish regular resources on this topic, and we collected relevant resources in our Request For Startups page. This is a useful library of problems that investors believe are worth solving right now.

Conclusion

A good approach to starting a startup is to first identify your skills and interests and find an industry that excites you. Once you get into it enough to understand where the friction is, it will be easier to identify the biggest problems no one has yet effectively solved.

Read more about this topic in How to Get Startup Ideas by Paul Graham.

If you want to get feedback on your startup idea, apply for Garaža Office Hours.