Alex Scott | alexscott.eth
Alex Scott | alexscott.eth

@afscott

26 tweets 94 reads Jul 06, 2022
🧠 learned so much from @ycombinator startup school's event today on startup ideas hosted by @snowmaker and @catheryn_li
πŸ“ sharing my notes:
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li 1/ avoid tarpit ideas.
tarpit ideas are common pain points that have been attempted by many startups. but no one has solved.
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li 2/ don't wait for the perfect idea.
you'll never start!
be somewhere in between.
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li 3/ pick the idea based on the team - not vice versa
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li 4/ there are two kinds of big markets: i) big now and ii) will be big later (e.g. growing fast)
e.g. @coinbase
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase 5/ if you have entrenched competition, you need to have a new insight
e.g. @pulley cap table management
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley 6/ do you or people you know want this?
many companies start with a 'no' which means you need to talk to people!
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley 7/ did this only recently become possible?
e.g. @checkr doing new background checks for delivery drivers and riders
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr 8/ are there good proxies?
e.g. @RappiBrasil as a proxy for doordash but in South America
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil 9/ do you want to work on this for years?
but may not be an immediate 'yes'.
e.g. @boomaero
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero 10/ is this a good 'idea space'
an idea space is a layer of abstraction above the startup idea. a class of ideas. like food delivery services.
different idea spaces have wildly different hit rates.
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero 11/ things that make startup ideas seem bad but are actually good:
hard to get started - "schlep blindess" by Paul Graham paulgraham.com - e.g. @stripe
boring space - e.g. @GustoHQ payroll software
existing competitors - e.g. @Dropbox competitors had terrible UIs
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero @stripe @GustoHQ @Dropbox 13/ how to come up with ideas:
best way is to just notice them organically. most YC startups start this way. e.g. @replit
when you sit down and think about ideas, you will tend to come up with tarpit ideas.
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero @stripe @GustoHQ @Dropbox @Replit 14/ recipes for starting ideas:
ensure founder-market fit by starting with what your team is especially good at - e.g. @RentRezi @vetcove @Optimizely
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero @stripe @GustoHQ @Dropbox @Replit @RentRezi @vetcove @Optimizely 15/ think of every job you've had (inc internships + life experiences)
what problems did you come across?
what did you learn that other people don't know
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero @stripe @GustoHQ @Dropbox @Replit @RentRezi @vetcove @Optimizely 16/ think of things you wish personally existed - e.g. @DoorDash
great recipe BUT most dangerous because it can lead to tarpit ideas. ask why it doesn't exist.
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero @stripe @GustoHQ @Dropbox @Replit @RentRezi @vetcove @Optimizely @DoorDash 17/ are there things that have changed in the world recently?
e.g. @gather_town was a response to COVID for virtual hangouts
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero @stripe @GustoHQ @Dropbox @Replit @RentRezi @vetcove @Optimizely @DoorDash @gather_town 18/ look at other companies that have been successful recently and find variations
e.g. @nuvocargo is flexport for LatAm
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero @stripe @GustoHQ @Dropbox @Replit @RentRezi @vetcove @Optimizely @DoorDash @gather_town @nuvocargo 19/ ask people what problems they have
it's hard and needs a lot of skill to do this well
e.g. @atobHQ makes fuel cards for trucker drivers
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero @stripe @GustoHQ @Dropbox @Replit @RentRezi @vetcove @Optimizely @DoorDash @gather_town @nuvocargo @atobHQ @LendUpCredit 21/ find a co founder that has an idea
for example there are many people on YC co founder matching platform that have an idea already and need help to build it!
@ycombinator @snowmaker @catheryn_li @coinbase @pulley @checkr @RappiBrasil @boomaero @stripe @GustoHQ @Dropbox @Replit @RentRezi @vetcove @Optimizely @DoorDash @gather_town @nuvocargo @atobHQ @LendUpCredit 24/ πŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌπŸ‘πŸΌ thank you @snowmaker for sharing so much knowledge with the startup school community!
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