

Ask HN: Choosing a industry/field - czcar

How did you choose the industry or field that you specialize in? The biggest barrier I have found to starting a company ( or perhaps its another form of procrastination) is finding a field or industry that is sufficiently interesting to me, comparative to alternatives. I am curious as to how you (as an employee or entrepreneur etc) sat down and decided that from today on I am a online retailer, a web consultant, a MD of a Logistics company etc. Did you just choose the field with the most interest to you, did you solve a problem that is personal to yourself, did you follow a methodology of finding a problem like Steve blank suggests?? cheers, cameron
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frisco
I'm finding (not that this is a unique observation at all, though) that there
are two kinds of founders: engineers who are accidental entrepreneurs, and
entrepreneurs who are founders. If you need to think hard to find even a
sector to found a startup in, you're probably doing it wrong. Not that you
can't be successful, and I wish the best of luck to anyone, but it seems like
the giants we all know come from founders who started coding to solve some
problem, and let the company grow from there on its own, instead of the other
way around.

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czcar
thanks for the response, it concerns me in as much that i think that your
probably correct. its easy to excuse myself as an undergraduate, and "put it
off" till later, but it seems that the successful people don't even consider
second guessing themselves, instead they have started. although i take
(perhaps falsely) solace when reading of firms such as sony and hp that
started with the intent to create something, but without an ideas as to what
those things would be.

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frisco
I just wouldn't even think about it. Get yourself in interesting situations;
join a research lab where you're not cleaning glassware, do GSoC, etc., and
just not worry about founding a company, especially since you're still in
school. Trust in randomness, and you'll find plenty of great opportunities if
you make yourself available for them to find you.

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Tichy
Just thought today in bed that with software development, one can never
completely lose. Even when unemployed, you can still build stuff, and
eventually perhaps even sell it. On the other hand, I am not sure how to pass
time as an unemployed stock broker, for example? One could write a book about
investing, but after a while, that could become boring.

So I think for starters it might be a good idea to pick the profession where
the skills you acquire enable you to create stuff...

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catch404
Very interesting way of putting it, something I've always known but never
considered comparing to other jobs. Then again you still need to pay the bills
while unemployed :) A plumer may have more luck doing 'perk' jobs.

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lallysingh
Don't. Try around in a few forms and see what sticks. Don't think too hard
about any of them: Overintellectualizing is a real problem. There's a good
chance you'll find what you like fairly early on after a few attempts.

There's enough random chance and other variables involved (e.g. your marketing
& business skills) that this variable just isn't worth blowing too much time
on. You'll probably have to make a lot of attempts & drastic course
corrections to make it stick.

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bprater
It is super important that you find something you are passionate about. Don't
pick a field because it'll make you good money.

Make life an amazing journey for yourself and give yourself permission to jump
into something with both feet and experience it fully, without the worry of
"did I pick the right one".

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elviejo
I have the same doubts as you.

My current plan is: 1 Find an industry with a ROOT problem that hasn't been
solved. 2 Solve the problem. 3 Implement the solution in software form. 4 Sell
the Solution, packaged in sw. 5 Profit.

I'm still trying to find step 1

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ahoyhere
Why do you think you'll be able to spot the root problem if you can't even
pick an industry?

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elviejo
Good question The simple answer is that I've been studying Theory of
Constraints.

And TOC provides the tools to identify cause and effect relationships that in
the end lead to to the root problem.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking_Processes_(Theory_of_C...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking_Processes_\(Theory_of_Constraints\))

~~~
gcheong
Why not just try asking people in different industries what their biggest
problems are?

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vaksel
just build something that you yourself need for day to day life or your hobby

