

Ask HN: Is it worth it working on big ideas that will probably never succeed? - izqui

I believe there are some big problems that can be addressed with technology and big problems with technology itself (see internet centralization and spying)<p>I would love to try tackling those big problems, but I have the concern the public is not worried about it at all.<p>And it seems way easier to work and be successful working on the next Snapchat for puppies.
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jtfairbank
"The public" is not a good market. Find a small set of people who really need
what you're thinking of, and grow from there.

There are a lot of people working on cool tech for important problems. You
just don't hear about them because its much easier to share the latest silly
app with your friends.

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starstreak
With all due respect to Snapchat's users and their puppies - they're
irrelevant. Successful businesses function in one of two ways: they either
create a solution to a problem that bothers certain parties and sell that
solution to them, or they create a problem and then "invent" a solution. Any
real business on this planet is about supplying something that you know
there's demand for. If you know for sure that you want to be a big-problem-
solver, then go for it, you'll find your market as you go. Also, this might
serve as an inspiration:
[http://www.technologyreview.com/magazine/2012/11/](http://www.technologyreview.com/magazine/2012/11/)

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frabrunelle
> big problems that can be addressed with technology and big problems with
> technology itself (see internet centralization and spying)

You might be interested in the SAFE Network
([http://systemdocs.maidsafe.net/content/en/what_it_is/README....](http://systemdocs.maidsafe.net/content/en/what_it_is/README.html)).
It's not quite ready yet (but it's expected to launch this year, perhaps in
the summer).

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blairbeckwith
Some people might tell you it's the only thing that is worth it. I'm
paraphrasing here, but Fred Wilson just today said that the way to succeed is
to work on things that nobody else things will succeed, and succeed.

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jkaykin
Why do you care what the public thinks? Don't work on things just because
people want them, work on things because you care about them.

