

Tell HN: I want to solve your problems - grep

As a developer or an entrepreneur, what are your biggest problems?
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thorie
My biggest problem is resolving disagreements, especially those that have to
do with time. Some co-founders work less than others, but negotiating a
fluctuating ownership percentage leads to many arguments. As one person's
ownership declines, his inclination to work goes down even further in a spiral
effect. They lose interest and stop taking initiative on projects. They become
an employee: doing the minimum necessary.

The next biggest problem is solving problems that are outside my expertise. I
can hack through any code, optimize and scale any database, but I can't figure
out how to advertise a product effectively or get users. These problems stem
from my lack of ability to network with others effectively.

Of course, I think solving these issues are at the core of the difference
between a wanna-be founder and a real founder. I hope I can learn it.

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michaeldhopkins
Thanks. I want you to solve my problems too.

My biggest problem is that I seem to have lost the ability to enter a highly
productive state because of interruptions. What do you suggest to help me
enter that state more often that allows me to still keep on top of the things
I am responsible for?

~~~
creativeone
Read seven habits of highly effective people. And, be assertive.

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stonemetal
As a developer my biggest problem is my organization's lack of testing across
the board(unit testing, automated testing, poor testing done by the test
team.) I have been pushing for better testing pretty much since I got here,
but haven't made much headway.

As an entrepreneur my biggest problem is enough confidence in any idea to go
for it.

~~~
curt
Let me give you my method, it might help. Don't go head first full bore into
an idea at first. Build a quick, cheap prototype with only the main features
and see how your target customer responds. Gives you a ton of feedback while
validating or invalidating your idea without wasting a huge amounts of time.
You might find that you need to pivot your idea or target a different group.
So don't waste time and money on an idea before you prove the underlying
assumptions.

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staunch
Reall Freaking Big One: Effective advertising.

It's still very much an unsolved problem. Google figured out _their_ end of
it, but the end-user is still left out in the cold. Ask anyone who uses
AdWords if they think it's an intuitive or pleasant experience.

There are other kinds of advertising ripe for disruption too. A lot of people
have money coming online and it's surprisingly hard to spend it effectively.

~~~
bmh100
staunch13, this is a very fascinating area for me as well, and I am looking to
disrupt it. What is your biggest frustration?

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8maki
Studying English. There is no effective and low-cost way to study speaking
English while living in Japan.

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clistctrl
I don't know what I don't know. I wish there was a site where I can tell how
stupid I am in any subject :D

