

Ask HN: Where to start? - FameofLight

This might be the question for lot of beginner who want to start with their own Startups.<p>I am recent graduate from India , I currently working for big company. I would like to make a name for myself. My current knowledge is scattered in very different areas.<p>I started few good projects , they are still doing OK. But every now and than , when I see hackernews I see lots of these projects and I am nothing.<p>Can anybody guide where should I begin with in developing my own startup.
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jackkinsella
I graduated from university a year and a half ago and started my own web
business. The company now makes enough money to support myself entirely.

The business was borne out of desperation. I needed to make money quickly so I
spent a weekend thinking about: 1) What other people were doing online that
made money; 2) Where my unique set of skills and experiences would give me a
competitive advantage; 3) Whether I could build the business and start making
sales without the need for cash upfront (I had none);

I settled on selling law revision notes to those studying UK law
(www.oxbridgenotes.co.uk). Having studied UK law I could easily spot high
quality revision notes. I knew my market. I knew what law students wanted and
what their concerns were. I knew exactly what terms they type in Google when
faced with a difficult essay. These were my competitive advantages.

The "make money" aspect is very important. Too many startups I see around me
(I'm in Ireland) come up with a "great idea" which ultimately never makes a
penny. Don't be one of those people. Ask yourself "what can I do that could
__make__ __money__ within two months" and you will be off to a good start.

You said you've started a few good projects. I suggest that once you find a
project that makes money (assuming you haven't already) you should drop the
other projects and focus all your energies. You can always return to the other
projects once you're rich.

\-- Jack Kinsella

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revorad
Connect with other hackers and startups in India. See
<http://hackerstreet.in/>

Make something, however simple, even just a webpage talking about yourself and
your interests and put it up online. Put your contact details and skills in
your HN profile.

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dglassan
Do you have programming skills? If you do, just start building small things
like your own CMS or a simple social news site. This will help get the
creative juices flowing and pretty soon you'll be thinking of other cool
things to add to these small projects.

I can't find the quote at the moment but I saw one along the lines of: Ansel
Adams took maybe 100 photographs for every 1 that turned out decent.

Basically.....build a lot of small apps/programs/websites and eventually
you'll come across one that you can't stop thinking about it's potential (a
good indicator is how many sleepless nights you have because you can't stop
brainstorming about an idea).

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riskish
Maybe start looking for specific problems that need solutions and start
building them.

