

Ask HN: Tips/Links on how to find out what people want? - discreteevent

I'm looking for any resources or advice people might have on how to go about finding what people want. I'm also particularly interested in things that may not be world changing i.e. little, possibly local, things that people want and that might have a more immediate return. I know its the million dollar question and that it sounds naive but I know also that a lot of people have thought about it so it would be interesting to see if anyone has any help at all. Thanks.
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patio11
Talk to people. Find out what sucks about their lives, preferably in the
vicinity of a pile of money. Fix problem.

Here, an exercise for you: go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Search
careers. Sort by percentage of workers who are female (this is the one of the
quickest proxies I'm aware of for "of little interest to Silicon Valley").
Find someone who does one of the top 10. Ask what about her job is terrible.

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euroclydon
I followed Patrick's formula and made a web application that lets women (I
suppose men too, but every single customer seems to be female) create a very
niche craft item that they could make in Illustrator if they had the skills or
inclination, but that is dirt simple to do in my program.

I now receive glowing emails from customers telling me how much fun they're
having and pictures from their weddings or parties. It feels good to make
people happy with software.

I would recommend googling for "how to Illustrator $craft[i]" until you find
one that involves eleven complicated steps, and then make a simple special
purpose app to do the same thing in two steps.

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chc
I'm not sure if this is a difference in regional terminology or just a
deficiency in my vocabulary, but what on earth does "craft item" mean in this
context? As I understand the phrase, it means something like "a thing made out
of yarn." But I don't think Illustrator is much use in building those.

EDIT: OK, getting upvotes, so at least I know I'm not simply thick.

EDIT 2: It finally occurred to me to check out euroclydon's profile, so I see
he's talking about <http://www.makecupcakewrappers.com/>. I get it now.

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Poiesis
Wow, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Not kidding at all here. You're basically executing off of an established,
proven business plan.

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HeyLaughingBoy
Walk down the street. Every business you see that isn't closing down is doing
things people want.

Go online. Find out what people are searching for. Look at the vendors who
provide those products/services. Figure out how to do it
better/differently/more efficiently than them.

Make up random word combinations that seem likely and google them. What
businesses are built around those concepts? Are there forums where users
congregate online. I remember in one of Spolsky's podcasts he made up
"software for the rubber industry, or something." I used to drive by Rubber
Industries Inc. every morning and chuckle to myself. There is no concept so
strange that someone hasn't made a business of it yet.

Coming up with business ideas should be nothing short of trivial. The hard
part is finding something that matches your skillset and interests and that is
used by a customer base you can reach cheaply enough. It doesn't have to be
world changing or incredibly technical: people make millions of dollars
washing cars for pete's sake! I'm sure the car washing business needs
software!

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kayhi
Pick a topic that you have some interest in since you may end spending a great
deal of time on it and find the major mailing lists and forums.

Write down the common questions, how tos, and explanations - think about if
you can provide a solution.

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huhtenberg
It is really rather simple - start with yourself, and then see if your
annoyance with something is shared by other people.

