

Ask HN: If ideas don't make you rich, then where do you start? - jgd111

I read a lot that ideas don't make you rich -- proper execution of ideas make you rich. The issue I have is that even if you execute great on something that nobody needs (a common problem among engineers), then nobody is going to buy it. So then it must follow that it is about proper execution of a good idea that makes you rich (or at least a good enough idea).<p>Suppose you decide to enter some under served niche market. Let's say this market caters to a group of people that would be difficult to meet with regularly in person to test your hypotheses over. People are already spending money on product X,Y, and Z that all do more or less the same thing, but all of them are overly complex, only run on windows, and leave some to be desired. People generally say that they know there could be better, but they are used to product X and they have adapted to fit into the way it works, so they are unlikely to want to try something new.<p>If the idea doesn't matter, then making a clone of product X should be sufficient to start with. But the limited interaction you have been able to get says these people don't want a product X clone (i.e. good execution of a bad idea). Unfortunately, there are too many questions to be answered to come up with something really innovative and useful to these people without a fast iteration cycle.<p>This situation seems to come up with every under served, non tech savvy, niche market I have encountered. How have you successfully dealt with this situation?
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trevelyan
In my experience, proper execution is second to marketing and distribution.
You can have the best product out there, but if no-one knows it exists you'll
have a hard time selling anything.

If you're looking to enter the same market as another product you know there
is a market for it. So the problem isn't whether the idea is fundamentally
good or bad -- it's whether you'll be doing something special enough to
attract attention in a market where other people have already been working for
quite some time to dominate distribution channels and get visibility.

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keiferski
The idea does matter. Don't get caught up in the false dichotomy that plagues
this issue.

Obviously execution is hugely important. But that doesn't mean that the idea
is irrelevant. The key is to take a great idea (that has a market) and execute
on it well.

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petervandijck
A few well conducted, in-depth interviews with people who use the
competition's product should give you enough ideas on what the market really
wants. User research does have its place :)

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bmelton
Build something, or find somebody to build it.

If the idea really is good, then you might be able to find a developer who'll
work on it for partnership -- this is, in my opinion, another good way to get
validation for the idea.

The other trick though, is figuring out what you bring to the table. Can you
market it? Can you sell it? Can you raise venture capital? What can you do?

Imagine a scenario in which I have two people, capable of all the potential in
the world, pitching me an idea. Imagine that I have a machine that can either
add value to an idea, or add value to the business side of things -- whichever
side I add value to, decreases it from the other side proportionally -- ie, if
I add 25% of the 'value of the idea', I am subtracting from the 'business-
management capabilities' by 25%. In the end -- and forgive me, I just realized
how dumb this hypothetical of mine is, but now I'm pretty much pot committed
-- I end up with two idea guys -- one who has 25% better business acumen, and
another with an idea that is 25% better -- I'm picking the first guy.

Alternately, of course, you can bootstrap, hire people, yadda yadda -- I'm
guessing this isn't an option, as you haven't already done it. But if the idea
is SO GREAT that the only thing between you and success is the implementation,
then get started implementing it, by whatever means you can muster.

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Mz
If you figure this out, give me a call.

I have a solution -- not a product, but a solution -- for a problem people are
absolutely desperate for answers on. Only not _my_ answers. I can freakin go
to hell or something. And have been explicitly told that there is something
inherently wrong with thinking I deserve to make some money off of offering
something superior. I don't know what I am going to do next. I have wrestled
with it a long time and continue to wrestle with it. But, no, just having a
better answer does not, by itself, rake in the dough.

