
Ask HN: What problem in your industry is a potential startup? - badshar
A thread like this was posted 2 years ago. Maybe those problems have been solved or new problems have appeared. So what problem currently exists in your industry that can be taken up by a startup?
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taprun
Anyone that can make hiring better would make a fortune. Even if you can make
something super specialized like hiring for ai programmers or biochemists
would make a fortune.

~~~
kilimchoi
what kind of problems are you facing with hiring?

~~~
mst3c
some issues: \- massive information asymmetry b/n company and applicants. \-
companies are different. why conform to standard "job types" like "data
scientist", "software engineer" etc when a potentially custom tailored
description would do a much better job? \- In technical fields the "non-
technical recruiter as the gate keeper" model breaks down. \- There are many
issues if you really dig in.

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AndrewKemendo
3D modeling objects (starting with retail products) for rendering on the web
and in AR/VR.

The AR/VR/WebGL world totally depends on 3D content. 99% of the companies who
want to put 3D content out, don't have any in 3D or if they do it's
inappropriate for the medium - for example they only have 200MB objects used
for photorealistic rendering.

Having good lightweight 3D models of objects/products etc... is probably a
multi-billion industry itself.

~~~
GetKipple
I have been trying to get that service off the ground. I got the low cost 3d
scanning and rendering down. Just don't have the space or funds to actually
build up the library. GetKipple.com

~~~
AndrewKemendo
I don't think it's going to be done through scanning. You need more
variability for texture than can be given through scanning and fixing the
textures later is too time intensive.

------
dalacv
See my response here

[https://gist.githubusercontent.com/anonymous/cba53d636ac477d...](https://gist.githubusercontent.com/anonymous/cba53d636ac477d08f3456d9e3bf9613/raw/bffad0432474fda0d1c07f218987761d17adf559/LIMS%2520Industry)

I should add reasons there is a need for change:

Vendors in the current space are "behind" in terms of technological offering.
The APIs provided by vendors are often cludgy to non-existent. The UI for
these applications are non-intuitive and usually an afterthought.

The top-tier vendors in this space regularly charge upwards of $5000 or more
for a concurrent license

Vendors and their partners regularly charge somewhere between $1400 - $1800
per day for consulting services

Projects for LIMS implementation typically last over 6 months and many last
over 1 or 2 years.

Maintenance costs typically are in the %18-20% range.

While those numbers may be typical for enterprise software, the value doesn't
warrant it. Product quality is usually poor due to poor product testing. Many
of the top-tier vendors have highly-complex solutions that are the result of
piling new technology on top of old-messy data models year after year. A new,
serious player in this space would have the advantage of starting "from
scratch".

There are many benefits and reason as to why we should be seeing innovation,
but we just aren't seeing it.

~~~
swalsh
This looks a lot like what you're describing, are you familiar with them?

[https://www.coreinformatics.com/lims/](https://www.coreinformatics.com/lims/)

------
SticksAndBreaks
PLC Programming is years behind when it comes to software engineering,
developing, testing and speed of deployment.

A system that would allow for Change related Issue-tracking on the CAD-files
of the controlled machine. A language that would enforce component-class
interfaces, thus preventing information duplication. A proofer that validates
the resulting DEAs for correctness.

~~~
lithos
In similar vein a tool that would let you 'play' with hardware
functionality/config software without needing to buy it 'simulation on a PC or
similar'.

Just having a sane place that list specs for competing products or products
that have overlapping functionality would be a help. Sure simple components
are standardized by when you start getting to more complex things like
protective relays, PLCs, or even breakers it's like companies purposefully
fling specs and functionally across 5 sites and 3 PDFs to waste so much time
that you don't have time to look at competitors products.

------
ploggingdev
Previous discussions :

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13139638](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13139638)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9799007](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9799007)

------
averageweather
If I consider my industry going to bars to drink then the problem is lines.

In 2017, I shouldn't walk/uber 20min in 20 degree weather to a bar only to
find a 30min line which also has a surprise cover charge at the door.

I've thought about this a lot and have some ideas...

~~~
nurettin
I would approach this problem by opening a bar, not a startup.

~~~
endisukaj
Yeah, seems like there's a need for more bars instead of a complicated
solution to a simple problem.

~~~
mst3c
complicated how? Is it "easier" to open physical bars with usually thin
margins and massive capital investment + branding + staffing up + etc...? When
all is said and done, a tech solution might be easier/better.

~~~
endisukaj
A tech solution for what actually? The problem is that there are few (good?)
bars in the area. The solution for that problem would be to open new bars.

~~~
averageweather
You may disagree but I feel we are in an age of transparency. TripAdvisor,
yelp, cargurus, Amazon reviews etc. Consumers want to know as much detail as
possible prior to a purchase or visiting a hotel.

My big point is that one of the remaining non transparent industries is
nightlife. Bars create fake lines and charge bogus covers.

I just feel like technology could improve this.

~~~
nurettin
And they became profitable because they managed to provide a visibility
service for millions of local establishments, not a bunch of crooked bars.

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sushobhan
Its not directly the answer of the question but relevant. I believe
unaddressed/overlooked problems are the greatest origin of a potential
startups but not what we think an legitimate idea, actually is. For the 1st
time every idea seems awesome, take time revisit after a few days, you will
wonder that most of the sparks are gone by now. If it still looks promising
start doing your research. This is another eliminator of an unique idea.
Though it doesn't have to be unique. But you should bring your own flavor into
it.

------
mst3c
In the future buildings and factories should be constantly monitored and
controlled from the cloud. But most of these assets are currently controlled
from on-premise control boxes/computers called BMS systems. If you start a
company to integrate the data from these systems (many manufacturers, many
formats, many proprietary) and pipe them to the cloud and put a unified
control scheme on top, you could potentially do really well.

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badshar
One thing I have noticed is interaction during car servicing. When giving my
car in for service, the person in charge at the car company usually has to
call me on the phone and tell me to pick up the car. Perhaps this could be
automated where the mechanic presses a button on his/her end and the car owner
automatically gets a notification (via app?) to pick up the car.

~~~
sushid
This seems like a small feature to add to their invoicing app, not a business.

Also, there's quite a number of car servicing startups now, like YourMechanic.

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id122015
Issuing currency and making laws.

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omarchowdhury
I'd love to tell you but I'm working on it already.

~~~
jermaustin1
Never be afraid to share your idea with the public. People don't care enough
to steal it from you, and those that would steal it wont have the industry
knowledge or contacts to launch it successfully.

See my blog post on using strangers to vet ideas:
[http://jeremyaboyd.com/validating-your-ideas-on-
strangers/](http://jeremyaboyd.com/validating-your-ideas-on-strangers/)

~~~
ljk
> _Never be afraid to share your idea with the public. People don 't care
> enough to steal it from you, and those that would steal it wont have the
> industry knowledge or contacts to launch it successfully_

...sometimes

[http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/a-24-year-old-
made-345000-by-...](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/a-24-year-old-
made-345000-by-beating-kickstarters-to-market.html)

------
papul1993
Automating retro-sysnthetic analysis using AI.

------
lighttower
A robot that can hold my baby's bottle.

~~~
jlengrand
I've been pretty successful using a blanket :).

Nursing pillows are even better, as they give enough space for the laptop to
fit :P.

[http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-2302555...](http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-23025556enh-z6.jpg)

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mvpu
A high end upwork or elance that only has semi vetted developers, e.g those
with github commits > 100.

A simpler and cheaper version of meetedgar.com that keeps retweeting my blog
posts on auto pilot.

~~~
soneca
What is the pricing at meetedgar.com? And what features they have that are
essential and what are disposable?

Their site seems to be purposefully opaque regarding these points.

~~~
mvpu
Starts at $50 per month. You need to setup a "library" of blog posts (yours
and others) and it will keep retweeting them on autopilot. I want something
for $10 per month that simply connects to my blog and retweets posts all day.
I'd imagine many bloggers would want it as well.

~~~
alinalex
I was thinking about that these days. If I build it, will you be my first
customer?

