Ask HN: How to come Up with profitable business ideas? - throwawayt856
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Leftium
"Make something people want." (Paul Graham[1])

A stronger version of this is "Solve an urgent problem." (Caleb O'Dowd, Gary
Halbert)

\- A person with high blood pressure may want to lower their blood pressure,
but a person with 90% blocked arteries absolutely needs to lower their blood
pressure. Otherwise they will die.

\- A person may want to get their dog to sit on command, but a person whose
dog is barking uncontrollably will either be evicted or forced to get rid of
their pet.

The common thread I see with successful companies/strategies is focusing on
the customer/users' needs and desires. A common thread I see with failed
companies is a focus on themselves and/or their product; they barely think
about the customer/user. The problem with this is the product is not the
greatest challenge for a business; sales and marketing is the greatest
challenge for most businesses. "Build it and they will come" only happens in
the movies.

So pick a niche and solve their urgent problem. That's another thing: if your
product is for everyone, no one will be interested. Pick a narrow, specific
niche where there is competition. If there is no competition, there is
probably no money. (Look at what happened to Segway.) Another way to say this
is "Desire cannot be created. Like sunlight it can only be focused and
transformed." (Paraphrasing Eugene Schwartz.)

Money (profit) is a side-effect of creating value. (Which might explain the
similarity Paul noticed between successful businesses and charities.)

Of course, you can pick counter-examples of successful businesses that did not
do this. There is more than one way to success. This is simply the way to
decrease your chance of failure.

Also, during recessions, the businesses that target niche markets and solve
their urgent problems tend to survive, while other businesses die.

I could go on, but these are probably the most important points...

[1]:
[http://www.paulgraham.com/good.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/good.html)

