Ask HN: How do you make something people want? - smaili
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nostrademons
Two ways to approach it:

Make something. Most people won't want it. Show it to lots of people until you
find some who are mildly interested. If nobody's interested, make something
else. Otherwise, make what the people who are somewhat interested want. Repeat
until you've made something people want.

Want something. Find other people who want it. Research the hell out of
possible ways that you might make it. Talk to lots of people that might help
you. Most won't, but some may give you some pointers or point you toward
people who _can_ help. Repeat until you've made something people want.

Empirically, the second seems to converge faster, but both can work. People
tend to fall on different sides of the "I make things" vs. "I want things"
spectrum, so the first approach will work better for some folks and the latter
better for others. (I'm very much on the "make things" side of the spectrum,
for example, so was basically forced into starting by making bad ideas and
then incrementally refining and retargeting them until they become good
ideas.) Know your strengths and what you care about and play to that.

Also, it can help a lot if a "make something" person partners up with a "want
something" person, but this requires that they have compatible interests,
working styles, and personalities. This itself is kinda a magic
combination...if you find a team that works, run with it, but if you don't,
either keep making things or wanting things until you do.

~~~
shahocean
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
- Henry Ford

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pcmaffey
There are hundreds, if not thousands (x) of people just like you. Make
something you want.

Then listen to people, adapt the edges 20%. You will reach millions.

This has probably been said before.

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monroepe
I think a better question is "How do you make something people will use?"
People want a lot of things that they won't necessarily use. Look at all the
apps on your phone that at some point you "wanted," but now are never used.

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JSeymourATL
Look and listen for people's problems. Then come up with a brilliant solution.

The world’s biggest problems are the world’s biggest business opportunities.
On this subject, Peter Diamandis writes a great blogpost >
[http://peterdiamandis.tumblr.com/post/128046793118/problems-...](http://peterdiamandis.tumblr.com/post/128046793118/problems-
are-goldmines)

Also, podcast discussion with Dan Sullivan
>[http://www.abundance360summit.com/podcast/2015/10/19/episode...](http://www.abundance360summit.com/podcast/2015/10/19/episode-11-problems-
are-goldmines/)

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ronnsan
Ask yourself if you make something-

1\. Why will you use it? 2\. How much will you use it? 3\. Will it use it
daily or atleast with proper interval?

Then ask to be users around you and listen what they say on those 3 questions
and derive from it.

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tluyben2
Good comments here; an easy idea but harder to implement is something people
already use (a lot) and make it easier and/or cheaper. Like Uber for instance.

Cheaper is something people always want.

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timothybone
Aptitude. Some people can (and want) to sing. Esoteric talents abound. Use
your aptitudes to help you make something people want. If you're good at, say
for example singing, that is the natural talent you can bring to a making
project. Make something you can make really well. Otherwise you might end up
bored as hell.

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ankurdhama
You don't make something that people want, rather you make something and then
sell it in such a way that make people want it.

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michaelmcmillan
By making something for yourself.

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LarryMade2
Think of something you want... too techie? how about something your mom or
gandpa wants.

Start making it, as you get into it expand the audience scope to include more
people. Make sure you have other people try it out to get different
perspectives.

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gdiocarez
I think, talking to them is the first step then telling them what you can do
for them can help you make something.

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tmaly
start with customer development, interview a whole bunch of potential
customers. Then try to distill the data down into some generalization. If you
can identify a pattern, your idea may work

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jayajay
By making something you need.

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azeirah
By knowing what people want.

~~~
AznHisoka
how do you know what people want? By asking. How do you find these ppl to ask?
By going to where your target audience hangs out. How do you know what
questions to ask them?

