
Ask HN: Trouble with Next Career Move - FlamesNumero
Throwaway account. Right now I&#x27;m struggling to get some advice on what to do next. So far in the last 15 years I&#x27;ve co-founded a startup, been a CTO at a company and grown it to north of 20M in revenue, and coached several startups at early stages. Right now I really want to build something new, ideally from scratch with the right people. The issue right now is the spaces I&#x27;m most interested in are quite saturated with other startups, and strategically I think that would be a bad way to spend ones time.<p>Does anyone have any ideas around how to go find inspiration, problems, and maybe ways to do work that let those things happen, without feeling like you&#x27;re wasting your time?
======
mdorazio
Do you just want to make more money, start something (anything) new, or solve
an actually important (and challenging) problem? Your answer to this should
guide you on next steps. Ex. if (1), follow the normal startup problem search
path. If (2), it doesn't really matter what you do as long as you're
personally interested in it. If (3), make a list of the big problems facing
the world today and decide which ones you can personally help solve, then
figure out how to go about it.

Oh, and if you say "all three" you're not being very honest with yourself. If
your next step doesn't feel like a hard choice you're doing it wrong.

~~~
highhedgehog
> follow the normal startup problem search path.

What would that be?

------
redis_mlc
You sound like an impostor ...

A CTO doesn't "grow a company."

A founder doesn't wait around and "look for the right people."

If I were you, I would look in the mirror and decide if you're a founder or
just a wantrepreneur.

Come back in 90 days with "Tell HN", not "Ask HN."

------
bsenftner
If a big problem issue is a draw for you: start investigating how to help
solve the fake news issue. Just spend an afternoon looking into it, and if it
does not fascinate and get your creative juices flowing, I'd be surprised.
Tackling fake news is probably one of the most pressing and transparent
problems we globally have. Fake news is not just a USA problem, but a global
issue that is burning like a wildfire.

------
JSeymourATL
> Does anyone have any ideas around how to go find inspiration...

Richard Hamming's classic advice on this subject is timeless >
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw)

------
muzani
It seems like a lot of billionaires act on what they have read in books. Books
about the state of the world today and what it could be. Problems and
opportunities. Fantasies (sci-fi/philosophy). Systems (economics, cultures,
religion). Find out how everything goes together and see if there's something
that could be done better, but nobody is around in the position to do so.

------
newusertoday
I think you should not fixate on other startup's being present in the areas
you are interested in. You might bring in different perspective to the problem
they are trying to solve also once you start getting customer feedback it
might shape the product differently than the way other startup's are tackling
it or even the way you thought it ought to be. In short go for it.

~~~
highhedgehog
Zoom is a great example of a startup that made it in a field that seemed
saturated, essentially because they offered a great product

[https://www.jotform.com/blog/dont-disrupt-an-
industry/](https://www.jotform.com/blog/dont-disrupt-an-industry/)

------
DrNuke
> I really want to build something new, >> ideally from scratch with the right
> people.

These are personal issues instead of professional wishes, so you should
disconnect for a while and ask yourself what you really want to do with your
life, assumed that financial independence is sorted? Once you are on the way
that makes you feel good, projects and people will come naturally.

------
stevage
I think the classic answer to that question involves taking a lot of time,
doing some reading, and having lots of spare time for your brain to wander to
interesting places, rather than the stuff you normally immerse yourself in
every day.

