

Ask HN: How To Use My Great Idea? - JCB_K

Hi HN,<p>Like many others, I believe I have a really good idea for a start-up. I won't go into detail, but having done some research I've seen there's noone else doing this, and I think it's a product which can be widely used.<p>The problem is, I don't have the skills to make it. It'd include quite a lot of features, most of which would have to be custom-made, in languages I don't speak. So I have a few options:<p>-Just doing it, and seeing where it ends. Problem is that I don't have much time, and I'm already trying to get more skills in another language.<p>-Find a more technical co-founder. I'm just afraid, wouldn't this completely sideline me? I mean, I have clear ideas about what I want and stuff, but as long as the product is being developed all I could do is ask the co-founder how it's going, and giving some of my input. I'm afraid it'd feel like it's not my thing anymore. Also, I feel unsuitable for the business-side of things. No experience, still very young, nowhere near any kind of scene.<p>-Just throw the idea out there for anyone who wants to use it, and move on to something which suits better. I'd feel like I throw away a great idea, and not only that, it's <i>my</i> idea.<p>Any idea what I should or shouldn't do?
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netmau5
You've got nothing right now, treat it as such. Details are good and people
will be willing to give you feedback on your thoughts if you give them. I've
had a million ideas and most of them seem great until you start talking about
them. Have you asked a potential customer, another entrepreneur, or a partner
for feedback? If not, that is the first thing you should be doing.

The next thing you can do is to run some tests to validate your target market.
There are a plethora of ways to do this from interacting with potential
customers to adwords'ing a custom landing page. It really just depends on the
idea you want to test.

The way you mention finding a technical cofounder sounds an awful lot like
finding someone to do all the work for you. That is a fool's errand. If you
don't have time to invest in it yourself, you're not going to own any part of
it. Developing an app, and more specifically, a business, takes a HUGE time
investment. You've got to be committed.

~~~
JCB_K
_The way you mention finding a technical cofounder sounds an awful lot like
finding someone to do all the work for you._

That's exactly what I'm afraid of: I don't _want_ to have someone doing all
the work for me. It's my idea, I want to take ownership of it.

How would I go about talking to people about it? There are few people whom I
personally know which would be relevant to talk to. I'd rather not post the
whole idea on HN, as there are probably loads of people who can make this in a
fraction of the time it would take me. Should I just email random people who I
come across on the net who could give me useful advice? Doesn't feel like a
great idea either.

~~~
netmau5
I can send you an invite to Sparkmuse if you'd like to talk about it there.
Hit me up if you'd like, email is in profile.

Ask yourself who you'd sell this product/service to and try to track those
people down. This isn't development, this is marketing, and it's not always
easy. And yes, sometimes emailing people out of the blue works well too. If
you can find someone involved in your market, such as a blogger, they might be
able to provide excellent advice (just be sure to be helpful in return).

~~~
JCB_K
Thanks, will do!

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huuleon
Anyone can think of a good idea but not many of them can turn it into a
successful business. To create a successful business the idea/product should
be the last thing you need to worry about because idea changes all the time
during stages of a startup. There are many other factors that are more
important than your idea i.e ( financing, marketing,legal, team). Many
entrepreneurs have the same ideas but why are some more successful than
others? For example Gowalla vs Foursquare. An idea is worthless without an
execution plan. You can begin by researching your market and form a team who
believes in your idea and vision. I give you props for your youth
entrepreneur's spirit. Don't wait too long to start because you will mistakes.
Just learn how to fix them along the way. Just remember Nike's Slogan "Just Do
It". Good Luck

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Jsarokin
Hire an outsourced coding team to make the product. Now, its going to be
really crappy , but then you will have the prototype built and can hire on a
co-founder or take it in a different direction.

If you think the idea is really that great, don't throw it away, find a way to
make it work :)

Just my 2cents.

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noahc
This is a horrible idea generally. It's a really bad idea to outsource your
core competency. If your company builds software, you shouldn't outsource
software development.

Startups and ideas need time to change or pivot. If you're outsourcing, you're
basically saying build this big blue box, and tomorrow (or 3 months later)
you'll need to build a small red turtle and be stuck with code you can't use,
maintain, or change without paying someone else.

