
Platform to Validate Ideas? - abriscallbowker
Hi,
I was wondering if people knew of any platform or service whereby you can assess whether people really want your idea (if it exists). 
I am kind of imagining a &quot;Product Hunt for Solvable Problems&quot; - where people can approve or disprove relevant startup ideas.
This is an idea within itself, but I was curious to understand how people currently go about the initial validation process and whether any tool remotely similar exists (it would be very useful right about now!).
Thanks :)
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jppope
The best way is to go talk to people.

Though Tech People hate the concept there is no better way to validate an
idea. Why? because people are willing tell you why they don't want to buy you
thing or why they do, which lets you develop better products

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abriscallbowker
Good Advice! Do you have any recommendations for how to gain a grasp of what
problem to solve in the first place - how do I know where to begin and what
users to speak to?

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jppope
I'd recommend finding people that are already good at isolating these sorts of
problems themselves, they'll either have one queued up for you or show you how
to find them.

Be careful about not talking to someone thats too successful though- they are
playing a different game and their knowledge probably won't be applicable at
lower levels (i.e. don't a formula 1 driver how to parallel park)

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erikbrodch
This is from a post I wrote:

A few ways to 'find a problem':

1\. Think about what’s broken in the industry you worked at or have expertise
in. Make a list of all the things your previous employer lost money over
(employees’ time is probably the most expensive resource). This list is
essentially a list of potential companies. If for example, you were in the
fashion industry, you might be able to come up with ways to solve the
guesswork fashion brands need to do in order to keep up with the market
trends.

2\. Build something that solves a problem for you. Many companies started that
way. Say you are trying to go on a keto diet, and you found a way that makes
it easier. Chances are many other people would find it helpful and be willing
to pay for it.

3\. Research. You might know a specific demographic is experiencing several
difficulties, but you don’t know exactly what’s the core problem. Start
reading and writing about it. When I started Spectroomz I didn’t know it’s
going to be a freelancing platform for autistic people. My son is autistic so
I started researching on Reddit what would be his future biggest challenges.
You can passively research (i.e. read), or do so actively (I actually posted
that question on Reddit r/aspergers). Once I got a sense that one of the main
challenges is employment, I started searching for more content on Google
Scholar, corresponding and chatting with other autistics about it and more.

4\. Important reading - Paul Graham wrote a great post on how to come up with
startup ideas.
[http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html)

After you find the problem, talk to users as jppope said. In the blog post I
share a format of how to talk to users which I simply summarized from a YC
startup school lecture -
[https://spectroomz.typeform.com/to/HR5R10](https://spectroomz.typeform.com/to/HR5R10)

If you have several ideas and want to assess what has most potential, you can
use a startup evaluation tool I created (also following a YC startup school
lecture) -
[https://spectroomz.typeform.com/to/imIL7z](https://spectroomz.typeform.com/to/imIL7z)

Hope this helps.

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abriscallbowker
Thanks for all the insight, certainly helpful!

