

Ask HN: What's one problem you'd like startups to solve? - namenotrequired


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basicallydan
Local product search.

I really, really want to be able to search for what products are available on
the high-street in any shop, based on a live stock-room database.

Imagine an application which could recommend what exactly you should do in
order to obtain item X based on your location, the amount of time you had and
how much money you wanted to spend.

E.g., "I'm at home and I need to pick up a pair of smart shoes. I have an
hour, and £50 to spend. Where do I go?" \- the application has two nearby
places. Place A has smart shoes for £35, and it'll take you 30 minutes to get
there, but place B Is only 10 minutes away but you'll have to spend £45 on the
shoes. Trivial example, but that sounds pretty useful, no?

If anybody has a solution for this and wants to talk seriously about
implementing it, get in touch with me.

~~~
bliti
Been researching this type of system for about two years now. The feedback
from business owners has not been very positive. Some do not want their
inventory to be readily available to anyone (for whatever reason). Others do
not see the value of anything outside of Facebook (the social network has
become their own little internet). A couple talked about how expensive
software is (they are right). One or two were open to the idea. But were not
ready to be used as guinea pigs for research.

One common trait has been the lack of understanding of what online sales are,
and what they might mean to them. There is a lot of space to innovate here,
but it has to be done in a way that is less _take a risk with me_ , and more
_this is totally safe and normal to do_.

~~~
plax512
Maybe, and all due respect, you're not selling it right

~~~
bliti
I was not selling it. Just researching the idea. Had I tried to sell it people
would have not given me much data to crunch. I'm still convinced the idea is
good. Though it will require a great amount of effort to gain momentum.
Businesses are very conservative due to the fear of losing precious resources
on a wrong decision. They need to know about others being successful with a
product/service before they decide to try it.

------
benhirashima
i think it's ridiculous that in order to get a prescription for a simple low-
risk medication, i have to call my doctor, make an appointment, wait 45
minutes past when my appointment was supposed to be, and have a physical
meeting with the doctor that consists of nothing but talking and takes all of
5 minutes. oh, and i have to pay way too much for it too. i should be able to
do this over the phone or internet, and for less money.

~~~
draker
This is often because doctors aren't paid unless they physically see you in
the office. Current insurance payment policies do not recognize phone or
internet consultation as billable events.*

My doctor provides this service and does so as follows:

I call my doctor leave a voicemail(Name, DOB, Phone#). A "triage nurse" (their
exact wording) returns my call. I describe my symptoms and answer a few
questions, these are then relayed to my doctor. If he feels the issue doesn't
require a visit but requires a prescription the order is placed electronically
and a nurse calls back to confirm my desired pharmacy, provide instructions
and answer any additional questions.

*While some companies are making efforts to amend these policies, this holds true for the majority in my experience.

------
byoung2
Email. My inbox is overflowing and all the folders and tags in the world don't
seem to help. Is there anything better out there?

~~~
namenotrequired
I'm sure there is! What sort of emails do you think are the largest problem in
your case?

------
reganrob
FYI, pg made a "Request for Startups" a couple of years ago, detailing
problems he'd like startups to solve. You'd also know that those problems are
fundable.

[http://ycombinator.com/rfs.html](http://ycombinator.com/rfs.html)

~~~
namenotrequired
Yes, I'm aware of them, thanks! :) I'm interested in hearing more from other
people as well. I'm not looking for any ideas to go after myself - I'm
currently busy enough with uni and a startup job - but always love hearing
ideas like these!

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wturner
In the U.S. dental issues are not considered a serious health problem even
though you can die from it. Teeth aren't covered by "obamacare" and well, if
the side of your mouth rots out then tough shit. Poor Americans have trouble
affording dental insurance. I know this probably isn't as interesting as
'local product search' and the like, but I thought I would chime in. Thanks

~~~
iends
Do you have any ideas in this space? My wife is a dentist and I've done a bit
of work in the EHR space.

The real issue (at least it seems to be the issue to me) is people are lazy
(or perhaps uneducated) and don't put any effort in until it is too late.

~~~
wturner
Well I had dental insurance at my old job and lost it. Then my hours rapidly
declined. A filling fell out. Got laid off and haven't been able to catch up.
My unemployment is about to run out but I just signed up for Humana with the
same assumption that put me off from getting insurance in the first place -
even if I had it I still wouldn't be able to afford the tooth pull. So I guess
I'm one of the lazy and uneducated. Thanks. Regardless that's not the point.
The point is that irrespective of how 'lazy' or 'uneducated' you perceive
anyone to be they should still have the basic human right of not having to die
from something that is simple and preventable.

~~~
iends
I suppose if you brushed and flossed everyday like you should, you would still
have to had the filling done originally? No? I suppose then that you knew you
should brush and decided not to (lazy), or you were to young to know better
(uneducated). Is this a false dichotomy?

Now that's out of the way.

There are many free dental clinics that would examine the tooth and pull or
fill if needed. Sure, you may have to wait in line a few hours. There are also
usually public health clinics that charge very little.

What city, state are you in? I'm in NC and know more about stuff in the state,
but could certainly find clinics, public health, etc in other states.

------
GoldfishCRM
My grandma wants to communicate with her family trough internet but dont know
how to use a computer. Solve that for me.

~~~
downtowncanada
make a remote control with a mic with one button on it.

the altekaker (your grandma) presses the button and asks her television to do
things.

the audio is matched against previous requests, or sent to a call centre with
access to her command prompt.

they open skype and call the kid she wanted to call

bill is about the same as cable per month OR for poor ppl, the audio can be
sent to her grandson's phone and he can do whatever she asks and not be payed
because he loves his grandma

~~~
GoldfishCRM
Love that idea. Ok if I steal it?

------
sharemywin
site to swap skills. earn credits and buy other people's time. ex. designer
needs programmer. does some design work earns some credits and hires
programmers. not as big a market as freelancing but could be useful somewhere
bewteen fiverr and elance size projects.

~~~
namenotrequired
Sounds a bit like [http://www.konnektid.com/](http://www.konnektid.com/) ?
They're very early stages though.

