
Ask HN: Do you think you have an actual novel idea? - HelloFellowDevs
I&#x27;m currently working on a side project that I thought was not &#x27;groundbreaking&#x27; but I felt was different. As time as passed and I&#x27;m still working on it, I&#x27;ve found many implementations of the same concept. Its not actually disheartening but I&#x27;ve since retooled this project to be more of a learning experience for myself (new technologies and such). Since there is nothing new under the sun, how does one deal with not actually having a brand new idea?
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hazz99
There are multiple types of "uniqueness". Two might be:

    
    
        1. Individually unique, i.e. is this new *for you?*
        2. Globally unique, i.e. is it new *for everyone?*
    

But the only important one is uniqueness within your industry or stategic
group (à la Michael Porter)

This is shown in studies that examine how designers reach "creative"
solutions. If 10 people are given the same brief, half might propose the same
idea, even though they each believe "it's unique" and "no-one else will think
of this".

But that's not a bad thing! It's proof of progress with exploring the problem
space. What was the core idea they're trying to fix? If you drop all your
assumptions, what other solutions can you come up with?

"Creative" and "unique" ideas are _always_ a synthesis of existing
technologies or processes. What is stale in one industry may be unique in
another, and vice versa.

Your customer segment wants to do something. Your product (whatever it is)
will provide value insofar as it helps them achieve this "job". The more
value, the better.

Consider the following equation:

    
    
       What + How = Value
    

If you know your customers (and you should!), then you know what "value" they
want. You just need to solve for the _what_ and _how_.

Work with "frames". Fix a specific part – like "what" or "how" – and think
about what can fill the gap.

    
    
        <Directory of dog walker contacts> + How = <Healthy dog>
    
        What + <an app>  = <Healthy Dog>
    

This is a form of abductive reasoning. This is how we believe creative people
optimise complex systems – there is a combinatorial explosion of possible
solutions (when combining existing things), but this gives us a way to work
through them.

This is overly simplified, but I hope it gives some direction!

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kosmischemusik
It's quite alright to no have a 'brand new idea'. It's near impossible to have
something that is a truly novel idea unless it's something that will be
discovered or invented far out in the future.

The process of creation is what matters as much as the end creation. During
the process, you have had a great learning experience. This will help you go
on and build new ideas. In the end, almost everything in the world today is
built by stacking on knowledge of the past.

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Jugurtha
One of the questions prospects ask us in meetings is "Company X does this with
product Y" when we present our product and talk about a feature.

One question I ask back is: "What is your experience with product Y? Do you
use it?"

The answer is invariably: "We don't use product Y." Many prospects tell us
about products they don't use, and these prospects are in _pain_ which would
make you think that they'd use _anything_ to relieve that pain but they don't.

That's an important point. Many implementations surely exist and people are
aware of them, but these implementations do not obliterate an important,
costly, problem to dust.

Does your implementation obliterate an important problem to dust?

I disagree that there's nothing new under the sun. Sure, components may be the
same, but so is guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine, yet these components
make so very different creatures.

I think your opinion is valuable, but getting more data is required: have you
shown that project to your target audience? Do you have a simple use case.
Just _one_ thing that helps a user accomplish a task that would otherwise
require time, skill, resources, or all of these? Talking with users is
_educational_ to say the least.

In the past, we used to spend months on a feature that would go un-noticed,
and the prospect would stop us mid-presentation, call colleagues to the room,
and ask us about a feature we hacked together in a few hours. Some things
matter to you, others matter. An extreme view that is of course nuanced in
real life, but it can move the project forward more than ignoring it does.

~~~
HelloFellowDevs
What I’m currently working on is in its earliest stages at the moment, since
I’ve reclassified it as a learning exercise it has been getting less of my
time at the moment. Due to this, (potential) user interviews aren’t at the top
of the list now.

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k00b
I built [https://choremate.co](https://choremate.co) because we needed it
ourselves and I couldn't, initially, find something similar. When I applied to
YC I did more extensive research and found lots of past and current attempts.

My approach has novel insight but part of why I couldn't find competitors is
because the market for coliving tools is weak.

I suspect (from this obviously limited anecdote) the problem with most ideas
where competitors aren't apparent is that the market is weak. In such cases,
the real competitive advantage is likely in finding a solution to the market
weakness. Market might be weak because existing solutions aren't very good but
in my case it's more complicated.

Past/current attempts/failures can give you a lot of valuable information
about what doesn't work so learning about them gives you a smaller space to
search for what will work.

~~~
impendia
Looks interesting, I checked it out.

I'm curious, is your revenue model to keep all those $2 fines that get charged
to roommates who don't do the dishes? :)

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k00b
Thanks for giving it a gander!

Right on the money. I think that's the most approachable revenue model; "free
unless you don't do your chores" or some such. Perhaps a paid tier with
additional features or gated by household size ... I dream of making housing
coops (10+ people to a house) much more scalable.

I have high churn ATM though so most of my concern is there.

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forgotmypw17
I don't remember the source of these:

a) Few ideas are actually novel.

b) Someone else doing the same idea is validation of your idea.

c) The more time you spend actually developing your idea, the further ahead
you will be of anyone else who has the same idea.

~~~
wisewolfcorps
> Someone else doing the same idea is validation of your idea.

This is one thing that I had recently learned. Though it does not relive you
from the pain (that the idea is not unique/novel), but when you keep on
continuing with the idea, along the line you will find different ideas get
attached to your project which may or may not be the same as how your
competitor idea has progressed.

If you give it more thought you will realise that this outcome is generally
because different people have different outlook towards the world. Along the
line you will choose one scenario over other and solve it, and these choices
will make a difference in the long run.

I have not reached that far, but this is how far I think I have understood.

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jlongster
* Sometimes other things look similar but a small change you made to the idea is the novel part and makes a big difference

* Many, many ideas live in obscurity. If you can take one and learn how to execute it in a way that gets users, you've done something novel

* Creating is more frequently combining existing ideas into a new thing. There are infinite ways to weave together existing ideas into something new.

