
Ask HN: Everything already exists - fmax30
I am so tired of this all , every other day i get a brilliant idea , i start working on , start learning stuff but then i do a web search to see if it already exists , and it always exists. 
And then i have to trash it , it really demotivates me .
What should i do HN ?
======
ChuckMcM
Well, if you keep notes, then you can move on from 'getting a brilliant idea'
to connecting the dots between ideas that exist and the motivations for
creating them.

The goal is to switch from "getting ideas" (which is sort of level 1
entrepreneurism) to "seeing problems" (which is, in my estimation level 2).
This is important because 'brilliant idea' but can't answer the question 'what
problem does it solve?' is not worth spending a lot of time on, from a money
making perspective (can be from a fun perspective but that is another
comment).

So hopefully you're keeping a diary/journal/notebook of these "every other
day" ideas, and once you've got a couple dozen, maybe a hundred, you can start
asking questions based on the ideas you come up with. Things like "What do I
spend my time thinking about?", "What problem spaces are my ideas clustered
around?", "Given that they have been done by other people, what was it that
made them obvious in retropsect?", and my personal favorite, "Where is the
hole in these ideas?"

If you have the ability to generate ideas, you can leverage that into the
ability to see where changes will be needed or could be presented. Sometimes
existing ideas have "baked in" assumptions (like people assuming you'll have a
car so you need a gas mileage app) sometimes they are more subtle. If the
underlying assumptions have changed (like it costs too much to make gas out of
algae because oil is less than $75 a barrel) ideas that used to not make sense
might start making sense, and then you look at changes that are going on
around you whether it is spending habits, climate change, or population
demographics, and try to ask questions about ideas those changes will make
useful in the future.

On an unrelated topic, trying to cultivate an appreciation for "learning
stuff" will serve you well, as it can be the only reward you get for the time
invested. Appreciating the value of knowing, and knowing well the 'new stuff',
will help with the motivation. If you think "10 ideas, all worthless because
they are already done." that is demotivating, but "10 ideas, learned 10 new
things, score!" you'll be much happier with the outcome. And while you may not
realize it now, if you actually do _learn_ the stuff that the idea entailed
then you will start to recognize in your own thinking ideas that are probably
already out there and more rapidly converge on solutions to problems that are
unlikely to have been implemented yet.

------
jwynia
"It already exists" at first looks like a reason not to build something. But,
is the version that already exists _really_ the same as your implementation
would be?

Outside of software, it's obvious that "it already exists" doesn't stop
anyone. Does the long list of Italian restaurants, gastropubs or
microbreweries stop anyone from starting another one, with their unique twist?

Even in software, did existing social networks stop Facebook from starting
another one and taking over the top spot?

Does the existence of "a web application framework" stop anyone from building
a better one that matches their opinions/approach?

The only real sin would be to make an exact copy of something that already
exists without making your version better in some way. Make it more user-
friendly, more powerful, more configurable, cheaper, more business-friendly,
etc.

~~~
fmax30
I had an idea around 2 weeks ago , thought about it worked on it, made the
initial designs. Then just today i did a web search to see if there was
something similar to it . What i found out was that it was already being done
in some European countries for the past 12 years . Sure my app was going to be
a little different but the basic idea was same , and if they had patented it ,
they would have sued me if my app ever got big. So it demotivated me and i
trashed it .

~~~
petervandijck
Why did it demotivate you?

------
helen842000
Are you sure it happens in that order?

You don't HAVE to trash it, you choose to. :)

Is being first to an idea the important part? It seems that not being first
demotivates you because your passion is invested in being new and unique not
in what you are actually building. When the uniqueness has gone, you lose
interest.

You're in love with the idea of having a great idea.

Next time you get an idea you have two options :-

* Research FIRST, then be glad if it already exists, it's proof your idea is a good one and you're free to move & spend your time on something else.

* If your heart is set on working on something see the others as competition, learn from their examples, what do they charge, where they advertise, who writes about them. Learn what they're bad at and improve up on it. For the customers you serve you'll always be the first!

------
phantom_oracle
I challenge the notion that everything exists.

Even an incremental innovation will separate you from the pack.

You must always see niche markets as opportunity markets where you can fill.

Big companies are great to have around when you are trying to fill a niche
market. Grow big enough and they'll buy you out.

Apart from the concept of addressing a niche market, I think you should try
keeping this in mind:

"being everything to everyone" is the worst way to start an idea of.

Remember, FB started out as a social network for students, now it's everyones
social network, which would explain why smaller niche networks have grown
reasonably big (Pinterest, Instagram, etc.).

------
gesman
Everything already exists and most of it is crappily implemented. There are
billions of dollars to be made in simplifying existing products and solutions.

Doing something better is the idea that no one can take away from you.

------
justincormack
Thats something thats traditionally supposed to happen on the last week f your
PhD.

But instead, try to make things you need. If someone else has already made
them it saves time, you can use it.

------
benologist
You should realize that although everything exists, most things can be
massively improved.

------
allbombs
80% copy / 20% innovation

~~~
gesman
In case of China its: 120% copy / -20% innovation.

