Ideas & Opportunity

How do I come up with startup ideas that aren't just 'Uber for X'?

A starting point

Don't sit in a room brainstorming ideas on purpose; that's how you get derivative junk. Ideas that matter show up organically as a byproduct of living at the edge of something real, so live in the future and notice what's missing. Look for problems that seem small or unsexy to everyone else, because that's exactly where the competition isn't.

Go deeper

Watch

▶️ Video
Free Beginner

How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas

On YC Startup Library by Jared Friedman (Y Combinator) ~50 min

Why we picked it

A YC partner turns 'how do I get an idea' into a concrete checklist you can run today, plus the traps (tarpit ideas) that sink beginners. It's the practical companion to Paul Graham's essay, with a repeatable framework for judging an idea's strength.

  • Evaluate ideas on the problem: how many people have it, how often, and how badly.
  • Watch out for 'tarpit ideas' that feel exciting but have quietly killed hundreds of startups.
  • The best sources are your own expertise, things you personally wish existed, and noticing recent changes.
Open ycombinator.com →

Read

✍️ Essay
Free Beginner

How to Get Startup Ideas

From paulgraham.com by Paul Graham ~20 min read

Why we picked it

The definitive essay on where good ideas come from: notice problems you personally have, don't force it. Use it as the lens for judging whether your idea is a real problem or a solution in search of one.

  • Live in the future and build what's missing.
  • The best ideas look like bad ideas at first (schleps and hard-to-explain).
  • Start with problems you have, in a domain you actually know.
Open paulgraham.com →
📄 Article
Free Beginner

The Next Big Thing Will Start Out Looking Like a Toy

From cdixon.org by Chris Dixon ~5 min read

Why we picked it

The definitive short read on why disruptive ideas get dismissed as toys, and why that dismissal is your opening. It reframes what looks trivial today as the thing that owns the market tomorrow, essential for spotting trends before they're obvious.

  • Disruptive products launch under-powered and get laughed off by incumbents.
  • Because experts ignore 'toys,' the early builder gets a head start no one contests.
  • Judge a fast-growing product by what it becomes in five years, not what it does today.
Open cdixon.org →

People also ask

I want to start a startup but I don't have an idea. Where do I even begin? Stop hunting for a billion-dollar idea and start collecting problems. The best ideas come from noticing things that annoy you or people around you ... Beginner 3 resources → Should I solve a problem I personally have, or chase a bigger market? Start with a problem you personally have or deeply understand. Founders who live the problem move faster, ask better questions, and can smell a fak... Beginner 3 resources → How do I know if my idea is a real problem or just a 'nice to have'? A real problem is frequent, painful, and expensive enough that people are already hacking together ugly workarounds for it. If nobody has spent tim... Beginner 3 resources → I have too many ideas. How do I pick which one to actually work on? Filter on three things: is it a problem you understand, is the pain real and frequent, and can you reach the people who have it. Then break the tie... Intermediate 3 resources → What makes an Indian startup idea work when the market is so price-sensitive? In India, a great idea usually means being dramatically better, not marginally better; the switch has to be so obvious that people change behaviour... Intermediate 3 resources → How do I know if my idea is any good? Judge it on the problem, not the solution: is it a real, frequent, painful problem for a reachable group of people, and are you unusually well-plac... Beginner 4 resources →