Find an idea worth pursuing
Spot problems worth solving and find the one that actually fits you.
4 steps to get you moving, each with a resource worth your time and more waiting underneath
Think of this as a friendly starting line, not the last word. Each step gives you the gist, then a resource worth your time from founders who've been there. There's always more underneath, more questions and more resources, whenever you feel like digging in.
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1
Finding & shaping ideas
Find a problem worth years of your life.
I want to start a startup but I don't have an idea. Where do I even begin?The gist 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 in a domain you actually know. Become the kind of person good ideas happen to: get deep in a fast-changing field, keep a running list of frustrations, and pick the problem you can't stop thinking about.
How to Get Startup Ideas paulgraham.com 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. -
2
Spotting trends & opportunities
Live in the future and build what's missing.
How do I spot trends early enough to build a startup on them?The gist Live at the edge of a fast-changing field and pay attention to what enthusiasts and builders are hacking on before it's mainstream. Trends worth building on show up first as toys that experts dismiss, so track what's growing fast even though it looks trivial. The goal is to see the future arrive unevenly and go stand where it lands first.
The Next Big Thing Will Start Out Looking Like a Toy cdixon.org 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. -
3
Founder-market fit
Why you, and why this problem?
What is founder-market fit and how do I know if I have it?The gist Founder-market fit is the unfair match between who you are and the problem you're solving: your background, network, obsession, and specific knowledge give you an edge in this exact market. You have it when you can say why you, and no one else, are uniquely built to win here. If your only answer is 'the market is big,' you don't have it yet.
The 4 Signs of Founder-Market Fit NFX Currier's whole argument is that founder-market fit is more than the one line on a resume that says 'domain expert'. He breaks it into experience, obsession, founder story, and personality, which is exactly why a pair can hold the fit between them: your co-founder may carry the domain, while you may carry the obsession, the story, or the personality the market trusts. Read it as a starting point for asking which pieces of fit each of you actually holds, not for deciding who is 'the fit'. -
4
Market size & timing
Is it big enough, and why now?
How big does my market need to be for this to be a real business?The gist It depends on your ambition: a bootstrapped indie business can thrive in a market worth a few million, but a venture-backed one needs a market that can plausibly reach hundreds of millions to a billion in revenue. Don't confuse a huge TAM slide with a real reachable market; investors care about the wedge you can actually win first. Size the specific segment you can serve now, not the fantasy total.
The Only Thing That Matters pmarchive.com The essay that put 'product-market fit' into the startup vocabulary. Read it for the gut-level description of what PMF feels like when it's happening vs when it isn't, the intuition behind the metrics.
