Essay · ~20 min read

How to Get Startup Ideas

Paul Graham · paulgraham.com Free Beginner

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 on paulgraham.com ↗
Devang Tarsariya 1 founder recommend

It answers 87 questions

  1. What does 'validating an idea' actually mean?
  2. I want to start a startup but I don't have an idea. Where do I even begin?
  3. How big does my market need to be for this to be a real business?
  4. What is founder-market fit and how do I know if I have it?
  5. How do I spot trends early enough to build a startup on them?
  6. I'm non-technical, do I actually need a technical co-founder?
  7. How do I know if my idea is any good?
  8. How do I come up with startup ideas that aren't just 'Uber for X'?
  9. Do I need to be an expert in an industry to start a company in it?
  10. How do I tell the difference between a real trend and a passing fad?
  11. How do I validate an idea without building anything?
  12. Should I solve a problem I personally have, or chase a bigger market?

And 75 more across the hub.

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