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Y Combinator Free Beginner

A living list of problem areas YC actively wants founders to tackle, useful as raw material and as a way to spot where the world is changing fast. Treat it as prompts to react to, not ideas to copy, since the strongest version still comes from a problem you connect with. Good for jolting yourself out of a blank page.

  • A curated map of domains that are moving quickly right now
  • Use it as prompts to spark your own thinking, not a menu
  • You do not need to build one of these to be a real founder
Open on ycombinator.com ↗

It answers 3 questions

  1. I want to start a startup but I don't have an idea. Where do I even begin?
  2. How do I come up with startup ideas that aren't just 'Uber for X'?
  3. How do I spot an idea that AI just made possible that was not viable two years ago?

Read with it

  1. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  2. The definitive essay on where good ideas come from: notice problems you personally have, don't force it. Use it as the lens for... paulgraham.com Essay · ~20 min read How to Get Startup Ideas Paul Graham
  3. A short, pointed essay on why the best ideas grow organically out of the founder's own life and knowledge, the essence of... paulgraham.com Article · ~5 min read Organic Startup Ideas Paul Graham
  4. 200+ candid conversations with Indian founders and investors on how they actually found their idea, spotted a trend, and... Apple Podcasts Podcast · podcast series (45-90 min episodes) The Neon Show (formerly 100x Entrepreneur) Siddhartha Ahluwalia
  5. Video · ~25 min How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Jared Friedman
  6. Entering an unfamiliar industry means you cannot see the walls and dead ends that veterans already know. Dixon explains that a... cdixon.org Essay · short read The Idea Maze Chris Dixon
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