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I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

(tjcx.me)
851 points swyx | 1 comments | 18 Jan 21 20:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.281s | source
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coldtea ◴[19 Jan 21 08:40 UTC] No.25831237[source]▶
>Make something people want. It's Y-Combinator's motto and a maxim of aspiring internet entrepreneurs. The idea is that if you build something truly awesome, you'll figure out a way to make some money off of it. So I built something people wanted. Consumers wanted it, doctors wanted it, I wanted it. Where did I go wrong?

I'm not sure he still gets it. He didn't built something people want (even less so want enough to pay for).

He built something he merely thought people should want. In the end, people didn't really want it.

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splendidHaiku ◴[19 Jan 21 09:11 UTC] No.25831421[source]▶
Does not always work like that. Did people „want“ cars when there were only horses. Or Facebook when there was just email. Sometimes you build something and only after people realise that they want built thing.
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1. acvny ◴[19 Jan 21 16:06 UTC] No.25834806[source]▶
Yes, they wanted cars before the cars got invented. The wanted greater speed, more comfort, less trouble. People didn't care whether it took the shape of a "car" or of a "sdflkjsdkj". As long as the invention satisfied their needs, people were willing to pay for it. This stands true always.