How to get startup ideas

How to Get Startup Ideas

Ask any successful entrepreneur: coming up with great startup ideas can be challenging, rewarding, and a little overwhelming. The makeup of any great startup idea is a creative solution, a standout product, and a passionate founder dedicated to growing the company. If you’re asking yourself, “how do I come up with the perfect business idea for my future startup?”, we’ve got the answers with this guide to everything you need to know about how to get startup ideas.

Recommended: Check out our guide on how to start a startup and our list of the best business formation services to help you form your startup today!

How to Come Up With Startup Ideas

Identify Problems and/or Needs in the World

One of the goals of startup companies is to provide an innovative solution to a widespread problem. To come up with a great startup idea, think first about the problems or needs you have in your own life.

Rather than spending time trying to think up problems others face, look at problems and needs you personally struggle with. Not only does this strategy motivate you to solve the problem, but it also ensures the problem you’re solving actually exists. Chances are if you struggle with it, others do as well.

One reason many startups fail is because they create products or provide services that don’t have an interested market. Generally, this is because entrepreneurs focus too heavily on coming up with any idea instead of identifying the demand first. Spend time identifying the needs and problems that affect you and the people around you, and center your startup ideas around solving them.

Focus on What You’re Passionate About

Passion is one of the most important traits that a startup entrepreneur can possess. If you create a startup company with an idea that leaves you passionless, chances are you won’t be as dedicated about selling your product — which doesn’t bode well for your startup. So, how do you assess whether your passion would make a great startup idea? Start by following these tips:

It’s likely that your level of passion is matched by others who will want to buy your products or services. By focusing on the industries, hobbies, and topics you’re most passionate about, you can open up the door for innovation to create a startup that excites you as much as your favorite activities do.

Think Creatively

Originality is key to a successful startup. If your startup isn’t equipped with a product or service that stands out from the competition, your chances of success are limited. Not to mention, some of the most successful startups in the world, such as Google, Apple, and Facebook, started with their founders thinking outside the box.

Get the creative juices flowing by trying these creativity-boosting techniques:

Remember when we were talking about identifying problems to come up with startup ideas? If you’ve identified a widespread problem or need, thinking creatively can help you generate solutions that are unique and impactful. The defining characteristic of startup companies is innovation. Challenging the status quo to turn an industry on its head starts with creative thinking.

Conduct Brainstorming Sessions

Brainstorming is a popular business tool to generate ideas for one reason: it works. If you haven’t already conducted brainstorming sessions individually or with a group, it’s time to give it a try. Brainstorming can be done by creating lists, mind maps, or simply writing ideas on a piece of paper. The right way to brainstorm is the most effective method for you.

Conduct effective brainstorming sessions with these three techniques: prioritize quantity first, create a no-judgment zone, and invite differing viewpoints.

Let’s look at the first technique, prioritize quantity first. During brainstorming sessions, the phrase “the more, the merrier” should be applied. You have time to narrow down your ideas afterward; during this time, focus on coming up with as many ideas as possible.

Secondly, create a no-judgment zone. Every idea that comes out of brainstorming isn’t going to be a winner, but creating an environment where everyone (even yourself) is free to get creative with their ideas without fear of judgment will help encourage creativity.

Last but not least, invite differing viewpoints. A brainstorm is best when there is not only a group of people but the group has diverse viewpoints and lifestyles to influence their contributions. Remember, innovation doesn’t thrive in an echo chamber.

Identify Competitors

Your competitors can be either successful, established businesses or other entrepreneurs that are cutting their teeth in the same industry. Either way, identifying who your competitors are is essential to coming up with the most effective startup idea. Here’s why:

Do Your Research

You’ve most likely heard the phrase “knowledge is power.” When starting your own business, it’s more powerful and important than ever. Conducting effective research about all aspects of your new startup company provides you with tools to make informed decisions and smoke the competition. Let’s take a look at the areas you’ll need to do thorough research:

Collaborate and Ask for Feedback

Build a network of collaborators to receive support and valuable feedback from. Networking is essential at every step of starting and operating a business, especially when deciding on the right startup idea. As they say, there is power in numbers.

Collaborating with other businesses, organizations, or even friends can boost creativity and get you closer to choosing the right startup idea for you. Focus on building strong relationships with fellow entrepreneurs that can help you identify startup ideas with promise and leave the ones that may be less profitable. When you are finally in business, this network won’t cease being valuable.

Constructive criticism can be a tough pill to swallow. However, asking for feedback is one of the best ways to help you make an informed decision about not only whether your startup idea is promising but also how you can adapt it to appeal to a wider audience or tap into an open market.

Evaluate Your Startup Ideas

When you’ve generated a few new startup ideas to choose from, it’s time to put them to the test by reevaluating your selections. The goal here is to assess whether the startup ideas have promise and speculate which ideas are the strongest. Start evaluating your startup ideas by answering these questions:

You want to establish a realistic, full-picture perspective on each of your ideas, including everything from how you personally feel about the venture to how you are going to produce the product to meet demand. It’s incredibly important that you have a distinct understanding of the type of startup company you’re forming, especially if you’re going to be seeking funding from outside sources.

Explore Free Business and Startup Resources

Fortunately for entrepreneurs, there are loads of free business and startup resources available online. Taking advantage of these resources is an easy (and inexpensive) way to develop a winning startup idea.

We recommend starting with this business ideas generator or sifting through our guide of the 77 Best Startup Ideas.

For more business help beyond coming up with your startup business idea, visit the Business Center for resources on everything from free legal forms to step-by-step instructions on how to start a business in your state.

How to get startup ideas

For a discussion in the Inverted Passion group, I was reading the Paul Graham’s How to Get Startup Ideas written 6 years ago. It is still super-relevant and very fresh. Here are my notes interlinking lessons from other great minds:

“The most common mistake startups make is to solve problems no one has.”

“Why do so many founders build things no one wants? Because they begin by trying to think of startup ideas. That m.o. is doubly dangerous: it doesn’t merely yield few good ideas; it yields bad ideas that sound plausible enough to fool you into working on them.”

We don’t build a product and then find a market for it. Its always the other way.

Product Market Fit (PMF) is a very common thing to measure the traction and growth. But still is a wrong notion as it emphasises on the product first. Brian Balfour says that it is always market that comes first and its better we rephrase it as Market/Product fit (MPF).

Marc Andreessen and Andy Rachleff, the original proponents of the PMF, also mean the emphasis is on market but they have somehow coined it as product/market fit:

When a great team meets a lousy market, market wins.

When a lousy team meets a great market, market wins.

When a great team meets a great market, something special happens.

Go small to go big:

People put on the “sexy idea” filter, “revolutionary product” filter when evaluating the initial ideas. But the emphasis in the early stages should be on building things which are needed for a small segment of people. Even though it is counter intuitive, it is better to focus on a small number of people initially:

“you can either build something a large number of people want a small amount, or something a small number of people want a large amount. Choose the latter. Not all ideas of that type are good startup ideas, but nearly all good startup ideas are of that type.”

“To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor you need only thousands of true fans.”

Eric Ries’ lean startup and Steve Blank’s customer development processes gives frameworks and methodologies to focus on this initial true fans. You build a scrappy prototype and put it out to get feedback, before polishing it.

Live in the future and build what seems interesting:

“how do you choose between ideas? The truth is disappointing but interesting: if you’re the right sort of person, you have the right sort of hunches. If you’re at the leading edge of a field that’s changing fast, when you have a hunch that something is worth doing, you’re more likely to be right.”

If I had read this passage few years ago, I would have said this is batshit-crazy. But that is in fact very true. Jeff Bezos in one of his epic annual letters says this:

“Good inventors and designers deeply understand their customer. They spend tremendous energy developing that intuition. They study and understand many anecdotes rather than only the averages you’ll find on surveys. They live with the design. A remarkable customer experience starts with heart, intuition, curiosity, play, guts, taste.”

Alright, I get it. The market trumps all else. How do I live in the future? This is where I find the lesson from PG that is very being blunt and to the point:

“the way to have good startup ideas is to become the sort of person who has them.”

This resonates well with the point from another huge master, Charlie Munger. When asked : “ How to find a good spouse?”, Charlie’s answer was “ Be worthy of a good spouse”. First you become a good spouse, and then you can deserve one.

A little more actionable insights comes from Chris Dixon:

“ It is easy to think that because you like food you can create a better restaurant. It is an entirely different matter to rent and build a space, market your restaurant, manage inventory, inspire your staff, and do all the other difficult things it takes to create a successful restaurant. Similarly, just because you can imagine a website you’d like to use, doesn’t mean you have founder/market fit with the consumer internet market.”

The option he suggests is:

“No one is born with knowledge of the education market, online advertising, or clean energy technologies. You can learn about these markets by building test projects, working at relevant companies, or simply doing extensive research. I have a friend who decided to work in the magazine industry. He discovered some massive inefficiencies and built a very successful technology company that addressed them”

Ideation — How to generate startup ideas

This article is part of a case study “From zero to profitable business within 3 months”

But where do we actually begin this journey? What is the very first step that we need to take in order to achieve that goal of a profitable business?

Well, every business starts with a business idea!

Now, either you already have a business idea or you need to come up with one.

In this article, I will describe some ways how to come up with business ideas. In my experience, with the following techniques, it should be possible to come up with several business ideas. But there are literally hundreds of Ideation techniques that you can use, so feel free to search around for more methods which can help you to generate ideas.

Generating ideas is only the first step though. Afterwards, we need to evaluate them and then decide on which idea we will focus. However, never throw your generated ideas away. Keep your collection and keep collecting ideas permanently, so that you always can refer back to or gather inspiration from this collection.

💡 1. Step: Idea Generation

Business ideas can be basically categorized into two areas:

These are the reasons why the customers will check out and eventually buy your product: Either they want to have a problem solved by your product (e. g. manage dates through a calendar software) or they want to have a need (emotionally) fulfilled (e. g. fashion, video games, movies).

In very simplified terms, we can express an idea as the following equation:

Idea = Problem or Need + Your product or service

While your product/service is actually solving this problem / fulfilling this need.

So let’s say we want to solve a problem, then it is the best way to start with the problem itself instead of with the solution. That’s actually a mistake many people do and oftentimes the reason why so many startups fail, for example resulting in no market need because not enough people have this problem (honestly, there are many other reasons why startups fail, but this is definitely one on the top of the list).

“Oh, I have this awesome idea of this app that does X and I will make it so beautiful and everyone will download it.” — Well, that sounds great in theory, but what problem are you trying to solve? Why are you doing that?

The solution is actually based on a problem, so we should start right there at the root. Remember, the people want to have their problem solved. And certainly, we can think of a solution to any problem. But not every problem needs to be solved, or in other words: not every solution has a problem that needs to be solved.

“The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. It’s to look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself. The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common: they’re something the founders themselves want, that they themselves can build and that few others realize are worth doing. Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Google, and Facebook all began this way.”

“Starting with a solution is like building a key without knowing what door it will open. You can try testing your key on lots of doors or you can start with a door you want to open. When you fall in love with the problem, versus your solution, you start building keys to doors that actually take you places.”

There is a really great TED Talk by Simon Sinek in which he says:

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

And if you check out some very successful businesses such as Apple, Microsoft, Uber or Airbnb, you will find that these companies strongly promote their mission, their purpose, their WHY.

You will simply come up easier with your “Why” when you exactly know what problem you are trying to solve. If you think in solutions, you will instantly answer the “What” and probably the “How” of your business. But the answer to the “Why” is actually rooted in the problem part of the idea equation.

“We are doing [WHAT] in a way of [HOW] because we are trying to solve problem X / we are not happy with situation X / … [WHY]”.

So, with this background knowledge, here are some ways, how you can generate ideas effectively. Make sure to remember the idea equation and to generate problems as well as multiple possible solutions to the problems.

Three last important things:

🙇‍ Start with (your own) problems

As mentioned above, starting with problems and then thinking about solutions is a great way to come up with ideas. So, think about your own life. What problems do you have? When was the last time you were angry or mad? When did you complain the last time?

You can also have a look at other people’s problems. When did you help someone else with his or her problem? When did you hear someone else complaining the last time (which is not too difficult here in Germany, just go outside and soon you will hear people complaining about stuff 😉)? Browse a little bit through Reddit, Twitter, Facebook etc. and see what people are having problems with or looking solutions for.

If you really think about it, you should get a decent list of problems. There are TONS of problems in the world waiting to be solved.

🎇 Get inspired

Why not getting inspired? You could look up the story of some popular companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Dropbox etc. and see how they started.

Have a look at some Medium Publications, Indiehackers, Hackernews, or VC websites (they often write about ideas or fields they are investing in). Also, there are tons of business idea lists online. Furthermore, you can check out the pain points people have with current products, e. g. in Sub-Reddits or at sites such as canny.io.

The point here is to use this research as a stimulation to come up with your own ideas. Use it as an inspiration.

🔮 Imagine the future

Another powerful way is to not only think about the present but about the future. How will the future be like? What problems will we have? What companies will exist in the future? Just remember how the life was 5 or 10 years ago. Just have a look back 10 years ago and see what didn’t exist back in this time 😉

🛠 What could be done better?

While the “Start with (your own) problems” idea is more about thinking about concrete problems, the goal of this question of more to rethink and question your daily routines. What are you doing/using daily? Are there things that could be automated? Is there anything that could be done in a much better way? What could be optimised in order to save time or money or offer a much better quality?

🎨 Use creativity techniques

There are literally TONS of creativity techniques which you can use in order to come up with new ideas. You could basically fill a book, so listing all techniques is unrealistic. But here are some techniques shortly described. If you search for “ideation techniques” or “creativity techniques” you will find hundreds of more, even complete books about such techniques.

I think you get the point. You can use such methods to generate new ideas or use your already generated ideas to even come up with more. Remember what Steve Jobs said:

“ Creativity is just connecting things”

🧘‍Meditate

Probably everyone had this feeling once — you are taking a shower and then suddenly you get an awesome idea. There are studies that claim that 72% of the people have the best ideas while taking a shower.

Relaxation is important for creativity! So, why not relax? Disconnect all your devices, take a shower or a bath, or meditate! Let the thoughts come and go and see if some ideas come into your mind. But remember — don’t force yourself to create ideas in this time. Focus on relaxing.

🌝 10x Thinking / Moonshot Thinking

Allow yourself to think big! Have a look at Elon Musk. He wanted a new payment method on the Internet, so he created PayPal. He wanted an innovative electric car, so he founded Tesla Motors. He wanted to give people the chance to go to space, so he created Space X. He wanted high-speed transportation, he’s creating Hyperloop.

You can go wild in this phase! Don’t think how you can make something 10% better, think about how you can make it 10 times better. This is what innovative companies such as Google, Facebook & Co. are doing the whole time.

📈 2. Step: Idea Evaluation

You should have collected a couple of ideas at this point. Now, we need to somehow choose an idea we will focus on. So we need to do a very first evaluation of the collected ideas.

In this case study we have the following restrictions:

Even if we didn’t have this time and bootstrapping restriction — we are always restricted in some ways, even if we have a team and an investment.

Feasibility

So this raises the question for the feasibility: Can we actually do it? Can we do it in this time span? Can we do it alone, with our skills and resources?
This focuses more

As I mentioned earlier, we can think of a solution to any problem. But also not every problem needs to be solved, or not every solution has a problem that needs to be solved.

Viability

Consequently, this raises the question for the importance or viability: Should we actually do it? Can this actually become a sustainable business? Does this align with my goals?

So, go through your ideas and answer these questions for each idea. Rate every idea from a scale to 1 (totally not feasible / totally not viable) to 5 (extremely feasible / extremely viable).

Then, choose the top three ideas with the highest scores.

🎯 3. Step: Decide

We have rated two important dimensions so far: Feasibility (Can we do it?) and Viability (Should we do it?). This was rather a rational evaluation. In this step, we will evaluate the top three ideas more from an emotional side: Desirability

We can do it, we should do it, but do we WANT to do it?

With this dimension, the circle closes and probably many people know this sweet spot from methods such as Design Thinking:

Regarding the Desirability, you should ask yourself these questions:

You want to answer both questions with “yes”. Of course, it’s important that other people will like this idea so that there will be enough customers for your business. But also, it is important that YOU like, better love, this idea. There is the chance that you will be doing this for a very long time and the next validation and building steps will not always be easy. So if you are not convinced from this idea, try to look for other ideas.

Another advantage is that if it’s your own problem and you solve it, but the business model fails, at least you gained a lot of knowledge and skills in this field and solved your own problem.

“Love the Problem, Not Your Solution”

Maybe you can validate your problem, but the solution you thought about is not what the customers actually want. So it’s always good when you are passionate to work on this problem in general.

So, out of your three top ideas, choose the one which has the highest desirability. Which idea are you the most desirable about? Which idea do you think are other people most desirable about?

👉 Conclusion

The Ideation is basically the very first step in our journey towards a profitable business.

But there are a few things to note here:

So with this knowledge in mind, in the post I will apply this knowledge by myself to come up with a business idea that I will focus on during the next weeks.

Afterwards, we will explore the other parts of the puzzle. We will transform the idea into a business model, find out the hypotheses, create experiments for these hypotheses, test them and much more!

Do you want to stay up to date with the case study?

The 80 Best Startup Ideas to Make Money in 2022

Every successful startup begins with a unique idea, an eager entrepreneur, and an available market. Identifying an innovative idea for your business is the first step to getting your company up and running, but with so many options, it’s tough to know where to look for inspiration. You don’t need to stress though, we’ve developed this list of the 80 best startup ideas to help you make money in 2022.

Ready to launch your company? Check out our guide on how to start a startup.

80 Startup Ideas

Choosing a unique idea is essential when creating a startup. Find inspiration below with our list of innovative startup business ideas.

1. App Development

If you have a great idea for an app and the skill set to make it happen, app development can prove to be a lucrative and rewarding endeavor. Be sure to do a little research to make sure your idea hasn’t already been developed and that there is a potential market for it before looking for investors.

Check out our full list of the best tech startup ideas, or get inspired by our list of the best app startups to watch!

2. VR Startup

A Virtual Reality (VR) company typically falls into one of three categories: selling VR products, creating a VR experience, and VR consulting or other community-centered startup models. A great place to start is to look at the interests of your community and the VR companies that are already established in your area. For example, if there aren’t any VR experiences in your area, it may be a great opportunity to introduce a VR escape room or gaming arcade.

3. Subscription Box

Skilled curators and marketers with a passion for a specific industry, why haven’t you started a subscription box startup yet? With 18.5 million subscription box shoppers in the US, the sky’s the limit for this startup idea. The key to making a successful subscription box startup is identifying popular products that people cycle through monthly and the businesses that are popular within that target market.

4. Online Courses

A special skill and the desire to teach it to other people is all you need for an online courses startup. Are you fluent in a foreign language? Do you have a background in social media marketing? Are you a talented photographer? If you have a depth of knowledge in a specific field or an impressive skill set, starting an online course is a great way to put your talents to work. Make it your own by developing a curriculum that is unique to you with assignments and objectives that will keep your students engaged.

5. Chatbots

Chatbots offer a point of contact for customers to better navigate websites and troubleshoot problems. A chatbot startup’s success is largely dependent on the product’s capabilities and customer appeal. Using natural language, giving your bots personality, and the ability to work well within the platform to effectively answer customer questions is essential to the success of this startup.

6. Ecommerce

Ecommerce startups require stellar virtual sales tactics, a dedication to marketing, and the ability to successfully curate items for a targeted audience. The first step is to identify a market that either isn’t supersaturated or is overlooking a demographic. Alternatively, if you have a product you are interested in selling, you can advertise your creation by using the same tactics.

7. Podcasting

Are you super enthusiastic about a niche topic that you love talking about to anyone who will listen? Then podcasting might be the perfect startup idea for you! Podcasting is the ideal venture for people who are passionate about a specific topic and want to spend their time sharing information about it. With more and more podcasters popping up every day, the time to plant your flag as an expert in your field of interest is now.

8. Virtual Assistant

You don’t have to be in an office to help businesses and fellow entrepreneurs get organized. A virtual assistant startup is a great business idea for organized, task-oriented individuals. If this sounds like you, it is easy to get started by utilizing sites that can help you find work you’re interested in. Get a competitive edge by diversifying your skill set to make yourself eligible for a litany of job opportunities.

9. Green Beauty Products

Green or “clean” beauty products are increasing in popularity across the US as we learn more and more about the harmful effects of some ingredients in traditional beauty products. A green beauty product startup provides a better alternative, whether it’s clean skincare or cosmetics — the key is to create a product that is as effective as traditional products without the same damaging ingredients.

10. Ebook Writing

Writing ebooks is a cost-effective startup idea because it doesn’t require your books to go to print and allows you to easily publish them on your own by selling them directly to your readers. Additionally, with people staying home more than ever, an easily accessible ebook is a much-needed alternative. Ebooks are easily sold on platforms such as Amazon, or by developing your own website and implementing an effective marketing strategy.

11. Blogging

Starting a blog isn’t just a way to share your thoughts and passions with the world; it can be a lucrative startup that appeals to a community of like-minded people. This low-cost startup idea typically requires the entrepreneur to be a savvy writer, proficient photographer, and skilled content creator. If you are up to the challenge, make this business your own by capitalizing on your personal skills and interests to build a platform that is authentically you.

12. AI Startup

Artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly become intertwined with our reality; starting an AI company can put you at the forefront of this growing industry. With many startups creating AI technology to meet this increasing demand, your idea needs to be unique and effective. To come up with a marketable AI product, consider problems that companies and individuals need solutions for, and you can create the AI company to solve them.

See our interview with AI startup Linguix! Or, get inspired by our list of the top AI startups to watch!

13. Meal Delivery Service

A huge amount of money is spent every year on meal delivery services by people who are either too busy to cook or simply don’t want to do it. Now with people unable to dine out as frequently, that number is bound to rise. A meal delivery service startup is perfect for entrepreneurs who are great cooks and want to share their talents with the world — one delivery at a time. Elevate the idea by creating delicious meals catered to the most popular diets of the moment such as the keto diet.

14. Graphic Design

A talented graphic designer can take a vague logo brief and turn it into an internationally-known brand element. With so many people in the graphic design space, though, if this is your startup idea, you’ll want to niche down as much as possible to set yourself apart. Focus on design solutions for a very specific industry, especially if that industry has unique requirements. Another option for the graphic design space is creating tools that individuals and brands can use to design their own simple elements.

15. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketers earn commission on the sales they drive for partner brands. Although it’s a relatively new concept, it’s one that has exploded in popularity because of the low barriers to entry. The key to successful affiliate marketing is picking products that you are already associated with or known for. This field is always going to require some form of audience, whether that means you’re an influencer, have a blog, already have a thriving business with a large customer base, or create some kind of content like books or podcasts.

16. Pet Products

One thing many pet parents share is a love for spoiling their furry friends. Whether your pet product is practical, such as foldable cat carriers, or for pleasure, such as high-end dog treats, there is most likely a market of pet owners looking to buy new and innovative products like yours.

17. Social Media Influencer

Social media influencing is another business idea with low startup costs. Being a social media influencer means that you are your brand, and why not? You are great! To be a social media influencer, you need to be outgoing, likable, and committed to creating content that is aesthetically pleasing and engaging. Most importantly, you need a niche that will draw in followers, preferably one that is authentic to you and your interests. Since this industry is saturated with aspiring influencers, you will also need to develop strong marketing skills to engage followers and set your brand apart.

Looking for Inspiration?

We compiled a list of the top startups to watch in 2022. From AI to ecommerce, get inspired by the best startups disrupting industries through new tech and innovation.

18. Edtech Startup

With more schools adjusting to online teaching, an edtech startup could give students an easier route to education. Whether it is for K-12 education or college-level students, the time to develop technology to enhance online learning is now.

Make this startup unique and socially responsible by doing your research on the problems schools face today with their eLearning software or equipment, and work to develop a product that smoothes the creases in online teaching.

Check out our interview with edtech startup Trashbots!

19. Plant-Based Foods

With the rise in the popularity of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, plant-based products are all the rage. These markets are looking for diversity of choice and the ability to live their chosen dietary lifestyle as easily as omnivores, so if you can develop a product or food range that meets these needs and be innovative about it, you’ll be in.

20. Sustainable Clothing Line

Fashion is one of the most wasteful industries on the planet. If you’re thinking about starting a clothing line, consider making it a sustainable one! A sustainable clothing line can make an impact by creating thoughtful garments that are long-lasting and ethically made out of sustainable materials such as linen or hemp.

21. Niche Website

Become the platform for like-minded people to gather or source information by developing a niche website that is laser-focused to appeal to a targeted audience. To start, research potential niche topics that will generate high site traffic, and find related keywords to drive SEO. Then, develop a unique, well-designed website loaded with focused content to appeal to your target audience.

22. Website Development

Every small business should have a website; however, many entrepreneurs are too busy to dedicate themselves to developing an effective website for their business. A website development startup can either directly assist customers in developing their website or give them easy access to the tools they need to set up their website in a snap. To make your website development startup stand out, get creative by designing unique templates, features, and easy-to-use editing tools.

23. Dating Website

Be the matchmaker for an entire group of people by starting your own dating website. To develop a successful dating app that offers a unique experience for users, come up with a competitive edge that sets your app apart from the most popular ones like Tinder and Match.com. Plus, ensure your site is user friendly and creates an environment where user’s relationship goals can be met.

See our interview with dating app startup So Syncd!

24. Food Truck

The benefits of starting a food truck rather than a full-service restaurant are cost and flexibility. Additionally, with less access to indoor dining options, a food truck provides dining options without the cost of an inoperable dining area. With a food truck startup, you are able to take your business where the customers are instead of working to draw them to your concrete location.

25. Job Board

With most workers looking for jobs online, it’s a great time to start a job board site to connect eligible employees with available job opportunities. An online job board startup is essentially a platform for employers to list job openings and interested candidates to apply or inquire further. Draw in users for your website by catering to a specific industry or innovating the job search process.

26. Blockchain Startup

Blockchain technology is an exciting new field for startups. The technology allows the sharing of transactions and information between multiple businesses, people, and software. Launching a startup in this industry provides a wide scope as you’ll be finding a way to use blockchain technology to solve problems, and those can be in any space from aerospace to the food industry. The key here is to understand how this technology changes information-sharing and find a customer pain to resolve.

27. Video Game Creation

28. YouTube Channel

Every day, millions of people take to YouTube for entertainment or to learn a new skill. Starting a YouTube channel provides you with a platform to muse, share, or educate your audience about your area of expertise. The best part of starting your own YouTube channel is you need very little outside of a niche, engaging personality, and a way to make/edit videos. Once you’ve grown your subscriber count, you can start raking in the money from advertisements.

29. Virtual Event Planning

The virtual events space has exploded in the last few years as businesses and organizations grapple with social distancing requirements, and hosting events online has actually become a game-changer for many. The need for someone to actually plan these events has become a critical skill. If you’re looking to break into virtual event planning as a startup, you’ll need to differentiate yourself from others, possibly by niching down to a very specific industry.

30. Cannabis Startup

With cannabis regulations easing up in many parts of the world, there’s never been a better time to look at a cannabis startup. There are many different aspects to this industry, from growing to consumption and end-use products. This is not a space for beginners, though, so if you really want to develop an innovative and successful cannabis startup, start immersing yourself in the industry and figure out what problems need solving.

31. Coworking Space

With more and more people working remotely, there is a growing demand for places that remote workers can use as their communal workspace. Many coworking spaces provide refreshments, rentable conference rooms, and complimentary internet access to customers who lease their desk each month.

32. SaaS Startup

As with most other industries, the key to developing a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup is finding a problem to solve. Your software service can be as well-executed as you like, but if you’re not making someone’s life easier in some way, the product simply won’t sell. One of the major benefits of SaaS is that it can be a really lean startup model if you have some developer skills.

33. Interior Design

Probably one of the most famous interior design and furniture success stories is IKEA. The Swedish company saw a gap in the interior design market and took it, and if this is a space you want to be in, you’ll need to do the same. Interior design can be quite a network-based industry, so finding a mentor is often key. Someone who has already walked the path you’re preparing to embark on will be able to guide you.

Check out our list of the top interior design startups to watch and our interview with interior design startup Pabio!

34. Virtual Meeting Platform

Just as the virtual events space has grown considerably, so has the need for virtual meeting services. This could mean anything from scheduling software to end-to-end management or even add-on apps that help large companies manage various meetings at once. With the digital tools already available today, this is not a difficult startup space to break into.

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35. Smart Accessories Startup

Smart accessories is next up on our list of unique startup ideas. User experience is the name of the game when you’re developing a smart accessories startup. The first step is to identify a common problem that your accessory could solve or a way that a device user’s experience could be enhanced. Next, develop a prototype, and test its usability; once you’re satisfied with your smart accessories performance, your startup is ready to be born.

36. Beverage Startup

If you have a great drink recipe or an idea for a special ingredient or function that will entice customers, start a beverage company! A competitive edge in this industry is well-designed packaging that is catered to a target demographic and, of course, a delicious beverage inside. If you’re more of a connoisseur of beverages, a beverage distribution company is another lucrative startup idea that can be focused on a specific type of beverage such as beer, soda, or wine.

Check out our interview with beverage startup Leilo!

37. Snack Company

Do you have a go-to homemade snack that you know other people would love as well? If so, take your tasty treats to the next level by starting a snack startup. Consumers are always looking for delicious new snack options with special ingredients or a twist on a classic snack. Growing your audience can be done by going to farmers’ markets or local events and letting people try your delicious new snack!

38. Coffee Business

Coffee startups offer a wide variety of possibilities; whether you want to start your own coffee roasting business or operate a mobile coffee cart, the options are endless. What you’ll need to focus on starting out is the type of coffee business that excels in your area, the quality of your products, and the amount of training you’ll need to successfully start the business. Additionally, you’ll need to create a business model that is flexible enough to withstand changes or health requirements in the hospitality industry.

Check out our interview with cold brew startup Bizzy Coffee!

39. Hygiene Products

From deodorant to body wash, an inventive and appealing take on the hygiene products people use every day is important if you want to enter this growing market. Getting to know the market is the first step. For example, the growing demand for “clean” hygiene products or products made without harmful chemicals could be a selling point for your products if they fall into this category.

40. Social Media Platform

With more and more people looking for a different social media platform to connect on, it may be the perfect opportunity to start a social media platform of your own. Deciding the premise of your platform starts by identifying a form of connection that isn’t being used on major social media platforms, or a group of people/specific lifestyle that isn’t being catered to.

Visit our interview with social media startup Privee!

41. Robotics Startup

If you have the skill or network contacts to build robotics, starting a robotics startup has the opportunity to be lucrative and rewarding. Before designing and building your robotics company, it is important to do sufficient research into the needs and wants of your customers. Building robotics is an expensive endeavor, therefore, the financial health of your startup is dependent on developing a product that will effectively appeal to your customer base.

42. Cybersecurity Startup

We use technology for almost everything. From online banking to streaming services, everywhere our personal information is saved needs cybersecurity to ensure our protection. Starting a cybersecurity company offers customers the protection they need and can result in a lucrative startup business. Stand out from your competitors by offering exceptional services and features such as a cybersecurity assistant that communicates with clients about their online safety.

Check out our interview with cybersecurity startup AaDya Security!

43. Ridesharing Startup

Ridesharing is next on our list of business startup ideas. Ridesharing is extremely popular, especially in cities, making this a potentially lucrative startup idea. However, in order to reach success in this industry, you’ll have to compete with the companies that consumers already trust by offering a unique and enticing experience such as luxury cars, cheaper rates, or other benefits.

44. Mental Healthcare Startup

Mental health is undoubtedly a far more common topic of discussion than it was a decade ago. It’s become a focus, not just for individuals but also for businesses to ensure their teams are getting the support they need. If you’re looking at launching a startup in the mental healthcare space, you’ll definitely want to spend some time getting to know the industry, as there are many different fields in which a startup would flourish.

See our interview with mental healthcare startup Circles!

45. Telehealth Service

The transition to telehealth services in lieu of traditional doctor visits has opened up the market for telehealth startups to find success. A telehealth service needs to have top-tier cybersecurity features as well as a streamlined user-experience for health professionals and patients alike. To excel in this field, your telehealth service will need to offer unique tools, such as a streamlined interface or enhanced communication features, for patients and healthcare workers to easily communicate.

46. Autonomous Transportation

Autonomous transportation, otherwise known as self-driving cars, are a market that is emerging in cities around the US. Specifically, autonomous vehicle apps are on the rise. By developing an autonomous vehicle app of your own, your startup might be able to pull into the forefront of this emerging market.

47. Fintech

Fintech, or financial technologies, serve as tools to reimagine traditional finance techniques, making investing and financial decisions easier than ever before. This startup offers a lot of potential for entrepreneurs who have a creative idea to make finances and investing more attainable. For example, apps that hold users accountable for reaching their savings goals or successfully putting aside their funds to invest in stocks are popular examples of fintech startups.

See our interview with fintech startup Debbie!

48. Smart Home Technology

Smart home technology is an increasingly popular market. With 39% of households owning smart speakers and the same percentage planning to purchase portable smartphone chargers, there is a growing demand for these products. Smart home products are largely about convenience; therefore, it’s a good idea for smart home technology startups to focus on creating products that make a customer’s life easier.

49. Marketplace Website

Become the platform your community uses to sell and exchange goods and services by creating a marketplace website startup. Elevate the startup idea by prioritizing user experience and safety protocols. The key to a successful marketplace website is to create a positive experience for users that makes buying and selling items seamless and safe.

50. Clean Energy Startup

It’s no secret that clean energy is growing in both popularity and necessity. A clean energy startup can be either a product or service that takes a green approach to produce energy such as electricity-generating bicycles or solar paneling. Developing concepts and executing your business idea will require either knowledge of clean energy or the support of someone who has this knowledge.

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51. Streaming Service

With 62% of adults subscribing to streaming services in the US, streaming services of all kinds are drawing in large numbers of subscribers that you could be tapping into. If you are a skilled curator for a genre of music, film, or other media, a streaming service startup that centers around a niche market can be a great way to appeal to a demographic whose needs aren’t being met.

52. Crowdfunding Platform

Crowdfunding platforms are a useful tool for entrepreneurs, charitable causes, and individuals to raise money and reach their financial goals. To create a successful crowdfunding platform that is able to compete with other trusted platforms, you’ll need to create a unique idea or function that sets your platform apart. This could be a network of investors, advertisement opportunities, or specified crowdfunding topics such as real estate.

53. Software Startup

See our interview with software startup Mixtroz! Or, get inspired by checking out our list of software startups to watch!

54. SEO Services

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential tool for online marketing. However, to achieve a successful SEO service, you need to dedicate time and effort to creating content and staying on top of changes in search trends. Starting an SEO services startup offers customers an opportunity to cash in on this powerful internet marketing tool without spending too much of their own. To create a successful SEO services startup, you will need a deep understanding of SEO tactics and the software to do effective research.

55. Fitness Startup

The fitness industry is enormous and one that will likely never stop growing in one way or another. Trends come and go in the fitness space, but one problem will always be universal — how do ordinary people achieve their exercise goals? Home-based fitness and online exercise platforms, like Peloton, have become very popular in the last few years, but whatever your offering, make sure you have a good understanding and some level of authority to support your fitness startup.

56. Cloud Technology

With more people working from home than ever, cloud technology is more important than ever. To start a cloud technology startup, you’ll need both hardware (a server) as well as software (a hosting control panel). Second to this, you’ll need an effective marketing strategy that works to build the trust of customers who will depend on your services to ensure their data is safe and protected.

57. Drone Startup

Today, drones are used for everything from recreation, to commercial photography. A drone company holds opportunities for entrepreneurs, but to get started, you’ll need to do an FAA-approved aeronautical training program to get a Remote Pilot Certificate before you can begin developing and selling your drones. Once you’re ready to design your drones, keep the demands of your customers in mind to create a marketable, unique product that will appeal to drone enthusiasts.

58. Search Engine Creation

More and more people are looking for a different search engine experience, making the creation of a search engine one of the best startup ideas to consider. Make your search engine stand out by offering unique features such as advanced privacy settings, an algorithm that prioritizes different sources of information, or more in-depth search tools.

59. Business Consulting

Business consulting can mean a few different things depending on your specialty. For example, if you’re skilled at marketing or business development, either of these fields could be the type of business consulting your startup offers. By establishing your specialty, you are able to better serve the needs of your customers and provide exceptional services every time.

60. Health and Wellness Startup

Health and wellness businesses are growing rapidly in demand. From supplements to holistic food coaching, there are many avenues to take when developing a health and wellness startup. Narrowing your specialty down is important; however, researching ingredients and practices are vital to success in this industry. Make this business your own by developing an effective, personalized product that appeals to this specialized market.

61. Digital Marketing Startup

Digital marketing is a powerful and necessary tool for businesses today. By starting a digital marketing agency, you can help clients create an effective digital marketing strategy that appeals to their target audience. To make your digital marketing stand out to prospective clients, find your niche, and do your research to ensure you are on top of the most effective strategies to help your specific client base. Success in this field is dependent on results clients can see, so be prepared to reassess your strategies to ensure your business can provide substantial growth for its clients.

62. Freelance Writing

Next on our list of business ideas is freelance writing, which has low startup costs and high earning potential. Writing of every kind is in demand. From copywriting to technical writing, a freelance writing startup can provide clients with the talent they need to accomplish their business goals. Whether you are a writer yourself or plan to develop a freelance writing platform that serves as a hub for writers and clients to connect, this industry offers a variety of opportunities.

63. Handcrafted Products

Creating handcrafted products is one of the best startup ideas for art-savvy entrepreneurs. The demand for handcrafted products continues to grow. If you’re a maker with the desire to sell your products, or an excellent curator of fine handmade products, this is a startup idea worth considering. To excel in a market loaded with talented creators, do your research about up-and-coming trends to put your startup at the forefront and develop products that appeal to a popular market.

64. Dropshipping

If you like the idea of an ecommerce startup but don’t have the room to store items to sell, dropshipping could be the perfect solution. Dropshipping startups simply take customer’s orders online, but instead of filling orders themselves, they are sent to a third-party retailer for fulfillment. Essentially, your startup consists of customer experience management, marketing, and curating items for your dropshipping business.

65. Delivery Service

With more people staying home than ever, the demand for delivery services continues to grow. Whether it’s delivering packages, groceries, or take-out food — the appealing convenience of delivery services has grown this industry exponentially in recent years. To stand out from the competition, consider creating a delivery service startup that gives customers access to a unique type of product or streamlines the business model to give customers a new delivery experience.

66. Pet Services

67. Clean Mobility Startup

Sustainable transport solutions, also known as clean mobility, have been increasing in popularity for some time now. Climate change issues and the drive for a zero-carbon footprint have inspired many ideas in this space, and if you think you have an idea that solves a problem related to clean mobility, now is the time to execute it.

68. Ethical Online Marketplace

With more people at home than ever, the convenience of shopping online has grown in popularity. However, this doesn’t mean that the marketplaces available are providing products that are ethically sourced, made, or sold. That’s where you come in! An online ethical marketplace provides a platform for ethically made goods to be found and purchased by interested consumers.

69. Fair Trade Subscription Box

There are subscription boxes for everything these days. To lower costs, however, many businesses opt to sell products that the makers aren’t adequately compensated for. A fair trade subscription box startup provides the ease and excitement of a subscription box while introducing consumers to fairly traded, handcrafted products that they can feel good about purchasing.

70. Water Purification

Unfortunately, there are plenty of places in the US and across the globe that don’t have access to safe, healthy drinking water. Your startup could be the answer to providing people with usable water. Whether you develop an innovative portable water purification tool or an entire system for homes and businesses, this startup idea has the potential for high profits as well as a strong social impact.

71. Charity App

Make philanthropy more accessible by creating a charity app. This could be an easy space to crowdfund for charities, make donations, or fulfill a need in your community. Since most adults have smartphones, a charity app startup can provide an easier way for charities to gain the funding and support they need in order to help the people who need it most.

72. Green Cleaning Products

With more information available about chemicals used in standard cleaning products, we know that green cleaning products are better for the environment and the consumer. A green cleaning products business creates a safe alternative to harsh chemicals and typically offers its products in eco-friendly packaging. Make your business stand out by offering refillable options, biodegradable packaging, and unique ingredients.

73. Food Waste Solution

Many of the booming spaces right now are related to sustainability, and food waste is a huge issue across most of the world. As such, developing an innovative idea in this space can be a game-changer. Startups like Misfit Market have proven how much the world wants and needs sustainable food solutions.

74. Green App

Do you have an idea for an app that can make a daily task a little more eco-friendly? If yes, consider starting a green app development startup. Most of us use apps every day to make errands and tasks easier, so why not use the same technology to make them a little more green?

If you don’t already have an idea in mind, start by considering everyday, widespread problems that could be solved or a daily activity that could be made more green by using an app, and run with your ideas.

See our interview with greentech startup Handprint! Or, get inspired by checking out our list of greentech startups to watch!

75. Organization Business

If you are a naturally organized person, you might want to consider offering your services to individuals or businesses. In our fast-paced world, organizational talents are worth their weight in gold, and those who are not naturally skilled in this area will pay those who are to help them out. Try to niche down your offering as much as possible to improve your chances of success.

76. Wedding Planning

Wedding planning can be one of the most stressful times in a couple’s relationship and having a professional on board to help guide the decision-making process can make all the difference. In the event planning industry, networking with service providers is vital to client acquisition. Specializing in a certain type of matrimonial celebration, such as destination weddings, can also help to set you apart from the crowd.

77. Crypto Startup

Getting into the cryptocurrency space is easier than ever right now. Whether you’re creating a new coin or building a solution platform for the crypto crowd, there are a lot of opportunities to be had. It is important not to jump in head-first here, though. Do your research and make sure you deeply understand how the space is currently functioning to give your crypto startup its best chance.

78. Smart Appliances

We all want a kettle that talks to us, right? Okay, maybe that’s not the biggest need in the smart appliance space right now, but it certainly is one of the fastest-growing industries in its niche. Creating a startup in this industry doesn’t need to involve manufacturing, either. Software, selling platforms, and add-on apps are all great ways to supplement smart appliances and get your startup off the ground.

79. Language Learning Startup

If you’ve learned a foreign language, you know it’s difficult, especially for adults. However, knowing a second language is not only a fun pastime, but it opens up job opportunities and helps people connect with other communities. A language learning startup can be any product or service that helps people learn a new language, such as an app, instructional website, or written guides.

To make your startup stand out, focus on making learning a new language fun for users so that they want to reach for your product or resources again and again.

80. Real Estate Tech

If you’re into either tech development or real estate, the real estate tech market might be just the place for you. More than ever before, as the world becomes a global village, renters and buyers are looking to tech to help them find new homes without having to leave their current ones. With so many aspects to this industry, finding a unique problem to solve should not be difficult.

Looking for more inspiration? Check out our list of the top startups to watch in 2022!

Startup Ideas FAQ

What is a startup?

A startup is a company that’s business model prioritizes innovation. Rather than creating a product or service that is the standard, startups develop new and innovative solutions to change their industry.

What is the difference between a small business and a startup?

Small businesses tend to focus on sustainable, long-term growth while startups are typically industry disruptors, focused on innovating new products for rapid initial growth.

What makes for a great startup idea?

A great startup idea is creative, in-demand, and innovative. Most importantly, however, it has high growth and profitability potential.

What makes for a great entrepreneur?

The anatomy of a great entrepreneur is a collection of traits that everyone possesses; great entrepreneurs simply acknowledge and utilize these traits to propel their business forward. The five most important traits of a successful entrepreneur are passion, adaptability, observation, self-discipline, and self-assurance.

How do you come up with startup ideas?

There are a lot of tools at your disposal to help you come up with a great startup idea. To get started, try identifying the needs of the world, recognizing your passions, and conducting brainstorming sessions.

How do I choose startup ideas?

A startup idea is most likely right for you if it aligns with your interests, experience level, and the amount of startup capital you have. Additionally, where you’re located and the available market will play an important role in knowing whether your startup idea is worth pursuing.

How to Get Startup Ideas

YC Partner Jared Friedman shares advice on how to get startup ideas. This video was recorded for the future founder track in Startup School 2020.

Transcript

Hi, everyone. My name is Jared. I’m a partner at YC. I’m going to talk about how to get startup ideas. This talk is for anyone who doesn’t yet have an idea for a startup, and wants to find one. It’s also relevant if you have an idea, but aren’t sure it’s the one you want to stick with.

Now, this is a tricky topic, because startup ideas are subtle. No one, not even YC, knows for sure which ideas will succeed. But at YC, we have seen thousands of startups try thousands of ideas, and we have learned that there are some powerful statistical trends. Certain kinds of ideas, and certain ways of generating ideas are much more likely to succeed than others. And so, my goal here is to point you in directions with a higher likelihood of success.

Here’s how it’s going to work. First, I’m going to discuss the most common mistakes founders make when coming up with startup ideas. Then, I’m going to talk about how to evaluate startup ideas, and finally, I’m going to talk about recipes for generating startup ideas.

The first, most common mistake is believing that you need an amazing idea to get started. What this usually looks like is someone who believes the key to having a successful startup is starting with a brilliant idea. And so they’re waiting to have a brilliant idea before they start anything. It’s really easy, when you look at successful companies today, like Google or Facebook, to think, «Wow, that was such a brilliant idea.» But I can tell you it only looks that way in hindsight. When Google started, it was, like, the 20th search engine. And when Facebook started, it was, like, the 20th social network. What made them successful wasn’t a brilliant initial idea. It was a good enough initial idea, combined with great execution.

The next mistake is exactly the opposite: jumping into the first idea that comes to mind, without really stopping to think critically about whether it’s a good idea at all. And it’s amazing how common this is. Here’s the thing. If your startup is successful, you will spend years of your life working on it. And if you’re going to spend years of your life working on something, wouldn’t it make sense to spend, say, at least a couple of weeks first, deciding what to work on? Surprisingly few founders do this, and so, if you do it, you are actually ahead of the curve. What I’m arguing here is that if you imagine a spectrum where one end is «try the first idea that comes to mind,» and the other end is, «wait for the perfect idea,» you wanna be somewhere in the middle. You should think of your initial idea as a good starting point.

Startup ideas morph over time. Take Airbnb, for example. Airbnb was initially literally a website for renting air beds at other people’s houses. It morphed over time into all vacation rentals. So the thing you want to do is to pick a good starting point. If you have a good starting point, then even if your initial idea isn’t great, it just needs tweaking to get to a great idea. Whereas if you pick a bad starting point, there might not be any way to morph into a good one. You’ll have to start over completely.

The third mistake is to start with a solution instead of a problem. And I’ll give an example. So, imagine you come up with a startup idea «Uber for plumbers.» It’s an app, you push a button, a plumber shows up. This is a solution. What problem does this solve? I don’t know. Maybe it’s hard to find plumbers. That might be a real problem, but my point is if you come up with an idea like this, you are starting with a solution. We see this so commonly at YC that we have a term for it. It’s called a «Solution In Search of a Problem,» or a SISP. And these are usually not great, because usually, you never actually find the problem. You’re much better off starting with a problem, and then looking for solutions.

The last mistake is believing that startup ideas are hard to find. Actually, they’re easy to find, because there are many, many real problems left in the world. If you’re having trouble finding them, it’s just that you haven’t yet learned how to do it. Once you learn how to notice good startup ideas, you’ll see them all over the place.

Let’s talk about evaluating startup ideas. I’m actually going to give you a formula for this. This formula comes from my colleague, Dalton, who has an excellent Startup School talk called «All About Pivoting,» which I really recommend. I tweaked it a bit to fit this talk. Here is my idea quality score formula. It’s real easy. It is to evaluate your idea on four criteria, and then you take the average of the scores.

The first criteria is how big is this idea? The best way to judge this, I think, is to look for existing large companies that do something similar. So, suppose you want to start a new kind of bank. Well, there already are a bunch of banks, and they’re big companies, so that suggests that this idea could be big. Your idea could also score well here if you’re doing something in a market that’s small today, but has a real chance of being huge in the future. And a good example of this is a company called Coinbase. Coinbase is a YC company that lets you buy and sell cryptocurrency. And when Coinbase was started, in 2012, Bitcoin was still brand new, and still very small. But even at that time, there were people who believed that it might someday, like, replace all existing money. And clearly, if that happens, it’ll be very big, which is why Coinbase was a good idea.

Founder/market fit. This is like, are the founders experts in what they’re doing? A good example of this is a company called Flexport, which helps companies import products from around the world. And the founder, Ryan, before he started Flexport, had worked in international trade for 10 years, and he knew, like, everything about it. So that’s, like, 10 out of 10 founder/market fit.

The next criteria is how sure are you that you’re solving a big problem? Ideally, you have personal experience with this problem. And finally, do you have a new, important insight into this idea? And a great example of this is Airbnb. When Airbnb got started, most people thought that the idea of allowing strangers you met on the internet to sleep in your apartment was really weird, and probably dangerous. But the Airbnb founders had actually tried this. They’d invite strangers from the internet to stay with them, and they realized it was really fun. So they had this insight that everyone else was wrong about this, and that’s what made Airbnb such a good idea.

Here are some other signs to look for that your idea is probably a good one. You’re making something you personally want to have. It turns out it’s much easier to start a successful company if you’re making something you yourself want, instead of something other people want. For one, you start with at least one user, yourself, but more importantly, when you’re building for yourself, you can trust your intuition about what to build. If you’re building for other people, you have to guess what they would want.

Another sign is that this only recently became possible. If something recently changed in the world, like a new technology or a new product you can build on top of, that’s often a sign that a new opportunity has been created. Or, there are successful companies that do something similar. A good example of this is Rappi, which does food delivery in Latin America. When Rappi got started, there were already food delivery companies in other parts of the world, like DoorDash, that were doing very well. It just hadn’t caught on in Latin America yet.

My last topic about evaluating startup ideas is to talk about filters. Filters are bad reasons to reject startup ideas. And the most dangerous part of filters is that they will cause you to reject your best startup ideas unconsciously, before they even bubble up to your conscious mind, and there are four big ones that are extremely important to understand. Almost everyone has these filters. And one of the most impactful things you can do to become good at generating startup ideas is to learn what these are, and to turn them off.

The first is rejecting ideas that seem hard to get started. Paul Graham wrote a terrific article about this, called «Schlep Blindness,» which I really recommend reading. And the example Paul discusses is Stripe. Stripe is a YC company that makes it easy to integrate credit card payments to your website. And the fascinating thing about Stripe is that when Stripe launched, there were thousands of developers who already knew that this was a problem. They had tried to integrate credit card payments to their site, and they realized that the existing options sucked. But not one of them tried to fix it. Why is that? The reason is that to start Stripe, you had to do a bunch of things that seemed difficult. You had to get a deal with a bank. You had to learn a lot about the nitty gritty details of the world’s credit card infrastructure. Those things sounded so hard that thousands of would-be founders who could have started Stripe earlier unconsciously shied away from the idea.

The second filter is ideas that are in a boring space. And a great example of this is Gusto, which makes payroll software. There were, once again, thousands of programmers who must have realized that payroll software sucked, but because it was a boring problem, nobody tried to fix it.

The third one is ideas that seem too ambitious. Sam Altman wrote an excellent blog post on this, called «Hard Startups.» Founders instinctively shy away from really ambitious-sounding ideas because they are intimidating. But often, these are the ideas that turn into really big companies.

The last one is that founders instinctively shy away from spaces where there are existing competitors. You should actually err on the side of doing things with existing competitors. When founders go into spaces with no existing competitors, they usually find out that the reason there are no competitors is because nobody wants the product. The ideal situation is a market where there are existing competitors, but you have noticed something that they all seem to have missed. A great example of this is Dropbox. When Dropbox launched, there were already dozens of file syncing and storage solutions, but none of them had gotten very many users. Dropbox launched with a better product, and was able to beat all the competitors.

Now the part that you’re probably waiting for, how to generate startup ideas. It is possible to sit down and explicitly think of startup ideas. And in a moment, we’ll talk about how to do this. But it is actually not the best way to have startup ideas. The best way to have startup ideas is to notice them organically. There are great startup ideas all around you, and when you have a prepared mind, you see them everywhere. The problem is that when people sit down and try to think of startup ideas, they tend to think of bad ones. Whereas startup ideas that occur to you organically are actually quite likely to be good ones.

So first, I want to talk about how to have startup ideas organically. If you’re not starting a company right now, this should be your preferred approach. Learn how to notice good startup ideas, then let the good ones occur to you. To have startup ideas organically, you first have to know what a good startup idea looks like, so you notice them when you encounter them. Then, you just keep an eye out for things that seem missing in the world.

If you’re planning to start a startup way in the future, it’s very helpful to become an expert on something valuable, and the best way is probably to get a job at the forefront of some field. If you’re working at the forefront of some field, really any field, you’ll see good startup ideas before other people. It’s particularly helpful to go work at an existing startup. Many of the most successful YC companies came from ideas that the founders had while working at someone else’s startup.

Okay, I’m gonna walk through seven recipes for explicitly generating startup ideas. I’m listing all seven recipes, to be comprehensive. This is basically all the ways I know to generate startup ideas. Now, I know of examples where all seven of these have worked, and led to a successful company, however, they are not all equally good. Some are much more likely to produce good ideas. Others are quite likely to produce bad ideas, and those solutions in search of problems I was talking about earlier. So, I’m going to list them in order, from best to worst.

This first recipe is the best one. It is the one that is most likely to lead to good ideas, and least likely to lead to false positives. Of the most successful companies YC has funded, about half of them can be traced back to roughly this recipe, and here it is. You start with what your team is especially good at, and think of ideas that you would have an unfair advantage in executing. The reason this is so effective is that any idea you come up with this way has automatic founder/market fit. You’re basically generating all the ideas that have good founder/market fit.

Let’s walk through some examples of how to do this. The first thing I do is I go through every company you’ve ever worked at. Internships are fine. And for each one, I’d ask yourself what are things you learned there that other people don’t know? So, for example, SnapDocs. The founder of SnapDocs, Aaron, had worked in the mortgage industry for 10 years, and learned, like, everything about it. So he started SnapDocs, which builds software for managing mortgage paperwork. Then, ask yourself, for each company, what seemed broken? What parts of company life were clumsy? For example, Lattice is a company that makes software for performance reviews. And the way the founders had this idea is that they worked at a company together, and they noticed how bad their performance review software was. Then ask yourself if there were things that your company built in-house that other companies might need. A good example of this is Mixpanel. Before Suhail started Mixpanel, he worked at a company called Slide, that had built advanced analytics tools for internal projects. Suhail realized that other companies would need those same tools, and that’s how he came up with Mixpanel.

Second recipe, think of things you wish someone else would build for you. A great example of this is DoorDash. The DoorDash founders were trying to get Thai food delivered to them in the suburbs, and they realized there was literally no way to do it. So, they built DoorDash.

Third recipe. What would you be excited to work on for 10 years, even if it didn’t succeed? What things are you really passionate about? A great example of this is Boom, which is making a supersonic airplane. The founder of Boom, Blake, came up with the idea basically by asking himself this question. He had not worked in aerospace, and he was not a building-an-airplane expert, but he was just obsessed with the idea of supersonic travel. That said, I have seen this recipe lead founders astray, so I wanted to warn you about it. It can lead founders astray by encouraging them to work on something that they’re very passionate about, but that does not have a clear path to being a big business. So, for example, you might be really passionate about collecting stamps. Doesn’t necessarily make it a good place to look for startup ideas.

Number four, look for things that have changed in the world recently, and think of ideas that are now possible because of this change. For example, a new technology, a new developer platform, a new regulation, a new problem in the world. What are waves that you could ride? A maybe non-obvious example of this is a YC company called PlanGrid, which was acquired for a billion dollars. PlanGrid put construction blueprints on tablets, replacing paper. And what changed in the world that made PlanGrid possible was that Apple had created the iPad.

Number five, find companies that have been successful recently, and look for new variants of them. A good example of this is Standard Cognition. Now, the story of Standard Cognition is that Amazon has recently created Amazon Go, which is a grocery store that automatically tracks the things you take off the shelves, so you don’t need to go to the cashier. Standard Cognition realized that every retail store would want the same technology, and that’s what they do. This is a very common way that founders look for ideas, but unfortunately, it’s not necessarily the best one. Ideas that are generated this way often take a form like «Uber for X,» or «Airbnb for Y.» These ideas are very often solutions in search of problems, so if you come up with an idea this way, you should be default skeptical, and you should think really hard about whether it is actually solving a problem.

Number six, you can also crowdsource coming up with an idea by talking to people you know, and asking them for problems they want solved. This is especially interesting to do with people who have particular areas of expertise, like people who work in an interesting industry, for example. The downside with this recipe is that most people are bad at seeing startup ideas. That’s why this strategy seems to work particularly well if the people you ask are other startup founders. They already know how to notice good startup ideas.

And, number seven. Look for industries that seem broken. Any industry that seems broken is probably ripe for disruption. A good example of this is a YC company called LendUp, which is a replacement for payday lending. And part of the founding story of LendUp is that the founders just noticed that payday lending was an obviously broken and scammy industry. The downside of this recipe is it will often take you to ideas that have poor founder/market fit. It’s not likely to work well if you don’t know anything about the industry you’re hoping to disrupt. LendUp worked well because the founders were already FinTech experts, and so, if you try this approach, I would recommend sticking with industries that you already know something about.

And that’s it. As you can tell, I am very interested in the topic of how people come up with startup ideas, so if you try these recipes, and have feedback or suggestions for other approaches, please let me know. Thanks.