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How To Get Startup Ideas
- Startup Bell
- May 28
- 12 min read
Updated: May 29
"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." - Paul Graham
Why do so many founders spend months building things nobody wants? Why do brilliant entrepreneurs with impressive technical skills create products that users completely ignore? Why does the most common cause of startup failure have nothing to do with execution, funding, or competition—but with solving problems that don't actually exist?
Here's the counterintuitive answer: Because they begin by trying to think of startup ideas. That approach is doubly dangerous – it doesn't just yield few good ideas; it yields bad ideas that sound plausible enough to fool you into working on them.
The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common: they are desired by the founders themselves, can be built by them, and their potential is not widely recognized by others. Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Google, and Facebook all began this way.
If you've ever wondered how successful entrepreneurs come up with their breakthrough ideas, you're about to discover that the process is both simpler and more nuanced than you might think. The secret isn't about brainstorming in a conference room or waiting for lightning to strike. It's about developing the right mindset and putting yourself in the right position to notice opportunities that others miss.
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The Fatal Mistakes Most Founders Make
Before we dive into how to find great startup ideas, let's talk about why most people get it spectacularly wrong. Having analyzed thousands of startup applications and failures, there are three critical mistakes that kill potential companies before they even start:
Mistake #1: Building Solutions Without Real Problems
Here's a story that perfectly illustrates this mistake: In 1995, a brilliant programmer decided to start a company putting art galleries online. Sounds reasonable, right? Art is valuable, galleries exist, the internet was growing – it seemed like a perfect match.
He spent six months building the platform, perfecting the technology, and preparing for launch. There was just one problem: galleries didn't actually want to be online. That's not how the art business worked. He had invented "a model of the world that didn't correspond to reality."
The programmer was Paul Graham, who would later co-found Y Combinator. Even someone who would become legendary for spotting great startup ideas fell into the most common trap of all: trying to think up startup ideas instead of noticing real problems.
The most common trap entrepreneurs fall into, is what we call "made-up" startup ideas. These are concepts that sound plausible in theory but solve problems no one actually has.
Consider the classic example: a social network for pet owners. It sounds plausible – millions of people have pets, they love them, they spend money on them. Surely some would use a social network to connect with other pet owners. But when you dig deeper, you realize that while people might say "yeah, maybe I could see using something like that," they never actually do. The idea fails the urgency test. Take it across the whole population, and you have zero users.
"When something is described as a toy, that means it has everything an idea needs except being important. It's cool; users love it; it just doesn't matter."- Paul Graham
Mistake #2: Falling Into Tar Pit Ideas
Some startup ideas are like tar pits – they look promising from the surface, but once you step in, you're stuck forever. These are ideas that have been floating around for years, attracting founder after founder, but never actually succeeding due to structural problems.
Think about it: if an obvious, widespread problem could be easily solved by a startup, why hasn't anyone succeeded at it yet? Usually, there's a deeper reason that's not immediately visible.
Mistake #3: The Founder Spectrum: From Impulsive to Paralyzed
On one extreme, you have founders who jump on the first idea they have without considering if it would actually make a good business. On the other extreme, you have founders who wait endlessly for the "perfect" startup idea that will never come. Both approaches lead to the same outcome: no company.
The Three Characteristics of Great Startup Ideas
Great startup ideas share three common traits, and understanding these will transform how you evaluate opportunities:
1. The Founders Want It Themselves
The most successful startups begin with founders scratching their own itch. When you're building something you desperately want to exist, you automatically ensure the problem is real and urgent. You become both the perfect early user and the most passionate advocate.
Example: Drew Houston, the founder of Dropbox, actually worked on a less promising idea before Dropbox – an SAT prep startup. But when he forgot his USB stick one day and realized he desperately needed his files to be accessible online, he found his winning idea. The key difference? The second idea solved a problem he personally felt urgently.
2. They Can Actually Build It
This might seem obvious, but you'd be surprised how many founders fall in love with problems they have no ability to solve. The sweet spot is at the intersection of problems you understand deeply and solutions you're uniquely positioned to create.
Microsoft didn't start with Bill Gates trying to build a massive software empire. It started when he and Paul Allen heard about the Altair computer and thought, "I bet we could write a Basic interpreter for it." They wanted to use the computer themselves, but it was virtually unusable without proper software.
This doesn't mean you need to be a programmer (though it helps in our software-driven world). Jeff Bezos wasn't a logistics expert when he started Amazon, but he understood the internet's potential and surrounded himself with people who could handle the operational complexities.
3. Few Others Realize It's Worth Doing
If everyone could see the opportunity, someone would have already built it. The best startup ideas often look like bad ideas to most people. They seem too niche, too weird, or too difficult to be worth pursuing.
Example: Airbnb's "Crazy" Idea
When Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia first pitched Airbnb, investors called it everything from "disgusting" to "a solution looking for a problem." The idea of strangers staying in each other's homes seemed preposterous.
But the founders saw something others missed: a fundamental shift in how people thought about travel, community, and trust. They were living in the future while everyone else was stuck in the past.
The Well vs. The Shallow Hole Strategy
When choosing between serving many people a little bit versus serving few people a lot, always choose the latter.
Imagine startup ideas as holes you're digging. You can either dig a hole that's broad but shallow (lots of people are mildly interested) or one that's narrow and deep (fewer people are desperately interested).
Counter-intuitively, you should choose the narrow and deep approach every time. This is because if there was something a large number of people needed urgently, it would already exist.
Imagine a graph where the x-axis represents the number of people who might want your product, and the inverted y-axis represents how much they want it. Most failed startups create "lakes"—broad, shallow pools of mild interest. Successful startups dig "wells"—narrow but deep pools of intense need.
Why Wells Win
Microsoft's first product, Altair Basic, served only a couple thousand Altair owners. But those few thousand people desperately needed it – without it, they were programming in machine language. That narrow but deep need created a foothold that Microsoft could expand from: Basic for the Altair computer, then Basic for other machines, then other programming languages, then operating systems, then applications.
Facebook followed the same pattern. Initially, it was exclusively for Harvard students – maybe 20,000 people maximum. But those students wanted it intensely. They checked it obsessively, shared it with friends, and couldn't imagine college life without it.
This depth of need meant that even a crude, early version got traction. Users weren't just mildly interested—they were actively seeking a solution.
The key insight: it's much easier to expand from a small group of people who love your product to a large group of people who like it, than to start with a large group of people who are indifferent.
Living in the Future: The Secret to Organic Ideas
Have a look at these statements:
You want to know how to paint a perfect painting? It's easy. Make yourself perfect and then just paint naturally. -Robert Pirsig
and
People at the leading edge of rapidly changing fields "live in the future." -Paul Buchheit, the creator of Gmail
When you combine both, you get the ultimate formula for getting startup ideas:
Live in the future, then build what's missing.
This describes how most major startups actually began. Neither Apple nor Yahoo nor Google were supposed to be companies initially. They grew out of things their founders built because they noticed gaps in the world around them.
Interesting Fact: When Google started, the existing search engines actually shied away from the most radical implications of what they were doing. They were afraid that if they did too good a job, users would find what they wanted quickly and leave their sites. Google embraced this "problem" and built the best search engine possible.
Becoming a Future-Dweller
You don't need to be a researcher or innovator to live in the future. You can also be there as an early adopter or power user. Mark Zuckerberg wasn't pushing the boundaries of computer science, but he was using computers so intensively that online social interaction seemed natural to him while most adults found it indifferent.
Example: The Stripe Story
Consider Stripe, the payments company now valued at $95 billion. Thousands of programmers knew how painful it was to process online payments. The existing solutions were clunky, expensive, and developer-unfriendly. But when programmers looked for startup ideas, they unconsciously avoided this space because dealing with payments seemed like such a hassle.
Patrick and John Collison, Stripe's founders, were young enough to question why payments had to be so difficult. They "lived in the future" of web development and saw that elegant payment processing was essential for the internet economy they envisioned.
By the time Stripe launched, they didn't need to convince developers of the problem—developers were desperately waiting for someone to solve it. Stripe actually had easier user acquisition than many "simpler" startups.
The Art of Noticing: Training Your Startup Radar
Finding startup ideas isn't about having eureka moments—it's about developing the ability to notice obvious problems hiding in plain sight.
The Filters You Must Turn Off
Most of us unconsciously filter out potential opportunities because they seem too difficult, too boring, or too small. But these filters often screen out the best ideas:
The "Unsexy" Filter
Many programmers want to start companies by writing brilliant code and having users magically appear. They avoid tedious problems or messy real-world complications. But this preference is so common that the space of "convenient" startup ideas has been picked clean.
Some of the most valuable companies solve fundamentally unsexy problems. Stripe deals with payment processing. Salesforce manages customer relationships. These aren't glamorous, but they're incredibly valuable.
The "Schlep" Filter
This is the most dangerous filter of all. "Schleps" are tedious, unpleasant tasks that you'd rather avoid. But schlep-heavy ideas often make the best startups because most people avoid them.
The fear of dealing with schleps keeps most founders away from certain ideas, which means less competition for those brave enough to embrace the complexity. SpaceX is one example when most people discarded the idea of reusable rockets.
The Eight Ways for Generating Startup Ideas Right Now
While the organic approach (living in the future and noticing what's missing) is ideal, sometimes you need ideas on demand. This maybe essential if you are pivoting from a bad idea for your startup. Here are eight proven methods:
1. Start With Your Expertise
Look at what you (or your team) is genuinely excellent at. List every skill, job, and unique experience. What problems did you encounter that others might not have noticed?
It's surprising how many founders ignore their actual strengths and chase completely unrelated opportunities.
Example: Melanie Perkins founded Canva after struggling to teach design software to university students. Her experience revealed that design tools were unnecessarily complex for most users' needs.
2. Your Personal Frustrations
Go through every job, internship, and significant life experience you've had. What problems did you encounter? What did you learn that others don't know? What opportunities were you uniquely positioned to see?
Action Step: Keep a "frustration journal" for two weeks. Note every time you think, "Why doesn't someone make..." or "There has to be a better way to..."
Example: Sara Blakely cut the feet off pantyhose to create smoother lines under white pants. This personal solution became Spanx, now worth over $1 billion.
3. Build Your Wish List
Simply think of things you personally wish existed. If you want it, chances are others do too – mainly if you're at the leading edge of some trend or demographic shift.
4. Ride the Waves of Change
Look for things that have recently changed in the world. New technologies, regulations, or social shifts often create fresh opportunities. What was impossible yesterday but possible today?
Action Step: Identify technologies that have recently become accessible (AI, 5G, VR/AR, blockchain) and ask what new behaviors they enable.
Uber was only possible after smartphones became ubiquitous with GPS and mobile payments. Instagram leveraged improved phone cameras and faster mobile internet.
5. Study Successful Recent Companies
Look at companies that have succeeded recently and consider new variants. Not copies, but adaptations to different markets, demographics, or use cases.
Action Step: Analyze companies that have grown rapidly in the past five years. What variants or improvements could you create?
If Airbnb works for homes, what about cars (Turo), boats (Boatsetter), or office spaces (WeWork)?
6. Become a Problem Detective
Talk to people in different industries and ask about their problems. What's tedious or annoying in their work? What gaps do they see? You're not looking for startup ideas directly – you're looking for sparks that might ignite bigger insights.
Action Step: Interview 20 people in different professions about their biggest daily frustrations.
7. Look for Broken Industries
Some entire industries are ripe for disruption. Look for big, established sectors that seem fundamentally broken or inefficient. Often, these industries are perfect targets for startup solutions.
Action Step: Identify large industries that haven't been updated with modern technology or user experience principles.
Healthcare, education, government services, and real estate are notorious for outdated processes ripe for disruption.
8. Find a Co-founder with an Idea
Sometimes the best approach is partnering with someone who has already identified a compelling opportunity.
The 10 Critical Questions Every Startup Idea Must Pass
Before you commit to building anything, run your idea through these ten essential questions:
1. Do you have founder-market fit?
Are you the right person to solve this problem? Do you have relevant experience, passion, or unique insights?
2. How big is the market?
Even if you capture a small percentage, is the total addressable market large enough to build a significant business? If market is small, then where is it heading?
3. How acute is this problem?
Do people actively seek solutions, or is this a "nice-to-have" improvement?
4. Do you have competition?
Competition isn't bad—it validates demand. But you need a clear thesis about what competitors are missing.
Interesting Fact: It's exceptionally rare for startups to be killed by competitors — so rare that you can almost discount the possibility.
5. Do you want this personally?
If you wouldn't use your own product, why should anyone else?
6. Why now?
What has recently changed to make this problem solvable or more urgent? Timing matters enormously.
7. Can you work on this for years?
Startups are long journeys. Is this something you'll still find interesting after two years of grinding?
8. Is this a scalable business?
Can the business grow without proportionally increasing costs and complexity?
9. Is this a good "idea space"?
An idea space is a broader category that sits one level above a specific startup idea. It represents a group of closely related concepts—such as software for hospitals. Are there multiple related problems you could solve as you grow?
10. Would users pay for this before it's perfect?
Would users need this so badly that they'd pay for a rough version built by an unknown startup? This is the ultimate validation test.
Three Things That Make Your Startup Idea Seem Bad But Actually Make Them Good
Sometimes the best startup ideas have characteristics that seem negative but are actually positive signals:
1. It's Hard to Get Started
If something seems difficult to get started, most people won't try. This gives you a clearer path to market leadership as high barrier to entry keeps competitors away and create defensible businesses.
SpaceX seemed impossibly difficult—rockets had been the domain of governments for decades. But that difficulty kept competitors away while Elon Musk and his team gradually solved the technical challenges.
2. It's in a "Boring" Space
Unsexy industries often have the highest profit margins because they attract less competition and customers are willing to pay for real solutions.
Launched in 2003 to eliminate piles of paper contracts and manual signatures, DocuSign created a secure, legally binding e-signature workflow. That “mundane” focus on paperwork has turned into a $15B+ company.
3. It Has Existing Competitors
A crowded market actually signals validated demand. Your job isn't to find a market with no competition – it's to find a market where existing solutions are inadequate and you have a unique insight about how to do better.
Google entered a crowded search market but succeeded because they had better technology and a clearer understanding of user needs.
The Path Forward: From Idea to Reality
Remember, the only way to know for sure if your startup idea is good is to launch it. Analysis and planning have their place, but nothing replaces real-world validation with actual users.
This doesn't mean building a full product before testing. Start with the smallest possible version that delivers core value, then iterate based on user feedback.
Here's your action plan:
If you want organic ideas in the future:
Become an expert in something valuable
Work at a startup to see problems from the inside
Build things that interest you, even as side projects
If you need ideas right now:
Use the eight ways outlined above
Turn off the filters preventing you from seeing opportunities
Ask the ten critical evaluation questions
The most important insight from studying successful startups is that great ideas often don't look like great ideas initially. They start as solutions to specific problems that specific people desperately need. The key is to start narrow and deep, solve that initial problem incredibly well, and then expand from that foundation.
Your next billion-dollar idea isn't hiding in some mystical creative process. It's probably sitting right in front of you, disguised as a problem you personally face or a gap you've noticed in your daily life. The question isn't whether great opportunities exist – they do. The question is whether you'll train yourself to see them.
Get an edge over 90% of startup founders. Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly insights, tips, and stories to help you in your journey!
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