Ask HN: What problem in your industry is a potential startup?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13879796

by badshar • 9 years ago

40 43 9 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

A thread like this was posted 2 years ago. Maybe those problems have been solved or new problems have appeared. So what problem currently exists in your industry that can be taken up by a startup?

badshar• 9 years ago

One thing I have noticed is interaction during car servicing. When giving my car in for service, the person in charge at the car company usually has to call me on the phone and tell me to pick up the car. Perhaps this could be automated where the mechanic presses a button on his/her end and the car owner automatically gets a notification (via app?) to pick up the car.

joshmn• 9 years ago

An SMS notification would do just fine, right?

sushid• 9 years ago

This seems like a small feature to add to their invoicing app, not a business.

Also, there's quite a number of car servicing startups now, like YourMechanic.

binaryryan• 9 years ago

My local Lexus dealership does exactly this. The software platform they use will send me a text message when my car is ready.

AndrewKemendo2• 9 years ago

3D modeling objects (starting with retail products) for rendering on the web and in AR/VR.

The AR/VR/WebGL world totally depends on 3D content. 99% of the companies who want to put 3D content out, don't have any in 3D or if they do it's inappropriate for the medium - for example they only have 200MB objects used for photorealistic rendering.

Having good lightweight 3D models of objects/products etc... is probably a multi-billion industry itself.

GetKipple• 9 years ago

I have been trying to get that service off the ground. I got the low cost 3d scanning and rendering down. Just don't have the space or funds to actually build up the library. GetKipple.com

AndrewKemendo2• 9 years ago

I don't think it's going to be done through scanning. You need more variability for texture than can be given through scanning and fixing the textures later is too time intensive.

dalacv• 9 years ago

See my response here

https://gist.githubusercontent.com/anonymous/cba53d636ac477d...

I should add reasons there is a need for change:

Vendors in the current space are "behind" in terms of technological offering. The APIs provided by vendors are often cludgy to non-existent. The UI for these applications are non-intuitive and usually an afterthought.

The top-tier vendors in this space regularly charge upwards of $5000 or more for a concurrent license

Vendors and their partners regularly charge somewhere between $1400 - $1800 per day for consulting services

Projects for LIMS implementation typically last over 6 months and many last over 1 or 2 years.

Maintenance costs typically are in the %18-20% range.

While those numbers may be typical for enterprise software, the value doesn't warrant it. Product quality is usually poor due to poor product testing. Many of the top-tier vendors have highly-complex solutions that are the result of piling new technology on top of old-messy data models year after year. A new, serious player in this space would have the advantage of starting "from scratch".

There are many benefits and reason as to why we should be seeing innovation, but we just aren't seeing it.

swalsh• 9 years ago

This looks a lot like what you're describing, are you familiar with them?

https://www.coreinformatics.com/lims/

averageweather3• 9 years ago

If I consider my industry going to bars to drink then the problem is lines.

In 2017, I shouldn't walk/uber 20min in 20 degree weather to a bar only to find a 30min line which also has a surprise cover charge at the door.

I've thought about this a lot and have some ideas...

nurettin2• 9 years ago

I would approach this problem by opening a bar, not a startup.

endisukaj2• 9 years ago

Yeah, seems like there's a need for more bars instead of a complicated solution to a simple problem.

kinos• 9 years ago

Heres what I'm braining: Have everyone meet up, and a driver delivers a 6 pack to location.

taprun• 9 years ago

Anyone that can make hiring better would make a fortune. Even if you can make something super specialized like hiring for ai programmers or biochemists would make a fortune.

kilimchoi2• 9 years ago

what kind of problems are you facing with hiring?

mst3c3• 9 years ago

some issues: - massive information asymmetry b/n company and applicants. - companies are different. why conform to standard "job types" like "data scientist", "software engineer" etc when a potentially custom tailored description would do a much better job? - In technical fields the "non-technical recruiter as the gate keeper" model breaks down. - There are many issues if you really dig in.

lighttower2• 9 years ago

Is it finding people or background checks or onboarding? What's the source of pain?

averageweather3• 9 years ago

It amazes me how many hiring platforms/tools there are. Greenhouse, lever etc. It's like I see a new one every day.

mvpu3• 9 years ago

A high end upwork or elance that only has semi vetted developers, e.g those with github commits > 100.

A simpler and cheaper version of meetedgar.com that keeps retweeting my blog posts on auto pilot.

kilimchoi2• 9 years ago

have you used toptal before?

mvpu3• 9 years ago

Gigster and toptal a) have their own vetting mechanism that misses out on lots of good developers, b) charge a premium for that which is unnecessary, and c) are a service not a platform.

What I want is a lightweight platform where any github dev can showcase their code and say hire me for x. I don't want any third party vetting. Github itself could do this. We need a better freelance marketplace.

omarchowdhury2• 9 years ago

Toptal, gigster.

soneca• 9 years ago

What is the pricing at meetedgar.com? And what features they have that are essential and what are disposable?

Their site seems to be purposefully opaque regarding these points.

mvpu3• 9 years ago

Starts at $50 per month. You need to setup a "library" of blog posts (yours and others) and it will keep retweeting them on autopilot. I want something for $10 per month that simply connects to my blog and retweets posts all day. I'd imagine many bloggers would want it as well.

papul1993• 9 years ago

Automating retro-sysnthetic analysis using AI.

sushobhan• 9 years ago

Its not directly the answer of the question but relevant. I believe unaddressed/overlooked problems are the greatest origin of a potential startups but not what we think an legitimate idea, actually is. For the 1st time every idea seems awesome, take time revisit after a few days, you will wonder that most of the sparks are gone by now. If it still looks promising start doing your research. This is another eliminator of an unique idea. Though it doesn't have to be unique. But you should bring your own flavor into it.

ploggingdev• 9 years ago

Previous discussions :

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13139638

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9799007

lighttower2• 9 years ago

A robot that can hold my baby's bottle.

hbcondo714• 9 years ago

Well it's not a robot but it will hold your baby's bottle:

https://www.thebeebo.com

jlengrand• 9 years ago

I've been pretty successful using a blanket :).

Nursing pillows are even better, as they give enough space for the laptop to fit :P.

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-2302555...

SticksAndBreaks• 9 years ago

PLC Programming is years behind when it comes to software engineering, developing, testing and speed of deployment.

A system that would allow for Change related Issue-tracking on the CAD-files of the controlled machine. A language that would enforce component-class interfaces, thus preventing information duplication. A proofer that validates the resulting DEAs for correctness.

lithos• 9 years ago

In similar vein a tool that would let you 'play' with hardware functionality/config software without needing to buy it 'simulation on a PC or similar'.

Just having a sane place that list specs for competing products or products that have overlapping functionality would be a help. Sure simple components are standardized by when you start getting to more complex things like protective relays, PLCs, or even breakers it's like companies purposefully fling specs and functionally across 5 sites and 3 PDFs to waste so much time that you don't have time to look at competitors products.

omarchowdhury2• 9 years ago

I'd love to tell you but I'm working on it already.

jermaustin1• 9 years ago

Never be afraid to share your idea with the public. People don't care enough to steal it from you, and those that would steal it wont have the industry knowledge or contacts to launch it successfully.

See my blog post on using strangers to vet ideas: http://jeremyaboyd.com/validating-your-ideas-on-strangers/

ljk• 9 years ago

Never be afraid to share your idea with the public. People don't care enough to steal it from you, and those that would steal it wont have the industry knowledge or contacts to launch it successfully

...sometimes

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/a-24-year-old-made-345000-by-...

id122015• 9 years ago

Issuing currency and making laws.

mst3c3• 9 years ago

In the future buildings and factories should be constantly monitored and controlled from the cloud. But most of these assets are currently controlled from on-premise control boxes/computers called BMS systems. If you start a company to integrate the data from these systems (many manufacturers, many formats, many proprietary) and pipe them to the cloud and put a unified control scheme on top, you could potentially do really well.

Ask HN: What problem in your industry is a potential startup?

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