How do you deal with unoriginal ideas?
An idea struct me whilst I was helping my parents pack boxes this week for their move and I instantly wrote it down (as I do with most of my ideas/thoughts).
A quick Google search later told me that this idea had been done and that it wasn't as original as I initially thought (somewhat demotivating). Is this and should this be a deciding factor whether or not to pursue an idea and take it further?
Originality doesn't matter. Differentiation and competitive advantage matters. Google wasn't the first search engine. Facebook wasn't the first social network.
The key question is, do you have an insight that will make your idea better than existing solutions? That's what you should be looking for.
Good luck!
To add to this: the existence of competition means that there are customers willing to pay.
Agree 100%.
I’d go even further to say that if there aren’t any successful competitors for your idea, your running a very high risk that your idea isn’t viable at all.
👍, couldn't agree more on this.
Thanks Steven, great viewpoint
I wrote a lot about this here: How to brainstorm great business ideas. Some relevant insights:
For example, people were using taxis to get around for decades, but Uber X made getting around easier and more reliable, so it was a better solution to the problem. Newspapers existed in paper form for years, but blogs delivered their content more instantaneously via the internet and began to eat into newspaper profits. Today we see Twitter accounts, newsletters, and podcasts doing the same thing to blogs, simply via better distribution channels. Etc.
Thanks Courtland, firstly I love the podcast and everything you're doing over here at Indie Hackers (I discovered this whole world during lockdown a few months back).
One thing that especially stood out to me from your post was:
"If people are already using solutions, that's proof the problem is real."
I never really thought of it this way and always felt that in-order to succeed you have to bring something new to the table (in terms of an idea or product).
Totally, but usually what's new shouldn't be the problem. Most problems are as old as dirt: People need to eat. People don't want to be lonely. People want to have sex. People want social status. People want to have fun. People want warmth and shelter. People want meaning. Businesses want to hire. Businesses want to grow. Graduates want jobs. Etc.
This is not where you want to innovate. These problems are proven. Every one of them has a ton of companies making millions of dollars, and every one of them will have new companies formed in the future. You want to solve these tried-and-true problems, not some brand new problem, because the chances are high that if nobody is solving the problem, that means it's a fake problem that nobody cares about.
(An example would be: "Oh, people are saying Slack is annoying! That's a new unsolved problem!" Is it? Maybe. But doubtful.)
Where you want to innovate is:
At least one of these. And ideally no more than one or two.
Originality doesn't matter at all. Think of how many photo-sharing apps there are. What matters is execution. Sometimes it's BETTER to be late to the game. You can see what your competitors are missing and build that into your product right from the start.
Just because someone has made an attempt at solving a problem doesn't mean it has been solved to it's maximum potential. Hipchat came before slack yet slack won. It depends on what application gets product market fit first. Solves the problem the best, great user acquisition channel, etc.
Execute and innovate, until your idea becomes original.
This is actually the way to do it, according to many studies.
The idea doesn't have to be original - as long as you provide value to people, it can be worth it. The key is to differentiate yourself from the competitors, either through a lower price or better features.
That's a great thread! Many important things have been already said, but I stumbled upon a blog post from "Farnam Street" yesterday that might fit nicely:
https://fs.blog/2020/04/shoulders-of-giants/
Let's admit this.
7.8 billion people on the planet, why do you think there's an original idea?
Some companies managed to take off, not only because (maybe) they're original, but they took an unique route to scale and execute.
Even your idea isn't original (and never), do not give up easily. Try to do more research and see how you can build a better product and scale appropriately.
Keep going! Flurly is so unoriginal but it's been successful nevertheless!
Looks great!
Nah, ideas are cheap. It's all about how you execute. If you still like your idea even if you've seen others do it, ask yourself what you would do differently. What can you improve upon? Is it a lot of work to get ahead the existing competition? Are they missing something?
I wouldn't worry too much if others had the idea before you. On the other hand, if they've built up quite a first-mover advantage in marketshare or tech, maybe then you should look into something else.
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100%, It just sucked knowing that some idea/solution that popped into my brain has already been developed years prior. But yes, definitely room for a lot of players in this game.