[sigfubar]

If you ever find yourself thinking "If only there were a product that solves my problem XYZ? I'd pay money for that!", then you already know what to build.

If you haven't had such thoughts yet, I'm sure others around you could make suggestions. You'll make even more money by building for a niche market that has been overlooked or underserved by technology companies. The more specific the market, the better, as these tend to be quite sticky.

[z3t4]

People dont pay money because they want to. But because they need to. So make sure its something you are already paying for. Then make something better or cheaper. Unless you want to give it away for free. But its probably better to ask your non technical friends what they pay for.

[blancheneige]

the genius of consumerism was to turn latent wants into newfound needs.

[Varcht]

Don't forget to do some research to see if it already exists, often it does.

[sosborn]

The fact that something already exists doesn't exclude the possibility of making money off of that idea. In fact, it actually validates the thought that the idea is viable.

[Varcht]

In fact, it actually validates the thought that the idea is viable.

Not sure you can go that far. The first part of your statement sounds reasonable though.

[guytv]

If it does not exist, most probably there's no market for it.

[Varcht]

There are no original ideas left? That's depressing.

[fermienrico]

Your advise is good but often leads to products without real problems.

You don’t have to find a novel problem. Find a product that already exists and out-do them. If you can criticize a product, you can make a better version of it and create value for your customers.

Finding a novel problem also works but less often than going after an existing known problem with some unoptimized solutions out there.

[thorwasdfasdf]

unless you're a big wierdo who has problems that few others have. If it's too niche, it won't be able to spread by word of mouth, and it'll be hard to find others with the same problem.