[sunnybunny]

I wish people would start focusing their efforts on "ideas" and start focusing on solving problems people are willing to pay for. Every StartupWeekend I coach at, I see a handful of ideas that people work on that solve no problem, and no purpose. They don't have a shot because they have no reason for existing.

So maybe if this were to be adjusted so that it was more of a place to talk about problems you wish people would solve. PG wrote a good post where he briefly talked with problems, and he wished people would solve them. Why not structure it as a place for people to complain about inefficiencies.

I'll start right now with a complaint of my own:

Startups are best started by people who can build things themselves. Unfortunately, people also tend to work on problems they know really well. As a result, a lot of startups are focused on tech-focused problems, and completely ignore broader world problems. Create a place for regular people to complain about issues in their business they wish worked better, and you'll allow builders of technology to understand problems they never would have encountered.

[shawnreilly]

I see where you're coming from, and I've also seen similar results at local StartupWeekend Events. But to me it's more than just the idea and the problem they're solving; It's having the right Team. I've seen many "Builders" do a Startup with a Great Idea, a Product that people would pay for, and the ability to Execute. These all seem like a recepie for success, but then somehow they overlook something. Maybe it's the importance of the Business aspect. Or the Marketing aspect. Or the <insert whatever here> aspect. Anyway, not trying to downplay what is being said here, but I do believe the Team is key. And building the right Team is probably one of the hardest things to do. Anyone interested should check out BOSI

[aaronz8]

Totally agreed! That's the mindset we had when we added the "Issues" section on the site. One of the features we have planned is the capability to link Ideas/Projects with Issues, so that it encourages people to consciously consider the problem they are solving. A side effect of this is that they will also get to see how relevant this issue is, and how many people are affected by it.

[cheeyoonlee]

You're right on point! which is why we have an "Issues" section (apart from "Ideas") which specifically serves that purpose of "a place to talk about problems you wish people would solve"