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Comment by eladgil | Hacker News Reader

I agree re: Facebook and Google. But to your point, both Facebook and Google could have been seen as bad ideas since, as you state: >Both search and social networks were written off as markets when the two current leaders entered the space.

The point of this post is not "Are good ideas bad for a startup". Obviously good ideas are much better then bad ones, and great ones are much better then good ones.

The point of the post is "don't think you need the most amazing idea ever to start something. it is more important to start something and learn what the great idea is along the way".

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Sorry, this topic is bound to lead to a semantic merry-go-round!

Facebook and Google are examples of great ideas executed well creating huge markets, which did not exist when they set out. So how would have their founders fared if they chose to focus on a great market at the start? We would have yet another portal with banner advertising and a dating site.

I agree with the point of the post you mention here, but your post doesn't really support that.

Your advice is to focus on a great market. One of the hottest markets right now seems to be photo sharing. But I highly doubt the next great company will come out of there.

Can you give me an example of a great market today?

:) Thanks for the points above.

"Great market" /= "hot market"

Great market to my mind is a market that has a lot of users who will use your product (and better yet, you can make money off of them using your product). Maybe I will write a post on how to identify a great market, as that is a pretty big topic. But one example is often markets where user behavior is fundamentally shifting, or where there is a sudden change (e.g. adoption of truly smart phones) leading to opportunity.

I think certain areas in ecommerce are a good example today of changes in user behavior and business model leading to high growth companies (Gilt Group was just the beginning, and some really cool companies are getting started today around fashion/women's goods online).

a market that has a lot of users who will use your product

Photo sharing fits the bill just right. Facebook has shown you can also make money off it.

Ecommerce is always a great market, but it's too vague because it's just commerce through a new medium. I'd prefer and love to read blog posts discussing specific ideas. Take that as reader feedback :-P

Did you see this Mixergy interview with the founder of Gemvara? http://mixergy.com/matt-lauzon-gemvara-interview/

It is one of the most innovative ideas I've come across recently, and apparently executed very well too.

Thanks for the feedback.

To be honest I didn't want to name specific markets as I didn't want to create too much interest in areas where friends of mine are working. I didnt want to add attention and make it more crowded. :)

Haha that made me chuckle.

"It is all about execution. Even if you have a great idea - 5 other people will have it at the same time."

Just quoting a blog post...

Yup, GroupOn out executed everyone and is winning. But their getting a high profile has also hurt them by creating 1001 competitors.

But one example is often markets where user behavior is fundamentally shifting, or where there is a sudden change (e.g. adoption of truly smart phones) leading to opportunity.

Great point. A very good write-up on that is http://jasonlbaptiste.com/featured-articles/build-what-had-p....

Maybe I will write a post on how to identify a great market, as that is a pretty big topic.

For what it's worth, I'd love to see you write that.

Thanks for the feedback! I will work on it :)

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