Jared identifies common mistakes: building a solution before finding a problem, pursuing tar pit ideas, and either rushing into the first idea or waiting for a perfect one. He uses an app for coordinating meetups with friends as a tar pit example, since many founders have tried it without overcoming its structural challenges. He recommends researching earlier attempts and learning what made them difficult.
How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas
Speaker
Jared of Y Combinator explains how founders can find and evaluate startup ideas in a Startup School session.
Jared offers ten questions for assessing an idea, starting with founder-market fit: whether the team is suited to the work. He also considers market size and growth, how urgently customers need a solution, competition, recent changes that create opportunities, and whether the business can scale. PlanGrid, Coinbase, Brex, and Checkr illustrate different parts of the framework.
Jared argues that ideas can look unattractive because they are hard to start, boring, or already have competitors. Stripe faced difficult bank and payment infrastructure work, while Gusto tackled payroll and Dropbox entered a crowded file storage market with a better user experience. Existing products can signal demand and reveal gaps to address.
Jared says many strong ideas arise organically from expertise and experience, rather than from brainstorming in the abstract. For founders searching now, he recommends starting with their team's strengths or personally observed problems, then exploring recent changes, successful business models, and broken industries. AtoB's founders studied trucking by speaking with drivers and experienced founders before choosing fuel cards.
Jared closes by saying that frameworks cannot establish for certain whether an idea will work. Founders often need to launch and see how customers respond.
Takeaways
- Start from a problem customers care about, then consider which solution fits.
- Assess an idea for your particular team, not in the abstract.
- When entering a crowded market, identify what existing products leave unsolved.
- Explore industries where your team has expertise or can build it through direct research.
- Treat an idea as a starting point and use customer response to decide what to change.
Mentioned in this talk
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What was claimed 16
- feature
Brex: Credit card for startups“Brex, the credit card for startups company”
0:57inHow to Create LuckYouTube Verified2 sources· Talk
- feature
PlanGrid: IPad app for viewing construction blueprints“PlanGrid makes an iPad app for viewing construction blueprints.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- metric
Coinbase: Started in 2012, when the Bitcoin trading market was minuscule“When Coinbase got started in 2012, the Bitcoin trading market was minuscule.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureCheckr: Background checks via an API
“Checkr, which does background checks via an API.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureRappi: Food delivery in Latin America
“Rappi, which does food delivery in Latin America.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- metricFivetran: YC 2012–13
“Fivetran, from YC 2012–13.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
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Stripe: Makes it easy to integrate credit card payments into websites“they make it easy to integrate credit card payments into your website.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
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Gusto: Payroll software“Gusto, which makes payroll software.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
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Dropbox: Syncs files automatically through integration with the host operating system“he could sync your files automatically without you having to do anything.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- metricReplika: Started as something its founder found interesting, not as a planned startup
“it was just something Amjad found interesting. It wasn't supposed to be a startup originally.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureRezi: Rental apartment company described as like Opendoor for rental apartments
“Rezi, which is like Opendoor for rental apartments.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureVetCove: Website for veterinarians to order supplies
“VetCove is a website for veterinarians to order supplies.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
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DoorDash: Food delivery from local restaurants to Stanford dorms“what they really wanted was to order food from local restaurants and have it delivered to their dorm.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureGather: A fun way to hang out with other people online
“a company that builds a fun way to hang out with other people online.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureNuvocargo: Helps U.S. companies import goods from Mexico
“They help U.S. companies import goods from Mexico.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureAtoB: Fuel cards for truck drivers
“AtoB makes fuel cards.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
