This post reminded me of pg's advice for how to get startup ideas. Compare:
"I have 5+ side projects. I’d like to make businesses out of them, but I often lose interest after a couple weeks. Asterank was the only project that I’ve stuck with for over a year, and it paid off even though there wasn’t a clear path to monetization... It’s hard to predict what will be valuable as a side project. For hobbies, working on what you’re most passionate about is the best way to get a return." [1]
"Live in the future and build what seems interesting. Strange as it sounds, that's the real recipe." [2]
find collaborators. If you can't, that's usually a sign the project is not interesting/challenging enough to keep YOU working on it for a year.
Don't just ping your friends because they're your friends, collaborators should share the passion that got you to start the project. Sometimes that's best found outside your normal network.
"I have 5+ side projects. I’d like to make businesses out of them, but I often lose interest after a couple weeks. Asterank was the only project that I’ve stuck with for over a year, and it paid off even though there wasn’t a clear path to monetization... It’s hard to predict what will be valuable as a side project. For hobbies, working on what you’re most passionate about is the best way to get a return." [1]
"Live in the future and build what seems interesting. Strange as it sounds, that's the real recipe." [2]
1. http://www.ianww.com/blog/2013/10/08/lessons-from-getting-my...
2. http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html