Change the world with a single app?

Hey BHW!

I am a software engineer and have an idea I want to build out however I wanted to get some feedback first. I don’t know if this is the right place to post this.. But here I go.

I want to create a webapp, or native app, that essentially posts a problem monthly. I got this idea from Elon Musks simple tweet. He mentioned he’d give $3 billion dollars to the UN if they could come up with a great solution to solve world hunger.

So the idea is simple. We post a problem, people have to pay $1 to submit their solution. We do this to weed out the nonsensical comments. You really need to think about the problem and have a thought out solution.

Once these solutions come in… just like reddit you can upvote the solution. The solution with the most upvotes gets a reward. Plus with the $1 comments we can get started on implementing the solution. We can also raise money for the winning solution within the app and also raise money outside of the app to bring the solution to forwishen.

This is a very rough draft for the idea.. But I'd love to gather some feedback. Also if you're interested in teaming up to build this out message me. I’d love to chat.

My goal is to build out this application and get users to come together in a time of such separation and make a difference in society. Might be thinking to big here.. but it's worth a shot.

Don't think such will work..

But give it a try... Everything is possible.. but not everything is achievable... With the way the internet is going.... It will be hard to achieve.

Wish u success

Watsoneology said:

Don't think such will work..

But give it a try... Everything is possible.. but not everything is achievable... With the way the internet is going.... It will be hard to achieve.

Wish u success

Click to expand...

Thank you for your honest feedback.

Why do they have to pay 1$ to submit their solution? There are a lot of problem around the world and they can discuss about the solution free on a lot of forum. How you make they believe that you will implement the solution in the end or you just scam their money.
Sorry I don't get it.

Nice one and good luck.
Question: who can post the problem? From where will you source and how will you filter the problem?

Not a bad idea but you shouldn't charge $1 for solutions. First of all, people who are providing the solutions gets nothing in return and asking them to pay $1 will not convince them. Even though you say there is a reward, they'll worry about the chances. In my opinion, best way is to let them populate the posted problems as much as they can with solutions. Set a time frame to post solutions as well as upvoting the posted solutions. After the time hit, make a fundraiser to make this solution work.

Why pay to submit a solution?
Isn't it better to make it free to submit a solution?

If the guys that have the solution to your problem are from a third-world country ... what will you do?

How much budget you have for marketing ?

I Am Batman said:

Why do they have to pay 1$ to submit their solution? There are a lot of problem around the world and they can discuss about the solution free on a lot of forum. How you make they believe that you will implement the solution in the end or you just scam their money.
Sorry I don't get it.

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BrokenJamJar said:

Not a bad idea but you shouldn't charge $1 for solutions. First of all, people who are providing the solutions gets nothing in return and asking them to pay $1 will not convince them. Even though you say there is a reward, they'll worry about the chances. In my opinion, best way is to let them populate the posted problems as much as they can with solutions. Set a time frame to post solutions as well as upvoting the posted solutions. After the time hit, make a fundraiser to make this solution work.

Click to expand...

The thought process or having there be a $1 charge to post solutions is so people have to post real thought out answers and not just a quick 5 word solution. But I see how that can turn people off. Thank you guys for your feedback.

krishnaverma said:

How much budget you have for marketing ?

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Not much.. around $30k USD. But I can raise more once I have an MVP.

IM Rider said:

Nice one and good luck.
Question: who can post the problem? From where will you source and how will you filter the problem?

Click to expand...

Thank you! I'd say in the beginning we'd post the issues. However we would have a section for people to recommend issues.

Hey you are better off on Twitter as that is where the top dogs hangout but it is an interesting idea for sure

AntiCCC said:

Hey BHW!

I am a software engineer and have an idea I want to build out however I wanted to get some feedback first. I don’t know if this is the right place to post this.. But here I go.

I want to create a webapp, or native app, that essentially posts a problem monthly. I got this idea from Elon Musks simple tweet. He mentioned he’d give $3 billion dollars to the UN if they could come up with a great solution to solve world hunger.

So the idea is simple. We post a problem, people have to pay $1 to submit their solution. We do this to weed out the nonsensical comments. You really need to think about the problem and have a thought out solution.

Once these solutions come in… just like reddit you can upvote the solution. The solution with the most upvotes gets a reward. Plus with the $1 comments we can get started on implementing the solution. We can also raise money for the winning solution within the app and also raise money outside of the app to bring the solution to forwishen.

This is a very rough draft for the idea.. But I'd love to gather some feedback. Also if you're interested in teaming up to build this out message me. I’d love to chat.

My goal is to build out this application and get users to come together in a time of such separation and make a difference in society. Might be thinking to big here.. but it's worth a shot.

Click to expand...

Try to somehow contact Elon Musk - he may support your idea if you say it's inspired in his

My personal opinion is building an app is not the hardest part but making popular is way complicated and required large budget...... Many good apps dies because no one know about them

AntiCCC said:

Hey BHW!

I am a software engineer and have an idea I want to build out however I wanted to get some feedback first. I don’t know if this is the right place to post this.. But here I go.

I want to create a webapp, or native app, that essentially posts a problem monthly. I got this idea from Elon Musks simple tweet. He mentioned he’d give $3 billion dollars to the UN if they could come up with a great solution to solve world hunger.

So the idea is simple. We post a problem, people have to pay $1 to submit their solution. We do this to weed out the nonsensical comments. You really need to think about the problem and have a thought out solution.

Once these solutions come in… just like reddit you can upvote the solution. The solution with the most upvotes gets a reward. Plus with the $1 comments we can get started on implementing the solution. We can also raise money for the winning solution within the app and also raise money outside of the app to bring the solution to forwishen.

This is a very rough draft for the idea.. But I'd love to gather some feedback. Also if you're interested in teaming up to build this out message me. I’d love to chat.

My goal is to build out this application and get users to come together in a time of such separation and make a difference in society. Might be thinking to big here.. but it's worth a shot.

Click to expand...

I read a book years ago about companies setting up skunkworks and open competitions to get solutions to problems and to be honest it has not really developed as a concept. The problem I see is that you want to charge people to come up with their solution to a problem without specifying what they will get out of it and who/what company is posting the problem and will take on board their solution and work with them to develop it.

No offence is meant at all but if I saw a random site listing problems to be solved and asking me to pay to give a solution, it would scream to me 'scam'.

The other thing to consider would be the legal aspects and IP ownership and who actually owns the solution once it is submitted on your site.

The final thing to consider is that the journey from question to solution can take years and often results in no discernable clear cut winner.

I speak from experience, I have a number of IP awards for the use and management of femto cells and closed user groups, as well as the use of meta data for tagging and managing large scale/volume estates of routers/WiFi devices etc. I never made a penny out of them. My employer did.

I suggest that as well as looking to bring on board people to give solutions to problems, you focus on getting companies to air their problems and offer backing to the successful solutions.

That way it could be a game changer and a massive success.

Sorry for any typos, it's late at night and I am typing this on my phone. I wish you well and if you can bridge that 'whats in it for me' gap it could be great

I see a lot of criticism over the $1 fee, but I think it can work if the incentive is good enough.

Perhaps a $xxxx prize for the best solution will do the trick. And have some secondary prizes, like 2nd and 3rd best to also receive some cash while the first 10-50 receive free credits to post solutions.

The prize can be sponsored by the company submitting the problem.

The question is what company would use this app to find solutions instead of hiring a consultant? I think there might be some industries/niches.