Idea Phase: Solving Your Own Pain Points vs. Using Your Network's?
Hello IH community! I've been a developer for ~18 years now, and I love what I do. My story isn't super relevant to this post, but I've really been feeling lately (past few years) that I'm primed to do something bigger. A friend recently recommended the IH podcast to me and I can't stop consuming the info!
Often I feel that I circle back to the idea phase. Surely this is a common problem, but after listening to many episodes, I'm left wondering about the experiences of others. Specifically for web developers, it seems like my typical pain points all have SaaS solutions already. Recently I've been thinking about tapping into my personal network to find problems to solve. This might prove to be more fruitful than spinning my wheels in my own niche?
Anyway, on to my questions:
What are your experiences with building businesses based upon other people's pain points versus your own? Is it worth it, or does motivation kill the business at some point? Do you think this is a viable strategy if your network consists of professionals in other spaces that you find at least somewhat interesting?
Really interested to hear your experiences!
From another developer with 22 years of experience. Stopped coding 10 years into it; climbed the corporate ladder only to be disappointed by the politics, constant me me me attitude. Just because the idea is already implemented it can’t be made better (remember there are more than 5 cars makers doing the same thing - so do it better).
Stating the obvious, tap into your network find a problem that you can solve for and put your mind to it.
About 1.5 years back, I started to tinker with my current idea leading to a bootstrapped startup still in stealth mode. In the last month we have gone from an idea to a real business opportunity – NDA’s & LOI’s with banks, real advisors and on to VC conversations. People are always helpful if they believe in your idea and will tell you what you need to fix – Ideas are dime a dozen and talk is cheap, so get cracking like it’s the hunt for your first job.
Read “Only the Paranoid Survive” and then write a real business pitch, you’ll find what you thought you want to do and where you end up is not where you started. I went thru 60 version even before sharing the deck.
Stay focused and stop worrying about others and get cracking.
Apologies for the long winded note – good luck – No Retreat No Surrender!
Great perspective, and thank you for sharing! I find that the longer I'm in development (and move further up the so-called ladder), the more my job becomes "people development". This is something I've grown to enjoy, but I really can't shake the feeling that I could do more, and help more people. Communication is one of my strengths, so it seems like tapping in to my network of business owners might yield some interesting ideas... However, a recurring theme in the best startups seems to be solving your own pain point so I tend to doubt the value of my network idea-wise. Clearly it's time to set that thought aside and go for it!
I think you should definitely listen to tomorrows IH podcast as this very topic is discussed.
In short, my experience has been in creating and launching based on my needs, and adapting to the users needs. But for me, I need both.
Hope you like the episode!
Thanks Brian. I will definitely do that! I've been trying to listen to them in order (about halfway through) but I'll be happy to make an exception in search of perspective on this very question. Admittedly it was hard to phrase my question in a way that didn't sound too vague, so I very much appreciate your reply and perspective!
I get that. It's hard to phrase a response too :)