This is an age old question for IH…
This is an age old question for IH, but I'm working as a software engineer now and I'm tired of working for someone else, and so I'm thinking of starting a SaaS business in an existing market. The upside is that it's an existing, proven market. The downside is that there are existing players. Like many wantrepreneurs, I believe, ultimately, I can execute better than the other players. It's a relatively small niche, so there aren't any major players that I've seen, though some are polished. I'm also involved in a long-term online program in which many customers from this niche are also involved. So, I've got an opportunity to dig into this market and understand it, and understand what they struggle with. It's a market that I understand reasonably well and the potential customer base are mainly people I'd enjoy working with and helping to make their business successful. With a full-time gig and a family, my time is limited, so I'd have to outsource the development.
So, the question is: what are the upsides/downsides of jumping into an existing market?
One thing you should consider before you jump in is the legal risk if any - what if your current employer came after you claiming that somehow they own what you create OR that you are soliciting their customers.....I am sure you have this covered (non-compete, IP ownership, etc.) but it's important that you square this before you move forward.
Great point. In this case, I'm pretty well covered. The niche I'm considering is completely unrelated to the company I work for now.
Looks like your long term goal is a business that sets you free so you don't have to work for someone else. Your short term goal is trying to launch a product that you seem to have experience in.
Basically, what you have in front of you is an opportunity to build a product (that is already validated by the market). If it doesn't go as planned and it falls short, that's OK. You would still walkway with valuable insights and expertise that you can use in your next big idea (which hopefully would fulfil your long term goal).
Most of the people here have progressed like that, seldom are they one shot wonders. All other factors considered...I say go for it!
Love the encouragement. I can definitely get stuck looking over the cliff, wondering if I can fly, when what I need is a nudge over the cliff so I can start flying.
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Existing markets and other successful products = problems worth solving that people will pay for.
The real question is: can you reach this market and sell to them?
That's a great question. I think it's a reachable market, at not too great a cost/expense.
A wild guess: user feedback forum tools?
Nope. Not that niche.
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Your insight an thinking points are fantastic. I'll definitely need to contend with and address each of your points in my consideration. Though I don't want to be too specific on the industry, I will say that it's targeted toward either small entrepreneurs or small partnerships (2-4 people) who, themselves, may be working with only a handful of clients at any given moment. The power of inertia and data migration type hurdles (i.e. switching costs) is a great point. I actually need to do some research on the percentage of the market that actually has no SaaS solution for the problem (think: running their business from spreadsheets, email, phone calls, and paper checks). With that said, I do think that it can be overcome relatively easily. For a small SaaS startup, I'd have no problem doing it manually, if necessary. Of course, that's not scalable, but for an early stage SaaS looking for customers, it doesn't matter.
Things like compliance and audit issues are essentially nil, to the best of my knowledge.
Integrations with other systems are minimal, particularly for the lower end of the market.
I'l continue to chew on these points, thomas1964. Appreciate you taking the time to respond!
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Love the wisdom. Thanks thomas1964!