Building something for other developers is a great way to get started because it's easier to build for people just like you and me BUT the downside i…
Building something for other developers is a great way to get started because it's easier to build for people just like you and me BUT the downside is it is a very saturated market.
Verrrrrrrry saturated.
If you want a head start consider another niche market that is underserved by techies like you and me. Markets like the butcher, the baker and the candle stick maker - to name a few ;)
Bonus points if you "like" the people in that market, because it is far easier working with and marketing to people you like. 💕
I 100% agree and have been thinking about this a lot lately. However, if you're frozen because you don't know who to make for or what to make, making something for yourself (as a developer) and sharing it can be a great way to get moving.
But yes, it's extremely saturated and devs tend to have the attitude of "I could build that myself".
A friend once told me that their iPhone lost its magic once they opened it up and just saw the insane amount of engineering. You don't want customers who know how the sausage is made.
It's also small and VERY biased. It's good to get initial feedback and to validate the idea but it's also very difficult to listen to those users for feature prioritization because they're not your target market.
If you want to get 1-10M users you can't target developers really. (unless you're an API or SaaS or something).
Why aren't they my target market?
Irony: I'm building something for developers with Nugget, but I think I get a pass because previously I built and exited with something for social media marketers. Actually I find it wayyy harder to sell to developers!
I agree with the sentiment, but how would you go about gaining enough familiarity with markets like that?
IMO you need to understand your target customers well enough to identify their pain before you can come up with a product to help them.
How would you go about doing that?
Maybe target customers in your "own" network. Just because you identified a market, it's pain, a possible solution and distribution channel doesn't necessarily mean "you" should market, sell and service them. Trust me I learned the hard way trying to sell to a market I don't have any relationship or access to. This makes your difficult startup journey extremely harder and painful than it needs to be.
Start customer discovery by exploring the relationships you do have and give yourself a head start and competitive advantage.
Here ya go :)
https://youtu.be/2zxI_EbZ-0M?t=1131