How do you find an app idea (Shopify) worth making?
How do you figure out what app needs building? For this I mention Shopify, but in general, unless I know the pain points myself, I rarely know what program to write that would get decent traction. I worry that I'll waste my time on an app that no one will use, leading to wasted energy.
Hey,
Good question. Here are some sources.
Groups (Facebook, Reddit, Twitter) - People tend express frustration a lot about things in settings like this. Hanging around groups w interest areas, searching for words like "I hate" or "I wish" etc will yield results.
The folks who built >> www.oppslist.com have quite a few problems listed.
problemoftheday.co is similar to the above, not as high quality though
www.capterra.com is important in seeing what problems others have solved across various categories
The Show section in hacker news and Product hunt are great for seeing what others are up to - these may not be problems but may hint at problems
These are a few places to look. The best way to find problems aren't online though. They're in day to day life IMO. Being present and engaging with what others experience, asking good questions and hearing frustrations will yield great results.
PS: Of course, finding a good problem will no help you build something valuable, that's a different discussion!
Hope this helps :)
Thanks for the detailed replied! Besides hackernews and fb, I didn't know the other sites existed, I'll check them out.
You're welcome :)
I’m in the process of validating an idea right now, and here’s the process I’m following:
I might end up building a Shopify app (currently researching right now if that’s right). But, the point is the solution/idea/product comes way after figuring out the pain points people experience.
I highly suggest the Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick: http://momtestbook.com/. Lots of really practical steps to actually talk to people, including ways to email people to ask for interviews.
I guess I’d suggest not ask “what (Shopify) app needs building?” but going and talking to people you want to help—eg, merchants who use Shopify for X—and figure out what’s causing them problems.
Also, knowing the pain points yourself can be great... but there’s a danger there. You think you know so you build something that only helps you. I’ve done that before and it was no fun :( I think you always need to talk to people no matter if you’re a subject matter expert or not.