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5 Comments

Still struggling with product idea :(

how to find a good idea efficiently?
I am trying to come up with an idea for a Software Product. The problem is for ideas I think I could "easily" implement I feel that I wont be motivated with the problem long term and won't empathize with the user and won't be interested to dig deep. The problems I think are interesting appear too complicated and I feel a bit overwhelmed and unqualified

  1. 4

    The struggle is real, and your overwhelm ... very common.

    I'm happy to say that there is a formula for coming up with ideas that have a higher probability of success. As well as a way to qualify those ideas for market fit before sinking precious time and money.

    One simple piece of advice is to go after a problem that is close to home.

    Meaning, something you have experienced frustration with. Think about your day to day, is there ay moment of friction that comes to mind? - Ah damn, that could be so much better!

    Yes, It's easier to build a better mouse-trap than reinvent the wheel but long term It's going to be much easier to work on and sell something you are truly passionate about. You have to truly believe your product has the power to transform the lives of your customers.

    Luckily, what most people want is simple.

    1. To save their time.
    2. To make their life easier.

    Think about this way, the power fo solve BIG interesting problems often starts with elegant and simple solutions. Niche down as hard as possible, and then if there is market fit you can scale up, and out.

    Now for some details:

    • What is your background? Are you an engineer, technical founder?

    • What are some industries you've looked at?

    • What are some niches? ie) Can you super specific about which product ideas you think you won't be motivated by?

    • Why do you feel you won't be motivated by said ideas?

    • What are things that motivate you?

    • What are the things you are passionate about?

    • What are the problems you're interested in?

  2. 3

    You can also take a complicated product in the market that has strong support, strip away features most people don't use, and make the feature they use even better, and just ship that feature. Market validation done for you. Figure out which feature people use most and how it lacks, then make it better and put it out there.

  3. 3

    I would suggest you just ship something. Find a problem you have, build a solution that send it out into the world.

    You will find other problems related to that problem. 37 Signals was a web dev shop who found they had a problem coordinating their work. Basecamp was born. Lots of stories like that.

    Ship something, even if it is trivial.

  4. 3

    We have 16 ideas for SaaS apps, all different in complexity. You can take a shot: https://www.caravelstudio.io/saasideaweekly

  5. 2

    Another way to go about this is to, once you identify the problem, figure out if others have the same problem before building anything. A lot of people here just say ship ship ship but in my mind, it's throwing darts in the dark if you have no sense of the real problem you're solving or if it's shared by other people.

    Anyway, to that end, hope I'm not being intrusive but I've got a service where for $12 you can ask 100 people a question and then dig deep with interviews & followups. https://scoops.io/

    Hope that helps!
    Chris

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