The “Spicy Sushi” problem in niche SaaS
Imagine you open a restaurant that sells Spicy Sushi.
A couple comes in, eats, and leaves a review: “1 star, the sushi was too spicy.”
I’m currently living through this exact scenario with my SaaS, and I’m hitting a wall on how to move forward.
The Product vs. The Audience
I’m a software engineer and a heavy roleplay enthusiast. Last year, I built an AI roleplay platform for myself.
To be clear: I didn’t build the typical "waifu/girlfriend" chatbot. I didn’t want flashy anime avatars or "chat bubble" interfaces that look like iMessage. I wanted a serious storytelling tool; something for long-form, prose-based narratives (think collaborative novel writing, not texting).
I launched an MVP, posted it on a few relevant subreddits, and to my surprise, it took off. I got signups, active users, and even unexpected revenue.
Then came the feedback.
The feedback trap
At first, I was thrilled to get user feedback. I started fixing bugs and polishing the UI. But at some point I stopped and realized the loudest requests were things like:
“Why doesn't this look like a chat app?”
“Where are the character avatar bubbles?”
“How do I create my own girlfriend?”
I almost started building these features. I thought, “This is what the users want, I have to give it to them.”
Then it hit me: They were asking for California Rolls. I am serving Habanero Uramaki.
If I listened to them, I would have ended up building a product I had zero interest in using. I didn't build this app to chase a trend; I built it because the existing tools didn't work for me. Pivoting to meet these demands would have turned my passion project into a chore and defeated the entire purpose of why I started coding this in the first place.
So, I did something scary: I “ignored” most of the feedback. Instead of trying to please everyone, I looked for the users who actually “got it.” I doubled down on the elements that resonated with my original vision, focusing entirely on building the exact experience I personally wanted to see exist in this space.
The “second launch” anxiety
This brings me to why I’m writing this.
I now have a product that is much better than the MVP. I’ve refined the “recipe.” But I am clueless on how to promote it a second time.
Because my product is so niche (serious AI roleplay), the “watering holes” where my actual customers hang out are very few. There are maybe three or four subreddits that really matter.
I already posted there during my MVP phase. That is, I feel I already “exhausted” the “self-promotion free pass” granted of goodwill to the indie ones.
Now, I’m sitting on a polished product, kinda stuck to post again. I feel the Imposter Syndrome kicking in:
- I don't want to be “that guy” reposting the same communities.
- How do I signal “This is Spicy Sushi” loudly enough so that the “California Roll” crowd doesn't come in with illusionary expectations?
The Ask
It feels like I’m operating in a small town.
When I launched the MVP five months ago, I went to the town square, made an announcement, and got a small crowd interested. But I know that crowd was just a tiny fraction of the population. There are plenty of people left who would love this “Spicy Sushi,” but they just didn't hear me the first time.
Now, I need to reach the rest of them.
How?
