Utterly confused with most SaaS startups on here...

Your observations are a good testament to the opportunity of starting a (micro) SaaS or software product. A few things I've noticed:

1. As the big companies get bigger, they become more extractive and harder to use.
2. Most people don't need all the features the leading product provides, so going with a simpler offering at a potential lower price point makes integration easier.
3. Building a niche product in a crowded market can differentiate your product and even that smaller TAM can amount to real money.
4. One person's trash is another person's treasure, so to speak, when it comes to paying for products ;-)

How do you find yourself making a living in a world where there are so many competitors?

Stop worrying about your competition so much. Both of you can co-exist and there is room for multiple products to exist in a space with both products earning a substantial amount of income. Competition means that there is demand for the market. While some products have a near monopoly on the market, niche products can come in and tear away small pieces of market share that can end up being substantial revenue.

The trick is to keep on eye on your competition - so you can build the right differentiated products - while also not letting it completely determine every move you make.

I'd reckon the people you've mentioned in your post succeeded because they saw there was competition in the market, addressed a niche market, and then did something specific to actually get in front of potential customers.

I don't know how they did the last part, but the first part was done by not letting them be swayed by other's success.

I think that guys who didn't succedded just stay quiet and we don't know how many failures there are

There’s a subset of the human population that’s naturally curious and loves learning/trying new things.

Logic would dictate someone should adopt the most mature platform that solves their needs and has an active community they can lean on for support but humans are emotional, not logical.

Using the same tools can get boring overtime and people are willing to try new things, simply because they’re new.

So you will always have people that are willing to “try” your product. If you’re able to create something amazing, you’ll get them to stick around… even if what you’ve created isn’t the best solution in the market for that person. It just needs to be good enough.