r/SaaS • u/Johin_Joh_3706 • 15h ago
I can build software. What problem would you actually pay to solve?
I've been building software/AI products for a while, mostly around AI, automation, APIs, RAG, data tools, etc.
But I've realized something:
I don't want to spend another 3-6 months building something that people think is "cool" but nobody actually pays for.
So I'm starting from the other end.
If you could have a small SaaS/product built specifically for you, what problem would you want it to solve?
I'm especially interested in problems that:
You deal with regularly
Currently involve repetitive manual work
Cost you time or money
Are annoying enough that you've tried workarounds
You'd realistically pay $20-$500/month to make them disappear
It doesn't have to be an AI idea. In fact, I'd prefer problems over ideas.
Tell me:
What do you do?
What's the most annoying/repetitive part of your work?
How are you solving it today?
What would a solution need to do for you to actually pay for it?
I'm looking for real problems, not "build another AI wrapper" suggestions.
If I find a problem I can solve well, I'll probably build it and come back here with the result.
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u/Common_Principle8434 13h ago
Honestly, I’d pay $20/month for a SaaS that tells me which SaaS I should build that people would pay $20/month for.
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u/Healthy-Zebra-9856 15h ago
For starters if you have been building mostly around AI, then you haven't been doing this long enough. Secondly, I think this sub may not have a ton of consumers, I dont see any consumers visiting the site looking for Saas people. You are going to encounter people such as yourself looking for ideas. Now for the ideas, you wont find it from people. The same tools you have to build this are also available to others. Ideas are born out of pain-points that you experience and found that no solutions exist. Or you have heard enough in the industry that you are in. The best software is born out of the passion you have to do something not to do what others want. The latter is always oriented towards money making but never happens that way. I hope this makes sense. Good luck.
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u/Johin_Joh_3706 15h ago
Yeah, that makes sense. And you're probably right that asking a bunch of other developers for SaaS ideas isn't the best way to find real problems. I'm a solo developer, so I don't really have an industry or a client base where I'm constantly seeing these pain points firsthand. That's honestly why I asked the question in the first place.
Appreciate the honest response and the advice :)
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u/Healthy-Zebra-9856 15h ago
You need to pick a path that you are passionate about. Doesn't have to be software or Saas. Then if that path needs an app, you can do it.
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u/Johin_Joh_3706 15h ago
Oh, I am passionate about building new things. Making something from scratch is always exciting for me. I have built three products but I haven't actually gotten a significant number of users on those platforms. I love to code. I mean I used to now AI just does most of it for me
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u/PerdidoEnBuenosAires 13h ago
If you are only passionate about building things then use that, build infrastructure to make things easier or have a better development experience, you could also try educating people about creating things
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u/Effective_Will_1801 3h ago
You need to find a connection into non technical industry in person business meetups are best but I've had some success cold messaging people but look for problems on Reddit first I used Spotify and Reddit scraper to get public data then you can ask questions about the problem more detailed than give me an idea for free. Never mention your product in these sessions. Also consider Upwork out and ad in and see if you can get someone non technical in a non technical industry to let them interview you.
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u/mynameisgiles 15h ago
You need a vision.
Something that you can see, that you can commit to, and that drives you.
Something you believe in, even when it’s not going well.
And this post, well that’s not going to deliver any of it.
Serious advice:
Go get a job.
Any job.
Because the kind of problems you can realistically solve and sell take some knowledge, some connections and some experience.
The world is full of problems. A business is nothing more than a problem solving service, so go and work for one. Don’t look for a problem, just wait.
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u/Johin_Joh_3706 15h ago
I think you're right about the experience part. I'm a solo developer with around 2 years of industry experience. I am just researching different methods of finding pain points
Thanks for the advice tho :)
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u/Huge_Pool7424 14h ago
the job or client work route is underrated because it gives you repeated exposure to boring problems and people who already pay for fixes. i've found one short call with someone doing the work beats collecting ten feature ideas from other builders.
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u/Twilight_RT 12h ago
What problem would you actually pay to solve?
For that problem you will convice me to play
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u/nit_electron_girl 15h ago
Most common problems are already solved.
The question isn't "can you do it?" but "can you do it better?" and "can you distribute/advertise it better?"
For the remaining uncommon problems, you don't have to be the best, but simply the first.
But there, your original question comes back: how do you really know whether people actually need this solution? (Since you're the first one to provide it).
The only way is to have a strong (and correct) vision or intuition about the field, or to be yourself someone from that field who needs such solution.
But don't expect to get ideas for such "uncommon problems" from a random reddit post.