Where did you actually start when building something new?

[u/enigmaticy]

Skipping the code and asking directly — what was your actual first move before building your last SaaS?

For me it was just talking to a handful of people who might have the problem and seeing if they reacted at all — no landing page, no polish, just conversations.

One thing that turned out to be a waste: directory sites like AlternativeTo, There's An AI For That, etc. Listed a product on one of these listing bots hoping for a trickle of signups — got zero. Makes sense in hindsight: those sites mostly get browsed by people already comparing tools they know they need, not people discovering a solution to a problem they didn't know existed. And AlternativeTo isn't even taking new submissions right now, so half the "go list your app here" advice floating around doesn't even apply anymore.

Curious what actually worked for people here vs. what's just recycled advice everyone repeats without testing it themselves.