
Ask HN: How can I find a SaaS project to build? - whamlastxmas
 I&#x27;m a software developer and I want to make a SaaS product. I&#x27;ve reached out on reddit asking for someone to partner with who has:<p>* A SaaS idea that is solving a proven pain point for SMBs&#x2F;SMEs<p>* At least one customer who is ready to pay for it<p>* The capability of selling the software and is in a position to get customers for it<p>I&#x27;ve posted a couple times and haven&#x27;t been able to find anything. Am I asking for too much?<p>It seems very difficult to find software to build that is actually solving a problem for people. There&#x27;s a million me-too-social-media-platforms, projects that are re-inventing existing software that is serving its domain just fine, or ideas that simply have no real plan for gaining users (other than spending hundreds of thousands on advertising to take users from other platforms) or have no real way to demonstrate or gauge the potential demand.<p>The issue seems to be, at least partially, that the niche problems I&#x27;m looking for require expertise in some industry that barely anyone in the general public has given any thought to - for example, I&#x27;ve read about someone who had success in building software for doggy daycares. I&#x27;d have no idea this is a problem needing solving unless I operated or owned a doggy daycare.<p>How can I find a project to work on that has reasonable evidence to show its need&#x2F;demand?
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mindcrime
_Am I asking for too much?_

Probably, yeah. And the way you're asking is probably wrong as well. Assuming
your other posts are like the ones you've made here, you seem to be making a
couple of critical assumptions about the people you're soliciting, among them:

1\. They know who you are, or have any reason to care what you're looking for.

2\. They don't already have somebody building their thing for them.

3\. And if they don't, that they have any reason to think you're a qualified
partner to work with

I mean, if I'm Joe Business Guy and you show up on a forum and make the
statements you've made above, my first reaction is probably going to be "Who
the fuck is this guy, and where does he get off making demands here when he
has no credibility or reputation?"

I'd suggest a strategy of engaging with the communities you're soliciting
among, get to know people, demonstrate value, probe gently to see what people
are interested in working on, and then suggest working together when there are
clear signs of a good match. Think of it kinda like dating. Imagine if you
posted on a forum saying

"Hey, I'm Joe Random Anonymous Suitor and I'm looking for a wife with a
demonstrated track record of good cooking, and a sizable dowry. Must be from a
good family, and ready to marry and have kids." Do you think that would net a
lot of responses? Yeah, it's just a metaphor, but think about it...

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whamlastxmas
I do include more information on those posts about my experience (nearly 20
years worth) and I provide and talk through my resume with the calls I have.

I agree that it seems I need to engage in communities more, and probably ones
that are in-person

~~~
mindcrime
Ah, OK. That is good to hear.

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CyberFonic
My guess would be that the people you are trying to reach are not reading
reddit nor Hacker News.

In my experience, typical business folks are too busy running their business
to look beyond their everyday problems. I have lost count the number of times
I have come across people using a spreadsheet program as a form of database,
e.g. for keeping track of customers and email as a hierarchical filing
systems, etc.

Perhaps you should read: "eMyth". The basic message is that most people are
working "in" their business and not "on" their business. Which in turn means
that only a tiny percentage of business owners would be even thinking about
looking for some form of improvement.

Lest I sound too negative. My advice is to get up from the computer and go and
talk to small business people, e.g. networking events, chambers of commerce,
etc.

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whamlastxmas
I agree this is likely a large contributing factor. I've done the whole
networking thing a lot before and it's tremendously time consuming with very
little to show for it. But I guess that's probably largely my fault in
addition to probably going to the wrong sorts of networking opportunities

~~~
CyberFonic
I agree networking events generally consume a great deal of time.

Perhaps you could try to be a more strategic. That is, at least get an idea of
what your idea client / collaborator would be like. For example, if you are
interested in health and fitness, then make contact with SMEs who have gyms,
sports stores, provide boot camps, etc. Still on that same track, google to
find some forums and directories and find out who might be interested in your
area.

Ok, sport and fitness might not be your ideal, but the same principles apply
to any general area. I firmly believe that you need to build up an interest in
a specific domain/industry in order to find opportunities. The recommendation
to scratch your own itch leads us to build stuff for other hackers/programmers
and thus end up in a small and over-crowded market.

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clintonb
Your post is literally a problem that you have, and could potentially solve
with a SaaS. Turn your question around and ask yourself: what problems do I
have that could be solved with a SaaS?

