How to come up with SaaS product ideas?
If you want to start building as a solo SaaS builder, for whatever reason - financial independence, joy of indie hacking, learning new things - you might not necessarily have an idea yet.
Finding the right idea can be as challenging as building the product itself.
However, by setting the right habits, you can start surfacing opportunities that might be your next venture.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to put a system in place to come up with ideas consistently.
1. Start noticing problems
What is an interesting idea for a SaaS builder?
Well, it solves a problem. So, if you want to come up with ideas, you need to become really good at identifying problems.
And the first step towards that is to start observing more.
Get in the habit of silent analysis, asking yourself why things are happening the way they are. If you see something that isn't optimal: make a mental note of it, and try to understand it.
We individually experience a lot of friction points during the course of our lives - it might be small, it might be really annoying, either way: notice it.
Careful - it might turn you into a bitter person! Just keep it to yourself, but start judging silently and asking yourself the right questions.
Action items:
- Whenever you feel annoyed about something, take a moment to think about why - and keep asking yourself why until you've identified the root cause
- When you witness a situation that is not ideal, whether you are the main protagonist or someone else is experiencing issues, take notice and try to identify why the situation is happening
2. Leave room for day dreaming
Your brain needs to breathe.
If you're constantly doing stuff, striving for maximum productivity, there is no more room for creativity.
You need to let your mind wander - that's how your brain will make important connections that will result in clever ideas.
A good way to do this is to incorporate into your routine quiet time, for example going on a walk, or taking a long bath.
It might not be something you schedule regularly, if you're like me and you don't like routines, you can also just let yourself unwind from time to time by having large blocks of time where you don't have anything planned.
Action items:
- Get some quiet time alone at least 2-3 times a week
- Don't fill your week-ends with activities
- Go on long walks (20+ minutes) regularly
3. Document every idea
If you start doing the above and let your brain come up with ideas, jot them down as soon as they pop into your head.
No idea is too small or silly to record. You never know which thought might evolve into a viable SaaS solution.
Make it a habit to write down every idea that comes to mind, regardless of its current feasibility or scope.
Action items:
- Use tools like a note-taking app or a simple notebook to capture your ideas on the go
- Regularly read your ideas and centralize them somewhere
4. Dedicate time for brainstorming
Innovation often requires intentional effort. Once you have a bunch of notes and random ideas, schedule regular sessions to review them and dive a little deeper.
In these sessions, you should first describe in details everything you have in mind for a given idea, then try and structure it.
You can also spend time researching the idea and start thinking about feasibility, the technology you'd want to use, potential competitors, etc.
This might make you come up with alternative ideas and discard things that are not worth pursuing.
Action items:
- Set a recurring (ideally weekly) appointment with yourself specifically for brainstorming, treating it as you would any important business meeting
- Equip yourself with the right tools: pens, colorful markers, sticky notes - whatever works to structure your thoughts
5. Build & try new things
Going back to point 1), the best way to come up with ideas is to notice problems. If you never do anything special, you're unlikely to find uncommon problems nobody has thought of solving before.
Get out of your comfort zone, start building apps, pick up new hobbies, do things that not everyone does. That is how you will run into new friction points, and that will give your brain something to think about.
Action items:
- Try out a new hobby or technology
- Build prototypes for your ideas regularly
Coming up with SaaS product ideas isn't an exact science, it's not something that can really be taught, it's more about opportunity.
Your goal is to create as many opportunities as possible to identify potential ideas and refine them.
By changing your mindset and putting a simple system in place, you can create the right conditions to start coming up with interesting ideas.
And remember, your brain is like a muscle - the more you use it to do something, the better it becomes at it. So even if at first it might seem difficult to notice problems and find potential solutions, it will get easier and easier.
And if you're anything like me, the problem will then not be finding ideas, but deciding which one to work on first!
Once you have identified ideas - go through our checklist to make sure they're worth pursuing.