I’ve noticed most good business ideas don’t come from what people say they want. They come from what they already pay for but don’t talk about much. Sometimes they don’t even realize what annoys them until something better exists.
When I try to come up with an idea, I usually skip Reddit or “idea threads.” The people who will buy rarely post there anyway, especially with all the moderation and noise now.
Instead, I use Google itself as my idea validation tool.
For example, if I wanted to build something like a lightweight error-monitoring tool, I’d just start typing “lightweight error…” into Google and look at autocomplete. That’s literally showing what real people are searching for right now. Those are small clues about pain points.
Then comes step two: understanding customers and competitors.
I usually divide both into two groups:
Big companies already use heavy, feature-packed tools that I can’t outbuild alone. So I focus on the indie side, people who just want something fast, uncluttered, and affordable.
I check what they’re currently using, list the main features, and then talk to a few of them if possible. The goal is to find what 90% of them actually care about, not every tiny feature.
If I can nail one or two core features better than the rest, and keep it simple and cheaper, I’ve got something worth shipping.
It’s not a fancy framework, just a practical way to spot a gap:
Google → Observe → Narrow audience → Outshine the core feature.
That’s basically how I think about finding ideas that work.