Episode 854 | How to Find Startup Ideas (Sneak Peek Chapter from My New Book)

Where do the best SaaS ideas actually come from?

In this episode, Rob reads a chapter from his new book, Idea to Traction: Stop Building SaaS Nobody Wants in the Age of AI. He walks through the five places problems tend to show up, eight strategic approaches for finding and shaping a product idea (with real examples), and when it makes sense to replicate an existing idea.

Pre-order the hardback before November 10th to get bonus PDFs, a seat in a live Q&A to ask your early stage questions, and a free copy of the ebook or audiobook ideatotractionbook.com.

Topics we cover:

(1:41) – Why Rob wrote Idea to Traction

(3:29) – What the new book covers

(6:03) – Pre-order bonuses and live Q&A

(7:32) – Chapter three: how to find startup ideas

(9:09) – Solve a problem, not a moonshot

(10:34) – Five places problems come from

(12:52) – Approach 1: Translate an idea to a new niche

(13:50) – Approach 2: Find a hated competitor

(14:57) – Approach 3: Build on your audience

(16:04) – Approach 4: Build on your network

(16:50) – Approach 5: Undercut a clunky enterprise competitor

(17:49) – Approach 6: Enter a fast-growing ecosystem

(19:15) – Approach 7: Build on an existing product

(20:13) – Approach 8: Audit your day job spending

(21:20) – Can you replicate an existing idea?

Links from the show:

Idea to Traction: Stop Building SaaS Nobody Wants in the Age of AI

Start Small, Stay Small

The SaaS Playbook

MicroConf

State of Independent SaaS Report

TinySeed

The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping

Derek Sivers

Jason Cohen

Basecamp

WP Engine

Builder Prime

Bidsketch

SignWell

SparkToro

ScrapingBee

ScatterSpoke

Clarity.fm

DealForma

ScoutDNS

Baremetrics

StaticKit

SavvyCal

Seriously Simple Podcasting / Castos

CartHook

If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

Subscribe & Review: