Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#1

Post by redmaple » Mon, May 27, 2019, 1:27 PM UTC

I want to build a revenue generating project but not sure how to find an idea and customers for it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Re: Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#2

Post by ziddoap » Mon, May 27, 2019, 1:30 PM UTC

My advice would be to not worry about getting advice about customers until you have a solid idea and execution plan. No need to put the cart in front of the horse.

Identify a need in a community, build a product around that need.

Re: Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#3

Post by verdverm » Mon, May 27, 2019, 3:32 PM UTC

Scratch your own itch. What is something you want to do, or be done, differently?

I'm a dev and got tired of boilerplate code and refactoring, among many other things. So I built something that makes me 10X+ more productive. Now looking for users and customers.

Re: Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#4

Post by nellypat » Mon, May 27, 2019, 4:04 PM UTC

You could also find something that is not being done perfectly or it is dominated by one player but has potential for niche expansion. Random example: accounting software for dry cleaners...

Re: Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#5

Post by kayhi » Mon, May 27, 2019, 4:08 PM UTC

Find forums that are industry specific and read about their questions/problems

Re: Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#6

Post by sontek » Mon, May 27, 2019, 5:29 PM UTC

Work at a business and look for problems within it that aren’t being solved. This can be inefficient processes that could be solved with software or replacing vendors you’re unhappy about with a better solution.

You won’t be able to find a B2B problem from the outside. You need to be inside and observe. If you pay attention you’ll find a ton of business ideas.

Re: Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#7

Post by agforthree » Mon, May 27, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

kayhi wrote: post #5

Find forums that are industry specific and read about their questions/problems

Any examples in the bank/fintech space?

Re: Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#8

Post by krb » Mon, May 27, 2019, 6:01 PM UTC

agforthree wrote: post #7

kayhi wrote: post #5

Find forums that are industry specific and read about their questions/problems

Any examples in the bank/fintech space?

Who is your target customer in the space? There will be different spaces based on if you're targeting the CTO vs CMO, for example.

Re: Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#9

Post by newman8r » Mon, May 27, 2019, 10:03 PM UTC

sontek wrote: post #6

Work at a business and look for problems within it that aren’t being solved. This can be inefficient processes that could be solved with software or replacing vendors you’re unhappy about with a better solution. You won’t be able to find a B2B problem from the outside. You need to be inside and observe. If you pay attention you’ll find a ton of business ideas.

Also, you can make a list of every job you've had in the past, and see if you can recall the inefficiencies you or others encountered.

Re: Ask HN: How to get a B2B SaaS idea, and get cutomers?

#10

Post by smt88 » Mon, May 27, 2019, 11:03 PM UTC

Get the customers first. They could be family members in a certain industry, coworkers, friends, etc.

Then ask them what they'd pay for if you built it. If it's scalable and cashflow positive, you have a business. If not, you don't.