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I don’t understand what the opportunities for startups are these days. Anyone know? I feel like the world doesn’t need more saas companies or otherwise you’re

I don’t understand what the opportunities for startups are these days. Anyone know? I feel like the world doesn’t need more saas companies or otherwise you’re doing a chatgpt api company.

boondoggle16 4y ago
A lot of b2b opportunities. Yes, more saas companies are needed, in niche markets. Lots more saas companies, lots more value to build.
- throwaw12 4y ago
  any examples? At this point, it seems everything has been already build (saying as a person who only worked in IT and don't have visibility on other industries, but would like to get some)
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - unity1001 4y ago
    Everything was already built in 2005. It turned out that the more things are already built, the more things people build, and that requires building even more things on top of it...
  - esafak 4y ago
    Are you saying you think we are living in the best possible world and you see nothing to improve? Many people feel otherwise, and they are the ones launching companies.
- ghaff 4y ago
  I think that's probably right. A ton of B2B opportunities in market niches that aren't well-served today. (Or could be served better.) I assume a lot of people would consider that boring but a well-targeted B2B coming from people who really understand the market space has a lot better odds than becoming the next B2C company that everyone is talking about.
- danenania 4y ago
  New companies create new workflows. New workflows create new problems, which become opportunities for new companies. New companies create new workflows, which create new problems...
steve_adams_86 4y ago
There are still a lot of “boring” apps to build for regular people, I think. The classic problem of everything being in spreadsheets or tracked with paper and a clipboard is still totally real. You won’t be the next Google, it isn’t glorious, but it’s a viable and genuinely valuable way to build a business still. One of the largest and more obvious examples in recent years was logistics. I’ve worked with a couple companies focused on this (as a contractor), and they make a lot of money from their customers by actually saving them considerably more money. One was specifically targeted at waste pickup and disposal businesses because their schedules, routes, and other variables were dramatically different from transportation of goods for example. Then there’s a company like Roofr. They make it so SMB roofers can run their business more efficiently, generate more accurate quotes faster, and incorporate technologies like aerial drone photography to get quotes together far more professionally and correctly. Construction is a huge part of North America’s GDPs, so there’s a lot of money to be made in these niches. I put boring in quotes because I think our industry is less excited about software like this, but I actually enjoy it a lot. I love highly focused and well-crafted software that makes a genuine difference for people who are otherwise not focused on using technology. It’s a way that software can actually improve work for people so I get a kick out of it. The feedback loop with customers tends to be tight and high quality too, so you can iterate quickly and make something awesome. This can be harder in the pure tech space, in my experience.
- strongpigeon 3y ago
  Lots of small/medium opportunities in "unbundling Excel" indeed.
- CoastalCoder 3y ago
  That's very cool. Also, I'd expect tight feedback cycles when all of my customers carry a nail gun :)
slap_shot 4y ago
This sounds like the modern version of the apocryphal 1902 quote of Charles Holland Duell (Patent Office Commissioner): "Everything that can be invented has been invented" The economic climate has changed, but there are more problems to be solved today than ever before.
- twalla 4y ago
  I'll do you one better. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
sheepybloke 3y ago
A lot of the harder problem startups are still out there. Space, climate tech, etc. are still growing and hiring!
jvanderbot 3y ago
Robotics (not autonomous road vehicle necessarily). Some hot defense. Those areas are thriving.
JohnFen 3y ago
Startups aren't limited to SaaS or AI work at all. Most startups are neither.

I don’t understand what the opportunities for startups are these days. Anyone know? I feel like the world doesn’t need more saas companies or otherwise you’re doing a chatgpt api company.

boondoggle16 4y ago

A lot of b2b opportunities. Yes, more saas companies are needed, in niche markets. Lots more saas companies, lots more value to build.

throwaw12 4y ago
any examples? At this point, it seems everything has been already build (saying as a person who only worked in IT and don't have visibility on other industries, but would like to get some)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- unity1001 4y ago
  Everything was already built in 2005. It turned out that the more things are already built, the more things people build, and that requires building even more things on top of it...
- esafak 4y ago
  Are you saying you think we are living in the best possible world and you see nothing to improve? Many people feel otherwise, and they are the ones launching companies.
ghaff 4y ago
I think that's probably right. A ton of B2B opportunities in market niches that aren't well-served today. (Or could be served better.) I assume a lot of people would consider that boring but a well-targeted B2B coming from people who really understand the market space has a lot better odds than becoming the next B2C company that everyone is talking about.
danenania 4y ago
New companies create new workflows. New workflows create new problems, which become opportunities for new companies. New companies create new workflows, which create new problems...

steve_adams_86 4y ago

There are still a lot of “boring” apps to build for regular people, I think. The classic problem of everything being in spreadsheets or tracked with paper and a clipboard is still totally real. You won’t be the next Google, it isn’t glorious, but it’s a viable and genuinely valuable way to build a business still. One of the largest and more obvious examples in recent years was logistics. I’ve worked with a couple companies focused on this (as a contractor), and they make a lot of money from their customers by actually saving them considerably more money. One was specifically targeted at waste pickup and disposal businesses because their schedules, routes, and other variables were dramatically different from transportation of goods for example. Then there’s a company like Roofr. They make it so SMB roofers can run their business more efficiently, generate more accurate quotes faster, and incorporate technologies like aerial drone photography to get quotes together far more professionally and correctly. Construction is a huge part of North America’s GDPs, so there’s a lot of money to be made in these niches. I put boring in quotes because I think our industry is less excited about software like this, but I actually enjoy it a lot. I love highly focused and well-crafted software that makes a genuine difference for people who are otherwise not focused on using technology. It’s a way that software can actually improve work for people so I get a kick out of it. The feedback loop with customers tends to be tight and high quality too, so you can iterate quickly and make something awesome. This can be harder in the pure tech space, in my experience.

strongpigeon 3y ago
Lots of small/medium opportunities in "unbundling Excel" indeed.
CoastalCoder 3y ago
That's very cool. Also, I'd expect tight feedback cycles when all of my customers carry a nail gun :)

slap_shot 4y ago

This sounds like the modern version of the apocryphal 1902 quote of Charles Holland Duell (Patent Office Commissioner): "Everything that can be invented has been invented" The economic climate has changed, but there are more problems to be solved today than ever before.

twalla 4y ago
I'll do you one better. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

sheepybloke 3y ago

A lot of the harder problem startups are still out there. Space, climate tech, etc. are still growing and hiring!

jvanderbot 3y ago

Robotics (not autonomous road vehicle necessarily). Some hot defense. Those areas are thriving.

JohnFen 3y ago

Startups aren't limited to SaaS or AI work at all. Most startups are neither.