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Thanks for the advice, what you've said makes sense and is a much needed reality check. I'll try to figure out some ways to further niche it down. If you have

Thanks for the advice, what you've said makes sense and is a much needed reality check. I'll try to figure out some ways to further niche it down. If you have any advice on what angles pass this check I'd be happy to hear more about that.

chatmasta 2y ago
Off the top of my head, maybe look for industries that are highly regulated and rely on specialized software that isn’t part of the same “Google Docs / Notion / Slack” combination supported by every RAG provider. Then your story can be that you’re an on-premises intelligence layer on top of these specialized data sources. Industries like law, healthcare, architecture, construction, finance, might all be suitable candidates. I suggest you research those industries and make a list of their most used specialized software, which is unlikely to be connected already to a generic RAG solution. Then map out the industry size and participants: can you find some 10-50 employee companies to sell to? Locate their technology leaders (e.g. CTO or CIO) and ask them if you can do some user research for a product you think could help them (offer to compensate with a gift card). Prepare a list of questions, both specific and open-ended, and be prepared to have a discussion where you actively listen to them and probe deeper on their pain points. After the interview, ask to stay in touch and if they’d be interested in another session when you’ve developed a prototype they can play with. Take this as hard earned advice from someone who spent five years paying for the mistake of “do everything for everyone:” DO USER RESEARCH. Everybody says it, hardly anyone does it. It’s tempting to think you know better, but trust me, you do not. It is the absolute best way to spend your time now, to figure out who you can sell to and what exactly to build for them, so you do not waste time building features and connectors that nobody will ever use. Also, if you do it right, those user research subjects could eventually become your first customers.
- namanyayg 2y ago
  Thank you for the extremely valuable advice. I forgot to reply but I have been working on exactly this the last few days.

chatmasta 2y ago

Off the top of my head, maybe look for industries that are highly regulated and rely on specialized software that isn’t part of the same “Google Docs / Notion / Slack” combination supported by every RAG provider. Then your story can be that you’re an on-premises intelligence layer on top of these specialized data sources. Industries like law, healthcare, architecture, construction, finance, might all be suitable candidates. I suggest you research those industries and make a list of their most used specialized software, which is unlikely to be connected already to a generic RAG solution. Then map out the industry size and participants: can you find some 10-50 employee companies to sell to? Locate their technology leaders (e.g. CTO or CIO) and ask them if you can do some user research for a product you think could help them (offer to compensate with a gift card). Prepare a list of questions, both specific and open-ended, and be prepared to have a discussion where you actively listen to them and probe deeper on their pain points. After the interview, ask to stay in touch and if they’d be interested in another session when you’ve developed a prototype they can play with. Take this as hard earned advice from someone who spent five years paying for the mistake of “do everything for everyone:” DO USER RESEARCH. Everybody says it, hardly anyone does it. It’s tempting to think you know better, but trust me, you do not. It is the absolute best way to spend your time now, to figure out who you can sell to and what exactly to build for them, so you do not waste time building features and connectors that nobody will ever use. Also, if you do it right, those user research subjects could eventually become your first customers.

namanyayg 2y ago
Thank you for the extremely valuable advice. I forgot to reply but I have been working on exactly this the last few days.