May 8, 2026
Build the thing that reduces a real headache
The best product ideas are usually not sexy. They come from repeated pain: lost follow-ups, messy spreadsheets, unclear processes, duplicated work, and decisions nobody can trace.
Sexy vs repeated
Sexy ideas get likes on social feeds. Repeated pain gets renewals. The second category sounds boring: another export, another reminder, another view that shows what actually shipped last week.
That boredom is often the signal. If the same complaint shows up in three client calls, three support threads, or three of your own Fridays, you are looking at a product candidate.
Signals you found a real problem
People already pay to patch the gap: consultants, spreadsheets, VA hours, or a Frankenstein of Zapier and Notion.
They can describe the failure in plain language without your prompt.
The workaround is expensive in time, not just annoyance.
When I built tools around Supabase usage and career workflows, the trigger was not “AI is hot.” It was watching the same manual reconciliation and the same confused handoffs happen again.
Boring wins compound
Boring products are easier to explain, easier to support, and easier to improve incrementally. They also attract fewer copycats who only chase trends.
How to apply it
- Keep a running list of pains you or clients repeat; tag frequency, not flair.
- Ask what people pay today to avoid the pain—even if the answer is “my time.”
- Prototype the workaround, not the vision video.
- Ship to one narrow buyer; expand only when the headache is validated in their words.