How to Find a Great Idea for Your Own SaaS Application

Every successful SaaS starts with solving a specific problem. Instead of beginning with what you think is a “brilliant” idea, first make sure you’re addressing a real pain point for real users. Look around you — identify a person or an industry struggling with a clear, costly issue. Ideally, find someone you know personally who has this problem — that way, you can talk openly and truly understand their needs. Whether it’s an accountant struggling with manual reporting or a small company drowning in project management chaos — tangible, painful problems are the best source of SaaS ideas that people will gladly pay to have solved.

Remember: originality is often overrated. You don’t have to invent something the world has never seen before. Quite the opposite — if similar tools already exist and make money, that’s a sign there’s demand. You can safely draw inspiration from existing solutions and do it better, or target a narrower niche. One micro-SaaS founder once said: “I shamelessly copied other people’s ideas. I looked for tools that already worked — and built the same thing.” That approach eventually led him to create his own app generating $400/month in passive income. This doesn’t mean plagiarizing — it means finding validated market needs. It’s far better to compete in a market where customers already exist than to build something completely new that nobody might want.

So, pick a specific niche — a defined industry or group of people who share a common problem. By solving one problem for one group, you dramatically increase your chances of success — it’s easier to craft your marketing message and tailor your product features. Once you’ve identified a real pain point and a clear niche, you’re ready to take your first step toward building your own SaaS application.

If you’d like to learn how I personally find ideas for profitable SaaS products, consider joining my complete online training — SaaS Application School, where I show step by step how a developer can build a profitable SaaS business (from the first line of code to the first 100 paying customers).