Writing · Blog
An Idea Phase
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I constantly have ideas for new projects to build. I do a good job at noting them down and digging deeper into some.
Here are some of the ideas i've dug into recently and categorized by how they come up.
Each with a note about what what I like about an idea and what I don't like.
I recently created a profile on YC Co Founder matching platform. It's like tinder but for founders looking to build startups. I haven't been proactively matching but rather just responding to people who match with me and want to talk. I've gone back and forth with a handful of people and hopped on a call with several. Doing this has given me a lot of great exposure to new ideas. Here are some of the ideas that have come as a result of conversations from the yc co founder platform.
The idea: AI "before and after" photos for Botox and filler treatments, sold as lead-gen software to medspas.
What I like: It's a clear B2B niche in a growing vertical. Visuals sell, and this one practically markets itself.
What I don't: The market feels capped—only about 10,000 medspa practices in the U.S. That limits upside unless you go global or horizontal.
The idea: Upload photos (car, hairline, teeth, living room, porch) and get back hyper-realistic outcomes powered by LLMs and diffusion models. This was inspired by the previous idea (ai images for medspa lead conversion).
What I like: I've seen firsthand how visual "what ifs" drive action—people want to see transformation.
What I don't: It's an execution game now. Picking the right vertical and building trust into the visual results is everything.
The idea: AI-Powered OS for Insurance Agents (pitched by co founder)
What I like: Big TAM/SAM. It's relevant to my experience at Podium building SoR/SoA for HVAC. Potentially great co-founder.
What I don't: Regulated industry mean compliance is a must. Likely to require Venture Capital.
AI-Powered OS for Insurance Agents Doc
The idea: A money coach over text that keeps couples aligned. This idea stemmed from research into budeting apps while also being conscience of our family's monthly spend. I looked into this extensively and even ran a paid survey that taught me a lot.
What I like: The problem is clear and obvious. Come couple are very bad at talking about money. There's a reason money is the number one cause for divorce.
What I don't: B2C space. My intended solution would be hard to earn trust.
Money Coach Research Doc PickFu Survey Results
And then there are ideas that come from my Job at podium where I'm building software for home service businesses.
The idea: Use MLS data to automate workflows for real estate agents (alerts, reports, prospecting, etc.) this idea stemmed from a conversation around how hvac business would value MLS data that helps understand a property's hvac equiptment.
What I like: I actually have access through my mom, which gives me a rare starting point.
What I don't: Agents are bombarded with tools. And the data's tightly regulated—hard to repurpose outside real estate.
Sometimes when I'm low on ideas that excite me, I end up down a rabbit hole of talking to AI about what I'm good at and what things I lack. These ideas are usually born out of desperation and self reflection.
The idea: Build a plugin or automation inside Monday.com—leverage their marketplace and built-in distribution.
What I like: Distribution is the hardest part of building a SaaS. Monday has users ready to try new tools and the platform undersaturated.
What I don't: I barely know the platform yet. I'd have to immerse myself before building something worth launching.
The idea: Get back into selling products via Amazon. Identify problems, create phyical products, build offers. It's an on platform SEO game.
What I like: I'm familar with the processes. It scales. Distribution is built in.
What I don't: It's a numbers game. 25% of product will win. Chinese rip offs. It's not novel. Requires some upfront money for inventory.
On a more personal note, there are problem I notice in my life that have potential to be solved and turned into a business. Here are some of those ideas.
The idea: A consumable product that helps regulate digestion and relieve constipation in kids.
What I like: We've lived this problem with our oldest child and it's real. Physical products scale well on the right platform.
What I don't: Regulation, manufacturing, logistics. And a drink alone doesn't solve the root problem.
The idea: A wearable mic that captures your daily life and kicks off automated workflows (summaries, reminders, journaling, etc.) via LLMs.
What I like: I want this. I'd wear it today if it existed. The idea of turning everyday conversation into action is powerful.
What I don't: OpenAI's already moving this direction with things like Pulse. Competing with them head-on might not be smart—but integrating with them might.
The idea: Try and leverage FB Marketplace's distrubtion power. I've seen close friends sell 300-400k worth of items through the platform.
What I like: Selling items on the platform works. There is TONS of attention.
What I don't: it's not built for products to scale. You have to love the flipping business of one-off items.
I've also considered ideas that would generate income faster like consulting or freelancing. These ideas usually come from the desire to have more monthly spending.
The idea: Offer development as a service since I'm a full stack engineer.
What I like: Make money fast. It's in my wheel house of skills.
What I don't: What I can earn would be capped to 5-10 hours per week. Not guarantee I could keep up.
The idea: Productized Service for Lead Gen. Lots of ideas in the space. To name a few -- Water damage, tatoo removal, and funeral homes.
What I like: Incentives are general aligned with these businesses. There is some scale.
What I don't: These require proficiency in marketing and sales. You have to convince clients to pay you and you have to be procient to deliver results.
These are ideas that come fro listening to our watching podcasts or Youtube. Thinkg MFM where they talk about ideas and frameworks. I'm easily influenced with new ideas from people I trust online.
The idea: Pumpkin Porch Decorating Playbook . I flushed out the opportuntiy pretty good with this.
What I like: D2D could close 1k proch decoration in affluent areas. Before and After image tech to sell. It's easy to communicate.
What I don't: It's seasonal and would take several years to build successfully. Plus I don't care to be known as the pumpkin guy. Better suited for someone else.
Pumpkin Porch Decorating Research
The idea: When an emloyee quits, have an Agent run an audit on every leading up to termination to determine root cause.
What I like: Distribution out the box. Helo businesses learn from their employee retention.
What I don't: I woudn't want this if I quit. Building in the open app space is very new.
Keeping a list like this help me prioritize what to build next.
It also helps me see what kind of problems are exciting and energizing.
I'm also learning what I don't want to build and why.
That's the whole point of the list.
And these are just some of the idea's that go through my head.