I’m trying to choose what to build - here’s how I’m thinking about it (with ChatGPT)
8 months later 🫠, it’s time to work on my “Misogi.”
My husband has a problem. It’s called GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). He’s really into (one might say…obsessed) photography and goes into some real rabbit holes - on Youtube, on Reddit, on Facebook Marketplace. The idea behind GAS kind of reminds me of the “if you give a mouse a cookie” book. He bought a new film camera at the thrift store. BUT, the lens had mold. So then he had to buy a specific cleaner for it. Oh and he realized this camera only works with this type of flash. Oh but that flash is missing this part, so he had to find that one on FB marketplace. And wait this type of camera is only good for this light or this vibe, so he also needs to consider this type of camera with this different lens because we need variety here.
Anyways, you see what I mean. One thing leads to another, which leads to another.
Recently, he pointed the mirror back at me, and he’s not wrong. I have my own version of GAS - but not for (very expensive) gear, for tech knowledge. I’ve been quite a “tech knowledge consumer” over the past 15 years. Reading so many blog posts, listening to soooo many podcasts (My First Million, forever my OG), building at startups and big companies, supporting founders building while in my VC phase…
His point: I’ve consumed enough at this point to know what I’m doing - time to start creating.
I think I agree.
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So getting to it - this is what I’m thinking through as I evaluate ideas:
Type of business (and with that, what type of margin / scalability will come).
Ecomm would be fun (should I create new 36-piece educational puzzles for 2-4 year olds - like of planets, or maps? I was recently searching for this for my 4 year old and realized there are no good ones in market…) But, I know it generally has smaller margins and is just a brand awareness (read: pay a lot of money on advertising) game that I don’t know super intimately. So scratch this one.
Consulting. I’ve thought about this one and haven’t truly ruled it out yet but realistically I want something that scales beyond my hourly time. Sure it would be great to work with companies in need on product / strategy but this doesn’t exponentially scale. I work an hour, I make an hour’s pay. I work 2 hours, I make 2 hours’ pay. You get what I mean.
Software is really where I’m leaning. Not sure yet if it will end up being consumer or B2B. Consumer obviously way more fun (should I build something for moms or parents - since I am…intimately familiar with their problems?) or find a growing space I don’t know quite as well and hop onboard. I know roughly what it takes to build, maintain, and scale.
Ability to get off the ground with minimal capital. I don’t want to start something that is going to need VC funding. I want to start something with minimal capital ($10k of my own money or less) that just crushes it. Easy? Yes?
Problem spaces and target audiences. I started a project in ChatGPT to use as a sounding board / “thought partner.” Talked to it for 15 minutes first while on a walk with my newborn and gave it my career background. Then did a bit more of interview style conversation so it could learn more about me and where I may have expertise and want to lean in. We’ve landed on a few B2B software ideas for now targeting growing industries and a few others targeting areas that have some opening opportunities due to recent-ish legislation changes.
I have a friend who’s also working on a new project and vibe coding it all. (Do I love or hate that term? Can’t decide.) AI tools helped him get his landing page off the ground and he’s starting to run ads soon. I know this sounds obvious, but I’m such a product person this was a good reminder for me to do this “painted door test” first before spending so much time / money building the product without having validated demand.
Next step: pick one idea, test it fast, and stop hiding behind my own version of GAS.