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Most individuals constructing with AI are chasing the identical factor: viral chatbots, cool demos or the subsequent trending wrapper. However I feel the actual cash — the intense, unicorn-level cash — is some other place completely.
It is within the stuff no person needs to the touch. Tedious, time-wasting, must-do duties. The stuff you hate doing, however must. That is the place the subsequent wave of AI firms will emerge.
Painful > fairly
AI that makes you chuckle is enjoyable. AI that will get your taxes filed, your Visa sorted or your paperwork organized? That is life-changing.
After I moved to the UK on a World Expertise visa, I could not discover a single device to trace my absence days — one thing essential for sustaining authorized standing. So I constructed it myself. To not exhibit. Simply to unravel an issue I used to be quietly freaking out about.
That is the sort of “boring” downside most individuals overlook. But when it causes stress, repetition or concern — it is precious.
There’s extra money in fixing one painful workflow than chasing 100 likes on a elaborate AI-generated avatar.
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The extra annoying it’s, the larger the chance
Scheduling medical appointments. Submitting invoices. Choosing wines from a 40-page restaurant listing. These aren’t attractive issues. However they’re all over the place, and nobody enjoys coping with them.
I’ve constructed apps that maintain these precise eventualities. Some had been easy facet initiatives, however they solved issues that folks repeatedly run into. That is the magic formulation.
In a chunk I wrote earlier — 7 AI-Based mostly Enterprise Concepts That Might Make You Wealthy — I identified that essentially the most worthwhile concepts are sometimes hiding in plain sight. That is one other instance of that.
No group? No downside.
The instruments out there now are ridiculous. With GPT-4o, Supabase, Vercel and Claude, I’ve launched whole merchandise in every week — solo.
No designers. No backend engineers. Only a painful thought, an AI stack and some cups of espresso.
I am not the one one. I’ve seen one-person outlets construct apps that handle residence leases, prep authorized docs and even coach you thru IVF. They’re quiet instruments with unflashy interfaces, however they’re deeply helpful.
For those who’re a founder at present, your MVP does not have to be spectacular — it simply must make somebody’s headache disappear.
Construct for Tuesday, not for tech Twitter
Among the smartest founders I do know aren’t even making an attempt to go viral. They’re constructing for Tuesdays — for that one downside that hits at 4:00 p.m. if you’re caught in a bureaucratic loop and want somebody (or one thing) to deal with it for you.
And this is the kicker: The extra boring the issue, the much less competitors you will have. AI founders are nonetheless chasing novelty. That is your benefit.
This text on neglected metaverse jobs made an analogous level: There is a fortune in locations folks ignore.
Boring does not imply small
For those who instructed somebody a decade in the past that accounting automation or AI-powered scheduling instruments could be billion-dollar firms, they’d in all probability chuckle.
Now these instruments run quietly within the background of just about each enterprise.
The lesson: Do not construct for applause. Construct for reduction. In case your product makes somebody breathe simpler, saves them time or reduces stress — they’re going to pay for it.
Even when they by no means tweet about it.
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Boring instruments can nonetheless construct billion-dollar firms
For those who want proof, have a look at Expensify. It began by fixing one factor: making expense stories much less painful. It isn’t thrilling, not revolutionary — simply helpful. No person desires about scanning receipts, however thousands and thousands of individuals must do it.
Now Expensify processes billions in transactions. All as a result of it made one annoying activity simpler.
Similar story with Calendly, which killed the back-and-forth of scheduling. DocuSign, which eliminated the ache of printing and scanning contracts. UiPath, which constructed a large enterprise by automating workplace duties.
None of those had been flashy, however they fastened one thing folks take care of on daily basis. That is what makes them work.
For those who’re constructing with AI, overlook the hype. Search for the issues folks quietly endure by way of. Those they by no means speak about publicly, however take care of continuously. That is the place the perfect concepts dwell.
Boring is not a weak point. Boring is a enterprise mannequin.
You do not want a revolutionary thought. You simply must make one annoying factor go away.
If you are able to do that, it will not matter the way it seems. It’s going to promote.
Most individuals constructing with AI are chasing the identical factor: viral chatbots, cool demos or the subsequent trending wrapper. However I feel the actual cash — the intense, unicorn-level cash — is some other place completely.
It is within the stuff no person needs to the touch. Tedious, time-wasting, must-do duties. The stuff you hate doing, however must. That is the place the subsequent wave of AI firms will emerge.
Painful > fairly
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