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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 believe the actual cash — the intense, unicorn-level cash — is someplace else fully.
It is within the stuff no one needs to the touch. Tedious, time-wasting, must-do duties. The belongings you hate doing, however must. That is the place the subsequent wave of AI corporations will emerge.
Painful > fairly
AI that makes you snort 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 instrument 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 form of “boring” drawback most individuals overlook. But when it causes stress, repetition or worry — it is precious.
There’s more cash 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. Selecting wines from a 40-page restaurant record. These aren’t horny issues. However they’re all over the place, and nobody enjoys coping with them.
I’ve constructed apps that deal with these actual situations. Some had been easy aspect initiatives, however they solved issues that folks repeatedly run into. That is the magic components.
In a chunk I wrote earlier — 7 AI-Based mostly Enterprise Concepts That May 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 drawback.
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 concept, an AI stack and some cups of espresso.
I am not the one one. I’ve seen one-person outlets construct apps that handle house leases, prep authorized docs and even coach you thru IVF. They’re quiet instruments with unflashy interfaces, however they’re deeply helpful.
If you happen to’re a founder as we speak, your MVP does not must be spectacular — it simply must make somebody’s headache disappear.
Construct for Tuesday, not for tech Twitter
A number of the smartest founders I do know aren’t even attempting to go viral. They’re constructing for Tuesdays — for that one drawback that hits at 4:00 p.m. while you’re caught in a bureaucratic loop and wish somebody (or one thing) to deal with it for you.
And here is the kicker: The extra boring the issue, the much less competitors you may have. AI founders are nonetheless chasing novelty. That is your benefit.
This text on neglected metaverse jobs made an identical level: There is a fortune in locations individuals ignore.
Boring doesn’t suggest small
If you happen to advised somebody a decade in the past that accounting automation or AI-powered scheduling instruments can be billion-dollar corporations, they’d in all probability snort.
Now these instruments run quietly within the background of just about each enterprise.
The lesson: Do not construct for applause. Construct for aid. 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 corporations
If you happen to want proof, have a look at Expensify. It began by fixing one factor: making expense experiences much less painful. It isn’t thrilling, not revolutionary — simply helpful. No one desires about scanning receipts, however tens of millions of individuals must do it.
Now Expensify processes billions in transactions. All as a result of it made one annoying process simpler.
Identical 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 mounted one thing individuals take care of day-after-day. That is what makes them work.
If you happen to’re constructing with AI, overlook the hype. Search for the issues individuals quietly endure by way of. Those they by no means discuss publicly, however take care of continuously. That is the place the most effective concepts stay.
Boring is not a weak spot. Boring is a enterprise mannequin.
You do not want a revolutionary concept. You simply have to make one annoying factor go away.
If you are able to do that, it will not matter the way it appears. 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 believe the actual cash — the intense, unicorn-level cash — is someplace else fully.
It is within the stuff no one needs to the touch. Tedious, time-wasting, must-do duties. The belongings you hate doing, however must. That is the place the subsequent wave of AI corporations will emerge.
Painful > fairly
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