There’s a heartbreak every technical founder goes through. You ship something cool. You obsess over the UX, optimize the backend, deploy it with CI/CD magic.You open the browser. You wait for the flood of users. And… nothing. No signups. No retention. No investor interest. It’s not your fault. You’re building supply. But the market — and investors — only care about demand. The Real Startup Supply vs Demand Problem Startups live and die by demand. Not just user demand, but fundable, scalable demand — the kind investors chase with term sheets. Here’s the disconnect: What Coders Optimize For What Investors Look For Interesting tech problems Solving painful business problems MVPs that work fast Markets that scale fast Side projects that impress peers Startups that impress customers Clean architecture Clean CAC:LTV math Novelty Necessity Coders build what’s fun to build. Investors fund what people can’t live without. Are You Solving a Problem or Creating One? You don’t have to guess. Here’s a simple filter: Idea Tech Novelty Real Pain? Fundability AI meme generator High Low ❌ Smart grocery list app Medium Low ❌ Legal AI contract analyzer Medium High ✅ Infra tool to cut AWS spend Low High ✅ Social network for roommates Medium Medium ⚠️ Crowded The harsh truth? Most devs build stuff that’s cool. But investors bet on stuff that’s critical. What Investors Are Actually Funding Right Now You won’t find it on Hacker News, but here’s what VCs quietly want: AI copilots for niche workflows (think: finance, legal, logistics) Infra optimization tools (esp. those that cut cloud spend) Internal tool automation (e.g., replacing Excel + Slack workflows) Compliance, audit, FinOps, SecOps (boring = big TAM) “Unbundling Excel” for specific industries These aren’t sexy. But they hurt — and pain scales better than novelty. How to Actually Build What People Want Here’s the real playbook. Use this before writing a single line of code: 1. Talk to Users Before You Build Ask: What’s the most annoying part of your workflow? If they say “Oh god, don’t get me started,” you’re onto something. Reddit, Slack groups, LinkedIn — anywhere pain leaks out in public. 2. Look at Where Companies Are Hiring Check job boards. Look at roles that involve repetitive work, spreadsheets, or compliance.Those are startups hiding in plain sight. 3. Build for ROI, Not Eyeballs Investors love this phrase: “I save customers $X or Y hours per week.” If your tool does that, you don’t need to “go viral.” You can charge. 4. Stop Obsessing Over Originality Dropbox was the 10th file storage app. Notion is just Docs + Wiki. Your job is not to invent a new category — it’s to nail the execution. 5. MVP = Money Validation Prompt Don’t launch on Product Hunt first. Launch to five people who’d pay. If no one opens their wallet, it’s not a startup — it’s a dev exercise. Bonus: Use the "Demand Curve" Framework A visual way to think about startup ideas: ▲ HIGH | ⚡ Ideal startup zone ⚡ USER PAIN | (Boring but painful) | | LOW |__________________________ LOW TECH NOVELTY HIGH ➜ Aim for the top-left. Not the bottom-right. Final Thought: Code Is Supply, Pain Is Demand You don’t need to stop building fun side projects. But if you’re trying to raise money, or land paying users, you need to reframe.You’re not building “what’s possible.” You’re building “what’s painful.”Investors aren’t looking for clever — they’re looking for compelling. Great startups aren’t just well-coded. They’re well-timed, well-placed solutions to urgent, budgeted problems. Write code that reduces pain — not just code that runs well. There’s a heartbreak every technical founder goes through. You ship something cool. You obsess over the UX, optimize the backend, deploy it with CI/CD magic.You open the browser. You wait for the flood of users. And… nothing. No signups. No retention. No investor interest. It’s not your fault. You’re building supply. But the market — and investors — only care about demand. The Real Startup Supply vs Demand Problem Startups live and die by demand. Not just user demand, but fundable, scalable demand — the kind investors chase with term sheets. fundable, scalable demand Here’s the disconnect: What Coders Optimize For What Investors Look For Interesting tech problems Solving painful business problems MVPs that work fast Markets that scale fast Side projects that impress peers Startups that impress customers Clean architecture Clean CAC:LTV math Novelty Necessity What Coders Optimize For What Investors Look For Interesting tech problems Solving painful business problems MVPs that work fast Markets that scale fast Side projects that impress peers Startups that impress customers Clean architecture Clean CAC:LTV math Novelty Necessity What Coders Optimize For What Investors Look For What Coders Optimize For What Coders Optimize For What Coders Optimize For What Investors Look For What Investors Look For What Investors Look For Interesting tech problems Solving painful business problems Interesting tech problems Interesting tech problems Solving painful business problems Solving painful business problems MVPs that work fast Markets that scale fast MVPs that work fast MVPs that work fast Markets that scale fast Markets that scale fast Side projects that impress peers Startups that impress customers Side projects that impress peers Side projects that impress peers Startups that impress customers Startups that impress customers Clean architecture Clean CAC:LTV math Clean architecture Clean architecture Clean CAC:LTV math Clean CAC:LTV math Novelty Necessity Novelty Novelty Necessity Necessity Coders build what’s fun to build. Investors fund what people can’t live without. Are You Solving a Problem or Creating One? You don’t have to guess. Here’s a simple filter: Idea Tech Novelty Real Pain? Fundability AI meme generator High Low ❌ Smart grocery list app Medium Low ❌ Legal AI contract analyzer Medium High ✅ Infra tool to cut AWS spend Low High ✅ Social network for roommates Medium Medium ⚠️ Crowded Idea Tech Novelty Real Pain? Fundability AI meme generator High Low ❌ Smart grocery list app Medium Low ❌ Legal AI contract analyzer Medium High ✅ Infra tool to cut AWS spend Low High ✅ Social network for roommates Medium Medium ⚠️ Crowded Idea Tech Novelty Real Pain? Fundability Idea Idea Tech Novelty Tech Novelty Real Pain? Real Pain? Fundability Fundability AI meme generator High Low ❌ AI meme generator AI meme generator High High Low Low ❌ ❌ Smart grocery list app Medium Low ❌ Smart grocery list app Smart grocery list app Medium Medium Low Low ❌ ❌ Legal AI contract analyzer Medium High ✅ Legal AI contract analyzer Legal AI contract analyzer Medium Medium High High ✅ ✅ Infra tool to cut AWS spend Low High ✅ Infra tool to cut AWS spend Infra tool to cut AWS spend Low Low High High ✅ ✅ Social network for roommates Medium Medium ⚠️ Crowded Social network for roommates Social network for roommates Medium Medium Medium Medium ⚠️ Crowded ⚠️ Crowded The harsh truth? Most devs build stuff that’s cool . But investors bet on stuff that’s critical . cool critical What Investors Are Actually Funding Right Now You won’t find it on Hacker News, but here’s what VCs quietly want: AI copilots for niche workflows (think: finance, legal, logistics) Infra optimization tools (esp. those that cut cloud spend) Internal tool automation (e.g., replacing Excel + Slack workflows) Compliance, audit, FinOps, SecOps (boring = big TAM) “Unbundling Excel” for specific industries AI copilots for niche workflows (think: finance, legal, logistics) AI copilots Infra optimization tools (esp. those that cut cloud spend) Infra optimization tools Internal tool automation (e.g., replacing Excel + Slack workflows) Internal tool automation Compliance, audit, FinOps, SecOps (boring = big TAM) Compliance, audit, FinOps, SecOps “Unbundling Excel” for specific industries “Unbundling Excel” for specific industries These aren’t sexy. But they hurt — and pain scales better than novelty. hurt How to Actually Build What People Want Here’s the real playbook. Use this before writing a single line of code: 1. Talk to Users Before You Build Ask: What’s the most annoying part of your workflow? If they say “Oh god, don’t get me started,” you’re onto something. Reddit, Slack groups, LinkedIn — anywhere pain leaks out in public. 2. Look at Where Companies Are Hiring Check job boards. Look at roles that involve repetitive work, spreadsheets, or compliance.Those are startups hiding in plain sight. 3. Build for ROI, Not Eyeballs Investors love this phrase: “I save customers $X or Y hours per week.” If your tool does that, you don’t need to “go viral.” You can charge . charge 4. Stop Obsessing Over Originality Dropbox was the 10th file storage app. Notion is just Docs + Wiki. Your job is not to invent a new category — it’s to nail the execution. 5. MVP = Money Validation Prompt Don’t launch on Product Hunt first. Launch to five people who’d pay. If no one opens their wallet, it’s not a startup — it’s a dev exercise. Bonus: Use the "Demand Curve" Framework A visual way to think about startup ideas: ▲ HIGH | ⚡ Ideal startup zone ⚡ USER PAIN | (Boring but painful) | | LOW |__________________________ LOW TECH NOVELTY HIGH ➜ ▲ HIGH | ⚡ Ideal startup zone ⚡ USER PAIN | (Boring but painful) | | LOW |__________________________ LOW TECH NOVELTY HIGH ➜ Aim for the top-left. Not the bottom-right. Final Thought: Code Is Supply, Pain Is Demand You don’t need to stop building fun side projects. But if you’re trying to raise money, or land paying users, you need to reframe.You’re not building “what’s possible.” You’re building “what’s painful.”Investors aren’t looking for clever — they’re looking for compelling . compelling Great startups aren’t just well-coded. They’re well-timed, well-placed solutions to urgent , budgeted problems. urgent Write code that reduces pain — not just code that runs well.
