I gladly donate / pay subscriptions to software I use regularly... but the company has a responsibility to make it obvious on how to do so

Focusing on CI would still enable the AI stuff too! But my use case is CI, no AI.

Well said to that person. I think about this a lot, and have wondered if it's the advent of code school? Which itself was a result of the insane FAANG hiring sprees + salaries (where was a result of 0% interest rates among other things).

A developer going through code school in the last ~decade was taught React, GraphQL, Redux, or whatever the cool framework was at that moment with the goal of getting hired (not learning how to build well).

I'm fortunate to have entered the market in the early 2000's juuuust before that wave started. I'm only now getting a few gray hairs in my beard and am glad I was taught to understand _all_ parts of a system. I don't know if that'd be the case if I started in the mid-2010's.

> You are looking at a business-to-business.. which is where we said there is still opportunity, in large part thanks to those collecting angel money.

You might be mixing up opportunities within the tech industry with using tech to build a business within other industries. Angel money isn't really a "thing" for the latter, and that's where I'm pointing to opportunity.

But by all means keep on pushing B2C if that's your passion

If your only target are developers or the tech industry, maybe, but there’s a whole world of non technical business people with problems that have extremely easy (and boring) technical solutions.

I’ve recently signed up my third customer paying $49/mo with a simple CRUD app. No targeted ads or landing pages. I literally walked into offices in my town and asked what the most annoying part of their job is and I made a prototype. They signed a 6 month commitment.

They’re amazed at my “computer skills” only because they don’t know any better.

Not saying I’ll become insanely rich, but my goal is a reasonable living ($200-$300k) within 5 years.

All this to say I think the opportunities in this market are there, but they look different.

It really comes down to being willing to start small and grow within your means (even if that means a SMB loan or small investment).

But if you can’t find even 1 customer then it’s likely you’ve started building without talking to actual customers.

Spend less than you earn. Maybe get an SMB loan if the numbers work. This approach is older than the tech industry.

Definitely will follow this, I was really disappointed when Maps.Me started getting enshittified. Hope it doesn't happen to Organic Maps as well.

Well said. Ultimately I think this is where much of the communication breakdown occurs when discussing Framework A vs Framework B online.

If you’re optimizing for _code_, sure. Stress about the ms it takes to load this or that thing. Client vs server. All of it is valid discussion from an engineering standpoint. Go nuts!

If you’re optimizing for _business_, then choose something that gets the job done. Fewer moving parts - and fewer resources needed to maintain it - the better.

> ...but even zoomers are not tech savvy these days.

Though I would actually challenge this. The idea I'm (slowly) building out deals with owners of a small blue collar type business.

These people aren't "tech savvy" in that they're not tech nerds. They don't know about coding languages or SPA vs server rendered. They don't give a shit TypeScript vs Python vs Go vs Kotlin.

But they absolutely know how to use their phones. They know how to use apps and websites. That's as tech savvy as is needed to build a small business.

They're also working daily with these TERRIBLY outdated systems that were made decades ago and only work on 1 single Windows machine they have sitting somewhere in their shop, covered in grease.

Just show them a responsive web app that addresses their frustrations and they'll be shocked at how much of an insane genius you are. And they won't even ask about the tech, because they don't give a shit. They just want it to work.

IMO this approach is where the next wave of small business SaaS ideas are. YMMV

I’ve recently stumbled on an exciting niche that’s showing a lot of traction. The customers know very well how to use technology but the notion of joining forums / discussing their frustrations anywhere online just doesn’t seem to be something they consider doing. It’s all word of mouth.

My “luck” completely shifted when I stopped trying to find these users online and instead physically walked into a shop and started asking for opinions.

All that to say: I’m coming to feel that niches can more easily be found offline, even for SaaS type businesses. Just walk up and ask a business owner what they find annoying!