I'm an accomplished web developer with the skills to make a wide variety of products, but I just can't seem to find the right idea.

Welcome to indie hackers! You're in the right place. A lot of us have been in your shoes before.

My advice is to just start building something you're interested in and don't worry about making money just yet. However, don't just build a thing and throw it on the pile. The important bit is that you actually "ship" it and show it to the world.

You might be thinking, why would I bother wasting my time building something that I'm not going to make money from? There's actually lots of reasons this is is a good idea.

1. You will run into lots of problems along the way. Problems are good, because they get your brain into idea mode.
2. You'll learn to ship and tell people what you're doing. These are super important skills outside the technical stuff.
3. Probably 50 to 80% of the stuff you build will be somewhat reusable in your next project. Having existing codebases and deployment pipelines is tremendously useful.
4. A lot of good ideas come about when you pivot your first idea into a different idea. This happens because in the process making one thing you discover a market for something else related. You'd probably never even notice that market unless you're next to it.
5. You'll start getting into the habit of regularly working on something. Don't underestimate how important building habits are.

My final thought is to build something super small that you think you can build in a weekend (it'll probably take you a week or two in reality). If you can keep the time-frame down it'll feel more like a small challenge rather than a hard slog.

Worst case, you spend a weekend or two experimenting with some random idea and you're no worse off. Even if you decide it sucks I promise you'll come out with something valuable on the other side.

Stop looking. Start with the wrong idea instead. You will learn a ton and be prepared when the right idea finds you.

What I am saying is just build anything, a twitter clone, a forum or project management tool. Just start building.

Lots of people struggle with this, I often point them to this article.

I believe there are 2 ways to build a company.

You can solve a problem you (Square) have or address a need (Pinterest).

Need:

Is there something that you'd like to see in the world? What do you think should exist in 2020 but doesn't? What do you want to have / be able to use / do in 2025? What do you think would be cool and fun to build?

Problem:

Start paying attention to shit that sucks. Mindfulness is very popular right now. As an early-stage founder you can't afford that. You need to allow yourself to be bothered by shit around you AND start paying attention to it.

DO NOT EDIT your thoughts like a spam filter. Just like a good spam filter, eventually those thoughts won't reach your inbox.

So when stuff bothers you, notice it and write it down on a moleskin or your notes app.

Pc's are expensive. You want a cheap personal computer --> Apple

Earbuds have wires. You want earbuds without wires --> Braggi Dash

Cabs suck. You want to press a button and get a car --> Uber

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Usually, I think people should then filter their idea based on the severity of either the pain (problem) and the frequency or their desire to see it in the world (need).

But you need momentum. Lots of great comments down below but I definitely second that you should just start shipping things. So weekend projects are great to build that habit.

Good luck!

Hi there, my names Charlie and I've been on the lookout for a technical co-founder. I have lots of GTM experience from past roles but limited technical ability and recently found a pain/product I'm passionate about making a reality. It addresses the pain of presentations over video conferencing technology for remote workers, educators and teams. If you're open to chatting I'd love to talk you through it in detail and see if we share an interest in the problem. My email's [email protected]

I just joined today seeing your post and the responses. I have the other problem. I have ideas but I am hamstrung by lack of UI skills (average HTML but almost none of CSS)..lol..

Hey MV,
[email protected] would be a good start! (GhostPoet)

@MicroVert - maybe you have just come up with your idea without even knowing it.

Maybe you can build a platform/site that curates information and resources from around www that help people who have ideas find devs & vice versa -- in a more thoughtful & meaningful way.

Heck, in this post alone, people have pointed you to 5-10 different resources as to where you can find information that may inspire you. Maybe you can pull all that together somehow :)

Being an aggregator of data and information, or offering some middleware that connects different solutions into a single interface are both very promising types of solutions that people may gravitate to.

Problem > Solution (like @RjYoungling mentioned)

Just do something you would like to use, something you would be interested into.

I find myself very often in this position. I try to find a good idea for the next project, I put everything that goes into my mind on the paper, calculate, try to find the best one. I have a lot of sheets with a lot of ideas never started.

The only ideas that turned into projects are the ones that resolved a problem for me that I could not find the answer somewhere else.

My advice would be to do some solid niche research first. Solve a problem for a common group of people. Look to save them time, save them money or enrich their life in some way :)

What's a tedious repetitive task they all do? Can it be automated somehow?

Then build something quick and give it away for free. All I'd ask for is they register their email in exchange for the free app. Then you're starting to build a mailing list and building trust with that community.

Either that, or you just go straight to the head "influencers" in that space and ask them what's a tedious repetitive task they all do etc etc ...

Hi MicroVert! I feel like I'm on the opposite side of this equation. :) I've got the idea and interested customers, but I don't have the web dev skills. Let me know if you're interested in partnering. :) Feel free to learn more about what we're doing at regroup.co.

I like some of the other ideas in this post, like partnering up and working on small things without worrying about making money.

BUT, if you want to do something on your own, start thinking of what areas you want to build in. "Follow your passion" can work, but you need to find areas you're familiar with/like that also have money flowing (that's why business to business is popular with IHers).

Find a general area, then start following the popular people in that area on Twitter or wherever they hang out online. See what they're talking about, try to comment and interact with them, try to help people.

This alone won't guarantee brilliant ideas, but it'll probably get you interesting insights and ideas. Remember you don't have to solve every problem in a big app, you can build small tools and just get people playing with them like the top comment mentions. It'll also give you a leg up with getting people to follow you so you have people to get feedback from once you've built something!

Here's some other popular advice on the subject:
https://stackingthebricks.com/guides/your-first-10k/ - Amy Hoy has a very specific methodology for finding simpler ideas to get you started.
https://www.indiehackers.com/article/how-to-come-up-with-good-business-ideas-4b4bfc0980 - "Seek new experiences and be patient"
https://www.indiehackers.com/article/how-to-come-up-with-profitable-online-business-ideas-305fa512be - How 33 profitable IHers found their ideas
https://www.indiehackers.com/article/how-to-find-a-profitable-startup-idea-a962254a76 - Another article with more ways to find ideas.

I think it comes down to committing to a process, not jumping the gun and building large projects (I repeatedly fail here :-P), and to continue growing.

Hey man, I'm an idea machine with no dev skills. Just find an idea machine in an industry that's different than yours, and you'll have a lifetime of ideas.

Any business forum or group will gladly tell you their problems if you look and listen for 2 minutes, seriously.

Hey @MicroVert. I feel your pain. I'm also looking for a new business idea. Here's some things I've learned so far.

Ideas are rarely found by force. It's difficult to come up with an idea until you are exposed to new problems.

Often times, you can find an idea by pulling on an unrelated thread. For example, Basecamp set out to build a new Highrise and found email was a more compelling idea so they built hey.com.

Ideas can come from mixing old problems with new solutions or new problems with old solutions.

For example, Baremetrics solved an old problem (SaaS metrics) with a new solution (online dashboard instead of spreadsheets).

And, Zmurl solved a new problem (organizing Zoom events) with an old solution (Eventbrite-like product).

Markets matter more than ideas. Look for a large, growing market. Ideally, you become a part of the market.

For example, Justin Jackson spent years in the podcasting market before starting Transistor.

And Ben Orenstein solved problems for developers for years before starting Tuple.

Engage with the market. Notice problems, inefficiencies, and pain. The best way to research is to ask questions like, what is the most pressing problem you're facing today?

If there's a product you are considering competing against, read reviews (e.g., Capterra, G2.com), and feature request/roadmap boards (e.g. Canny, Productboard, Trello). Then talk with current customers and ask, if they could wave a magic wand, what would they change?

Before getting too excited about an idea, consider distribution. What channels will you use to reach customers (e.g., SEO, sales, integrations)? How well do they suit you?

Find someone to jam with. Look for someone to bounce and entertain ideas with no judgment.

I hope this is helpful!

I tweeted this with links to all of the companies here. 👇🏽

@MicroVert - what's your skillset? Do you know the MEAN stack, React JS Framework (& typescript)? If so, I may have a project for you :)

Following

http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html should help

Try keeping a problem notebook.

Write down three things every day that annoy you. E.g. someone is late for a meeting, website is not working, etc. After one month you have almost 100 problems to think about.

Hey MV,

Lets chat? I have patent pending technology.... Looking for collaborator to build out MVP.

Post your inquiry in this group. Share your LinkedIn (or your experience) so potential business founders may be interested:-)

https://www.indiehackers.com/group/looking-to-partner-up

FYI, accomplishment should not be measured only by years of experiences...

This is very common for developers.

And I would respectfully disagree with the comment below from Magnushjelm. Don't start building random stuff. You can obviously code. You need a direction, viable business plan, clear value-prop, and business or marketing help. Developers are traditionally bad at that.

As a developer myself, I have several good guidelines for you, but no clear answers. You'll have to work long and hard to dig out a viable business idea.

Ping me if you'd like to jump on a 30min call, I'd love to help if I can.