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How do you find customers with problems to fix in software?

21 points by cs02rm0 ↗ HN
I'm a contract developer but I've long been keen to make the leap to starting a software product company, ideally B2B.

I can fund getting an initial release out, but it seems to me the best way to do so is by finding a customer with a problem and a budget who can put a price on what they'd pay for a solution. I've tried doing this without a customer and it's not gone well.

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This seems straightforwards, but it's escaped me so far. The closest I managed was an NHS (I'm based in the UK) team my wife works in who liked a prototype, passed it up the chain to get budget approval and were told they could have the software if it was developed in-house. I approached some NHS innovation departments for help getting it to other teams, but they said they'd only work with software that other people were already using. Catch 22.

Any tips?

12 comments

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k__
I'm in the same place right now.

Working as employee and cotractor for about 10 years now.

I have the feeling all business lectures focus on what to do AFTER you got this kind of thing sorted out, before you are pretty much on your own.

I will go to a trade fair next week, maybe I'll find something there...

HeyLaughingBoy
An alternative is to find a domain that you find interesting and then research it to find problems people have. Look up Amy Hoy's Sales Safari technique.

Once you've done that, products that people will actually pay for become easier to see.

cs02rm0
Only just into watching her give a talk on this but it sounds interesting, just the sort of thing I'm after. Thanks.
yazr
Bootstrapping in B2B is very hard. Decisions take years, endless customization and integration, and its someone's day-job to negotiate you down on price.

VCs like this because with enough funding and persistence, you get a sticky high margin product.

How about B2C ? What is your technical skill set ?

anonymous_ta38
health sector is also full of compliance issues - urghh..
ncouture
.. but the compensations to fit the bill can be quite nice -- and the health care industry is about 10 years behind in tech standards (IMO).
HeyLaughingBoy
That's enterprise B2B. Even so, I've made sales to F500 enterprises that went as smoothly as you can imagine and with minimal overhead.

B2B, IMO, is far easier than B2C. A business will pay serious cash for something that solves a problem without blinking. Consumers want to nickel and dime you to death.

cs02rm0
Thanks. B2B is all I've done. I'm more comfortable pushing a product in that area, feel I have a better understanding of what's required and how to make a success of it.

For technical skillset, anything required to specify through to support a system that's probably got a thick slice of Java in it. On Linux.

anonymous_ta38
Identify a specific and urgent business need from your previous jobs. A real pain point for the managers.

I used to work in the gaming industry. I have 2 problems which they consider "difficult" but i know are solvable.

Its the "getting shit done" which is harder for me. All the small implementation details pile up ;(

Are you into web dev, desktop or backend ?

cs02rm0
Thanks. Previous jobs is difficult, in recent years I've been working at places who only deal with large defence companies. They don't want to sign a contract for anything smaller than millions and I'm not going to win one of those.

The systems I build tend to be Java at the core (uncool but I like it and it works with the sector), but I do everything from requirements gathering through to operations including UI. Although a minimum of UI is preferable.

wesie
Hi cs02rm0, drop me an email on rume.gbenedio@yahoo.com. I am based in UK. Let's catch up for coffee and I can bounce some ideas by you and tell me what you think. Look forward to your reply. Rume