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 ForWhat Investors Look For
What Investors Look For
What Investors Look ForInteresting 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.
coolcriticalWhat 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.
hurtHow 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.
charge4. 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.
