DEV Community: Omar Soliman

5 micro-SaaS ideas devs are asking for on Reddit

Omar Soliman — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 21:41:32 +0000

I have a side habit. When I run out of ideas for what to build next, I do not open Twitter or Product Hunt. I open Reddit.

There are about thirty subs where the same complaint comes up every week. Someone describes a workflow they hate, asks if a tool exists, and a commenter says "I wish, please tell me if you find one." That second comment is the cofounder you do not need to pay.

Here are 5 I pulled from threads in the last few months. Each one has a real Reddit post behind it, real search volume on the keyword someone would type into Google, and a wedge small enough to build over a weekend.

None of these are billion-dollar ideas. All of them could be a $2k MRR side project if you actually shipped.

1. Invoice reminders for trade contractors

"i know the title sounds made up. invoice reminders for plumbers. $14K a month. but that's exactly why it works. nobody is competing for this."

r/passive_income, 3,653 upvotes

Search demand: 7,200 monthly searches for "invoice reminder software" and adjacent terms.

Why it works: plumbers, electricians, and HVAC techs send invoices and then forget about them. Their customers also forget. Nobody wants to be the awkward one chasing money. A scheduled email or SMS sequence converts ghosted invoices into paid ones. The buyer is one tradesperson, the value is measured in actual dollars recovered, and the competition is QuickBooks (terrible at this) or nothing.

Wedge: a single Stripe-or-QBO connector that sends a polite nudge at day 7, a firmer one at day 14, and a "final notice" template at day 30. Charge $19 a month.

2. Field service software for solo tradespeople

"Is there field service management software that doesn't assume you have a team? I run residential HVAC solo, sometimes one helper when it gets busy. Everything I've tried is built for dispatching crews."

r/EntrepreneurRideAlong

Search demand: 8,800 monthly searches for "field service management software" with solo and small-business modifiers.

Why it works: Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan all assume you have at least 3 people. Solo HVAC, plumbing, and handyman operators just want estimates, invoices, payments, and a customer history. The category leaders all charge $50 to $200 a month for features the solo operator never opens.

Wedge: stripped-down PWA with estimates, invoices, Stripe payments, and a one-screen customer log. $15 a month. Skip dispatching, skip crew, skip GPS.

3. Subcontractor insurance and compliance tracking

"New PM here. Am I crazy, or is tracking sub insurance a complete nightmare? My boss has me managing all the subcontractor compliance (COIs, licenses, lien waivers) and it's a constantly expiring mess."

r/ConstructionManagers, 47 upvotes

Search demand: 3,900 monthly searches for "COI tracking software" and "subcontractor compliance."

Why it works: every general contractor needs to verify that every subcontractor has current insurance, licenses, and lien waivers. If a sub's coverage lapses and they get hurt on site, the GC is liable. Most firms track this in a spreadsheet that nobody updates. A simple expiry tracker with email alerts to the sub and the PM is genuinely high-value.

Wedge: upload a PDF, parse the expiry date with an LLM, send email reminders 30/14/7 days out to both parties. $49 a month per project.

4. AI lead chatbot for solo real estate agents

"A few months ago, I built a chatbot for my dad who's a real estate agent. He was always juggling calls, emails, and client questions. Now 57 people are paying me for it."

r/AiForSmallBusiness, 367 upvotes

Search demand: 3,500 monthly searches for "real estate AI chatbot" and related queries.

Why it works: solo agents lose deals because they cannot reply at 9 pm. An AI that qualifies leads, books showings, answers FAQs about listings, and routes hot leads to a phone is genuinely useful. The Reddit thread above is itself proof: the OP is currently making money from exactly this. There is room for a more polished version.

Wedge: embeddable chat widget that pulls from a Notion or Google Sheet of listings, books to Calendly, and SMSes the agent on a hot match. $29 a month.

5. A second brain that maintains itself

"Or, phrased differently, why does every second brain app feel like a second job? All of the tools that actually resemble a 'second brain' require an enormous amount of upkeep."

r/ObsidianMD, 365 upvotes

Search demand: 2,500 monthly searches for variations of "auto-organize notes," "PKM without effort," and "second brain that just works."

Why it works: Obsidian, Notion, Logseq, Roam. All of them require you to be the librarian. The market for "the librarian is the app" is wide open and devs are loud about wanting it. The audience is technical, which means they will pay for a tool that respects their files, and they will tell their friends.

Wedge: a local-first daemon that watches your markdown vault, auto-tags new notes, links them to existing ones using embeddings, and writes a weekly digest. $9 a month or self-hosted. Use Claude or a local model behind a flag.

The pattern

If you read those five back to back, you notice a shape. Each one is:

A specific person (solo HVAC tech, construction PM, real estate agent) with a workflow they describe in their own words.
A pain that costs them money or time every single week.
A category that already has a leader, but the leader is built for the tier above them.

The framework is dumb and works:

Find a sub where people talk about their job (not their hobbies).
Search for "is there a tool that," "what do you use for," and "I wish there was a."
When you see the same complaint in two different threads from two different people, you have demand.
Search the existing tool name on Google. If the first result is a Reddit thread, the market is undersaturated.

A shortcut

I got tired of doing this manually so I built Business Ideas DB. It scans roughly thirty indie subreddits every day, scores posts for genuine pain versus venting, attaches real keyword volume from DataForSEO, and surfaces the ones that look like buyer demand. The signals are the actual Reddit posts, not AI fluff.

If you would rather have the list, that is what it is for. If you would rather hunt yourself, the framework above is what I do when I hunt.

Either way, go build something. The world has enough Twitter threads about building.

What is Reddit karma and why does it matter?

Omar Soliman — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 21:46:56 +0000

Understanding Reddit Karma Basics

Reddit karma is just a points system that shows how much other users like what you post and comment.

Think of it as your Reddit score - when people like what you share, they click the up arrow (upvote) and you get points. When they don't like it, they click the down arrow (downvote) and you lose points. It's that simple.

How Karma Works on Reddit

There are two types of karma you can earn on Reddit:

Post karma and comment karma.

Post karma comes from when people upvote the content you share, like pictures, links, or text posts.

Comment karma is what you get when people upvote the comments you write on other people's posts. Reddit created this system to reward users who help make the community better.

Usually, one upvote gives you one karma point. However, Reddit has a special way of calculating the final numbers that isn't as simple as that. They keep the exact method a secret to stop people from trying to cheat the system.

Why Reddit Karma Matters

Getting karma on Reddit is actually useful for more than just showing off your score. Good karma helps you use Reddit in several important ways:

Access to Communities: Many subreddits won't let you post or comment until you have enough karma points. This helps keep spam accounts out and makes sure new users understand how Reddit works before jumping in.

Some subreddits have specific karma requirements within their own community.

For example, r/Entrepreneur requires users to have at least 10 comment karma specifically from participating in their subreddit before allowing new posts.

Credibility Factor: Having good karma also makes other users trust you more. When people see you have high karma, they know you've made helpful or interesting contributions to Reddit.

Posting Freedom: New accounts with low karma have posting limits and time restrictions between posts. Once you build up your karma, these time limits go away and you can post more freely.

Building Your Karma Score

Building up your karma is pretty simple. The best way is to just join communities you actually care about and be a real part of them. Don't worry too much about the points themselves, focus on being helpful instead.

Best Ways to Earn Karma

Good karma comes naturally when you follow these approaches:

Share interesting content: Post relevant, engaging content in appropriate subreddits. Make sure it follows each community's rules.

Write helpful comments: Add value to discussions with insightful or funny comments. Being helpful and genuine usually leads to upvotes.

Be active in niche communities: Smaller subreddits focused on your interests can be great places to build karma through meaningful participation.

Common Karma Mistakes to Avoid

Some approaches can actually hurt your karma score and reputation:

Asking for upvotes (this is against Reddit's rules)
Posting irrelevant content in subreddits
Being argumentative or hostile in comments
Reposting popular content too frequently

Focus on being a genuine community member instead of just chasing karma points. Quality contributions naturally lead to better karma over time.

Using Your Karma Wisely

Once you've built up some karma, it's important to understand how to use this reputation effectively on Reddit. Your karma score can open up new opportunities for participation and influence in the community.

Making the Most of Your Karma

Having good karma lets you:

Start your own subreddit
Post more frequently without restrictions
Participate in exclusive communities
Help newer users understand Reddit

Remember that karma isn't just about the numbers. It's about building trust and credibility within the Reddit community. Use your earned reputation to contribute positively to discussions and help maintain the quality of content on the platform.

Growing Your Reddit Influence

As your karma grows, you can expand your Reddit presence by:

Contributing to larger communities: Higher karma scores let you participate more freely in popular subreddits.

Becoming a moderator: Many subreddits look for users with good karma scores when choosing new moderators.

Building relationships: Use your established reputation to connect with other active Reddit users who share your interests.

Focus on maintaining quality contributions rather than just accumulating points. Your karma score should be a reflection of your positive impact on the community, not just a number to chase.

Advanced Karma Tips

Once you understand how karma really works, you can become better at using Reddit. While you shouldn't obsess over karma points, knowing how to build them naturally will make your time on Reddit more enjoyable.

Smart Karma Building Strategies

Think of karma building as a long-term process. Here are some advanced approaches that work well:

Post at the right time: Each subreddit has peak activity times. Posting when more users are online increases your chances of earning karma.

You can check when a subreddit is most active by using subreddittraffic.live - this helpful tool shows you the busiest times for any community.

Understand your audience: Different communities respond to different types of content. What works in one subreddit might not work in another.

Be consistent: Regular, quality participation tends to earn more karma than to post tons of stuff all at once and then disappear for weeks.

The most important thing to remember is that Reddit works best when you're genuine. Find communities you actually enjoy and participate because you want to, not just to get karma. When you're a real part of a community and contribute regularly, your karma will grow naturally.

Being a good Reddit user is about more than just getting karma. Focus on making helpful contributions and being part of the community. When you share things that other people find valuable, the karma points will come on their own.

Want to learn how to use Reddit to grow your business?
Check out our comprehensive Reddit Marketing Guide - learn how to get more customers using Reddit's 1.2B monthly active users.