The Big Idea
Ideas are easy, but focus and execution are hard. There are endless public APIs with real problems waiting for you to solve - all you need to do is find an audience and start shipping.
Steal These Ideas to Build New Products
As cofounder of APIs You Won't Hate, I've seen the playbook work repeatedly: Find public data. Solve a specific problem. Ship it. From global news APIs to accounts payable management, the winners aren't inventing data—they're making it useful.
Friends - these opportunities are everywhere, waiting for someone to execute.
Why This Matters: Value > Hype
It's tempting to chase AI quick wins, but remember:
- Existing data streams = sustainable business opportunities
- Value-add to available information = competitive edge
- Focused problem-solving > tech novelty
Case Study: Weather Data
Weather apps are commodity products since Apple killed Dark Sky (RIP).
There are plenty of untapped goldmines, like NOAA and OpenWeatherMap data for specific use cases that people will pay for.
The opportunity: Niche weather apps for specific use cases:
- For pilots: Visibility conditions and wind patterns
- For gardeners: Frost alerts and growing condition forecasts
- For skiers: Snow quality predictions based on temperature patterns
Steal These Ideas
1. Nutritional Intelligence with Edamam API
Edamam provides extensive APIs for nutritional data and analytics. The generic "calorie counter" app is done to death.
The opportunity: Build specialized nutrition tools for:
- Athletes tracking specific macros for performance
- People with medical conditions requiring dietary monitoring
- Parents checking if school lunches meet nutritional requirements
2. Geolocation Magic with OpenAQ
OpenAQ offers real-time air quality data from thousands of stations worldwide.
The opportunity: Create targeted apps for:
- Real estate buyers evaluating neighborhood health metrics
- Parents of children with respiratory conditions planning outdoor activities
- Researchers correlating air quality with public health outcomes
The Secret Sauce: 3 Traits of Successful API Products
- Specific audience - Target a niche who will benefit from your product
- Context transformation - Don't just display data; interpret it and add value
- Workflow integration - Make your product available whenever and wherever it will be most useful
...and price it accordingly. If you're saving news editors thousands of dollars every week, aim higher than $3.99/mo.
Resources for finding new ideas
Single APIs in your area!
There's a great collection of APIs waiting to be used on GitHub called public-apis
Free design resources
I came across Unblast recently - self-described as A growing library of free design resources made by the world's best designers. Can confirm - it is an exceptional collection. Give it a look as you build your brand or collateral.
A chicken in every pot, and an SVG for every noun
The Noun Project started with a simple goal: create a visual language for the world by building a repository of single color icons for every noun. Hell yeah. I use it all the time. You can use any icon on the site for free with attribution; licensing is either a dirt cheap per-icon fee, or a very reasonable monthly subscription.
The future is in your hands. Go on and build something great.
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This is a cross-posted version of my weekly newsletter for product builders and founders, 💌 Tiny Improvements.
I'm Mike Bifulco, CTO and cofounder of Craftwork (YC S23), 3x startup founder and former Google, Stripe, and Microsoft engineer.
If you're interested in building a startup or the Indiehacker life, I'd love to hear from you! Drop me a comment below and tell me what you're working on.
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