Most developers start by building things that are technically interesting.
A clever abstraction.
A cool side project.
A tool that makes other developers say:
“That’s neat.”
I’ve built those too.
The problem?
Interesting rarely turns into revenue.
After several projects that people liked but never paid for, I learned a simple lesson:
The best products don’t entertain users — they solve recurring pain.
The Problem With “Nice-to-Have” Tools
A lot of indie projects fail for the same reason:
they are optional improvements, not necessary solutions.
You know you’ve built a nice-to-have when:
People sign up, explore the product, and never return.
Free users love the idea but won’t pay.
You can’t explain the ROI in one sentence.
This happens because the product solves a minor inconvenience, not a real workflow problem.
People might like the tool, but they don’t need it.
And if they don’t need it, they won’t pay for it.
Recurring Problems Create Recurring Revenue
The biggest shift for me was realizing that the best products solve recurring problems.
Think about tools people pay for every month:
GitHub
Notion
Figma
Slack
Why do people keep paying?
Because the problems they solve come back every day or every week.
If your product solves something that happens once, users might pay once.
But if your product solves something that happens every week, you create recurring revenue naturally.
Examples of recurring problems:
A workflow that wastes hours every week
A manual task that never goes away
A broken process teams constantly deal with
Repetitive work that could be automated
These are painkillers, not vitamins.
The ROI Must Be Obvious
The easiest product to sell is one where the user instantly understands the value.
A strong value proposition sounds like this:
“This tool saves me three hours every week.”
or
“This automates something I used to do manually.”
Notice something important:
That statement is not a feature.
It’s a clear outcome.
If your users cannot explain why they pay in a single sentence, the value might not be strong enough yet.
Why Developers Fall Into This Trap
Developers often build products based on technical curiosity, not user pain.
We like building systems.
We enjoy solving interesting engineering problems.
But the market doesn’t reward interesting architecture.
It rewards useful solutions.
A simple product that solves a painful problem will outperform a technically brilliant product that nobody urgently needs.
How To Find Painkiller Ideas
Instead of brainstorming features, start by observing workflows.
Ask questions like:
What tasks do people repeat every week?
What processes waste hours of manual work?
What do teams complain about constantly?
What are people already paying for?
If people are already spending time or money solving the problem, that’s a good signal.
You’re not creating demand.
You’re improving an existing solution.
The Product-Market Fit Test
Before building a new product, ask yourself:
Is this problem recurring?
Does it happen every week or month?Is the pain real?
Are people already spending time or money dealing with it?Is the ROI obvious?
Can the value be explained in one sentence?
If the answer is yes, you’re probably building a painkiller.
If not, you might be building another nice-to-have.
Final Thought
Marketing, distribution, and growth matter.
But none of those can fix a product that solves the wrong problem.
If you build something that removes real pain, users will come back.
If you build something that is only interesting, they’ll try it once and forget it.
The lesson that changed how I build products:
Build tools people depend on, not tools they admire.
If you want feedback on your product idea, feel free to share it — I’d love to hear what you're building.
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