Is your SaaS worth building? Here's how to know.
There's one question that separates successful SaaS founders from everyone else.
"Is my SaaS actually worth building?"
Most founders think they already know the answer. They've got the idea, they've sketched the features, they can see exactly how it'll work. But I analyze hundreds of founder posts every week, and almost none of them can answer this question with data.
They answer it with passion. With code. With hope.
And that's how they end up like Matt.
Let me tell you about Matt Layman. He’s a brilliant software engineer who spent three years of nights and weekends building a tool called College Conductor. (here is a playlist of him building in public.)
His assumption was simple and follows the typical 'solve a problem' advice: His wife, a college counselor, needed a better tool than the clunky options on the market. If he built a modern, elegant solution, she would use it.
Three years later? $0 in revenue.
His wife had lost interest. The development pace was too slow. He was so focused on perfecting the tech—upgrading packages, switching frameworks—that he missed the only thing that mattered.
This was his moment of realization: "If someone shows up to a restaurant, expresses what they want, then the chef takes four hours to prepare the meal, will that customer be happy? I think not."
Matt spent three years of his life building a perfect meal for a customer who left the restaurant two and a half years ago.
This isn't just Matt's story. It’s the story of founders who fall in love with building the solution before they confirm the pain is real.
Building is comfortable for a technical founder. It feels like progress. But, it's a trap. You're building a Ferrari for people who might not even have roads to use it on.
So, how do you avoid repeating Matt's mistake? How do you actually know if your SaaS is worth building?
You stop acting like a builder and start acting like a detective. You use data.
There are multiple methods you can use to determine if your product is wanted, today I'll be focusing on a 100% free, easy way that I personally used - even to begin making this very newsletter: The Shark Method.
Sharks had to develop the ability to smell a single drop of blood a mile away to find their prey. You need to develop the same instinct for finding pain online.
We're going to do this using the biggest ocean of all: user-generated content platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and niche forums. This is where your future customers are bleeding.
The Shark Method: A 3-Step Hunt
Let’s get into the specifics. Your mission here isn't to sell. It's to hunt. You are digging for raw, unfiltered proof of pain.
Step 1: The Hunt (Find the Blood)
The goal is to find raw, unfiltered complaints from people who represent your ideal customer. These are your "drops of blood."
Let's walk through it manually first, so you understand the mechanics.
Lets imagine you are building a simple, affordable social media scheduler for solo creators.
- Choose Your Hunting Grounds: Where do solo creators complain about their tools and workflows?
Reddit: r/solopreneur, r/contentcreation, r/Notion
Indie Hackers: The "Social Media Marketing" or "Content Strategy" groups.
Twitter: Advanced search for specific keywords such as 'content hard'. - Use Problem-Based Keywords: You search these platforms for phrases of frustration, not solutions.
Instead of "social media tool," you search for:- "hate scheduling"
- "alternative cheap"
- "manage Twitter and LinkedIn"
- "how do you schedule content"
- Identify a "Find": You find a post like this on r/Notion. (this is a real example I found in 1 minute using this method: link here)
Title: Social Media Planning Need help!
Hi! I'm pretty new to Notion and I've been seeing people use it for social media planning. I got a free template and I've been using it for 2 months. I do have a question. I want to create a Monthly Posted Content to get it out of the database I'm always working on. Currently, I'm just using the filters to filter it by date to see what I need to do or post for the week I'm in. I also want to start fresh every month. Do I have to create a new data base every month to make this happen? Thank you in advance!
This is a 6/10 for us, does it scream 'I'd pay for your tool?', no. However - can we act on this? Yes.
The user clearly doesn't feel satisfied due to the inefficiency of creating new databases each month, now ask yourself: 'could my tool help with that?' - if you answer YES, find out how - and you have just developed a target audience, with only a 6/10 scored lead.
So you've found a lead. You've confirmed your tool could help. Congrats! You are already 90% ahead of most builders... What now?
Your instinct as a builder is to rush in and say, "I'm building a tool that fixes this!" Do not do this. That's like a shark screaming as it approaches its prey. You'll just scare them off.
Your only goal is to start a conversation and learn more. You approach as a helpful expert, not a salesperson.
Step 2: The Approach (Engage, Don't Sell)
Let's run a quick test. Pretend you're the person who posted that Notion question. You're frustrated, looking for help. Which of these three replies immediately makes you feel like someone is just trying to get something from you?
- "That's such a common problem with Notion content calendars. How much time do you think you're spending each week just managing the database?"
- "You definitely don't want to create a new database each month. When you say you want to get content out of the database, are you trying to build a clean archive, or just hide old posts from your main workspace?"
- "Hey! I've built a tool that solves this exact problem, I'd love to give you a free copy whilst in beta for some feedback. Let me know if you are interested and I'll DM you."
It's the third one, isn't it? It's not even close.
The first two are about their problem. They offer empathy and expertise. They ask questions to learn more. They are helpful. They are welcome.
The third one is about your solution. It immediately asks for something (feedback), assumes they're interested, and shuts down the conversation. It's a sales pitch disguised as a helping hand, and everyone can spot it a mile away.
Your only goal at this stage is to be option 1 or 2. Engage, ask questions, learn, and offer value. You are a helpful expert in the comments section, not a founder trying to make a sale.
This is how you start a conversation without scaring off the prey.
Your Personal AI Research Assistant
So, you understand the concept - and seen it work just in this newsletter.
You can do this manually, but you don't have to.
My full-time work as a marketer leads me to all sorts of solutions, one of them being: how can get the same results, with less effort?
I'd like to offer you the fruits of that search. This isn't a theoretical prompt from a blog post. This is a battle-tested process I use in my role leading greenfield marketing strategies for a multi-million dollar company. It's how we find customer pain points, validate messaging, and find leads using the Shark Method:
Your Mission for Today
That prompt is a powerful, multi-phase tool. Don't feel like you need to do it all at once.
Your only goal for today is this: Spend 30 minutes executing Phase 1 and 2.
- Copy the Helios prompt into any AI tool of your choice.
- Give it your SaaS idea to complete Phase 1.
- Use the keywords it generates in Phase 2 to find one single post where someone is complaining about a problem you can solve.
That's it. Just find one.
By doing this, you'll have done more meaningful, data-driven validation than 90% of founders. You'll have proof that the problem exists outside of your head.
You'll finally know if anybody believes your SaaS is actually worth building.
Go get em,
Cian Hanley