There are still a lot of “boring” apps to build for regular people, I think. The classic problem of everything being in spreadsheets or tracked with paper and a clipboard is still totally real. You won’t be the next Google, it isn’t glorious, but it’s a viable and genuinely valuable way to build a business still.
One of the largest and more obvious examples in recent years was logistics. I’ve worked with a couple companies focused on this (as a contractor), and they make a lot of money from their customers by actually saving them considerably more money. One was specifically targeted at waste pickup and disposal businesses because their schedules, routes, and other variables were dramatically different from transportation of goods for example.
Then there’s a company like Roofr. They make it so SMB roofers can run their business more efficiently, generate more accurate quotes faster, and incorporate technologies like aerial drone photography to get quotes together far more professionally and correctly. Construction is a huge part of North America’s GDPs, so there’s a lot of money to be made in these niches.
I put boring in quotes because I think our industry is less excited about software like this, but I actually enjoy it a lot. I love highly focused and well-crafted software that makes a genuine difference for people who are otherwise not focused on using technology. It’s a way that software can actually improve work for people so I get a kick out of it. The feedback loop with customers tends to be tight and high quality too, so you can iterate quickly and make something awesome. This can be harder in the pure tech space, in my experience.
One of the largest and more obvious examples in recent years was logistics. I’ve worked with a couple companies focused on this (as a contractor), and they make a lot of money from their customers by actually saving them considerably more money. One was specifically targeted at waste pickup and disposal businesses because their schedules, routes, and other variables were dramatically different from transportation of goods for example.
Then there’s a company like Roofr. They make it so SMB roofers can run their business more efficiently, generate more accurate quotes faster, and incorporate technologies like aerial drone photography to get quotes together far more professionally and correctly. Construction is a huge part of North America’s GDPs, so there’s a lot of money to be made in these niches.
I put boring in quotes because I think our industry is less excited about software like this, but I actually enjoy it a lot. I love highly focused and well-crafted software that makes a genuine difference for people who are otherwise not focused on using technology. It’s a way that software can actually improve work for people so I get a kick out of it. The feedback loop with customers tends to be tight and high quality too, so you can iterate quickly and make something awesome. This can be harder in the pure tech space, in my experience.