build niche, build boring, build with perfect timing

a couple weeks ago everyone kept sharing this chart like it's a cheat code for your next startup. it’s a breakdown of what people are using chatgpt for.

in my opinion it’s the exact opposite of what/where you should be building. this is exactly what you shouldn't be building. it's a map of where chatgpt/wrappers already own the surface area... horizontal, general-purpose, and brutally competitive.

the real play? i’ve mentioned it a few times… automate boring processes with proven budgets and willingness to pay.

build vertically. go deep into a niche with specific workflows, data, and needs that general-purpose models can’t serve well out of the box.

go for boring, specific, high-barrier, high-moat businesses that win.

but even that isn’t enough

timing is (almost) everything

timing = a customer behaviour, a new regulation, a new pain and a tech that enables a solution ppl will be willing to pay for.

according to bill gross’s work timing is more important than market size, which is more important than the team which in turn is more important than the actual product you're building.

we built nuggetfinder to fix this

little demo of the tool here

as you know, at humanoidz we run a venture studio. for our internal vertures the roadmap is pretty straighforward (zoom in if small)

but when partnering with corporates, holding companies or individuals with big audiences, one of the biggest blockers wasn't coming up with ideas. it was coming up with ideas where the timing was right.

this is usually based on new regulations, new legislation, new customer behaviour, changing consumer patterns etc. mixed with new technology that makes a solution desirable and possible.

so we scratched our own itch…we built an engine internally that scans thousands of signals to uncover all of the above:

innovation signals: patent filing databases, github repository creation rates, npm package downloads, research paper publications, university tech transfer offices, accelerator cohort data

market intelligence: google trends data points, search volume analytics, ad cpc fluctuations, keyword competition metrics, regional search patterns

social sentiment layer: reddit community signals, twitter/x trend analysis, linkedin industry discussions, discord/slack community chatter, facebook group activity, tiktok viral patterns

regulatory & compliance: new law databases, regulatory filing changes, government contracts, policy announcements, industry standard updates

financial indicators: vc funding rounds, m&a activity, ipo filings, earnings call transcripts, stock price movements of related companies, crypto token launches

competition intelligence: app store rankings, product hunt launches, website traffic estimates, job posting analysis, press release monitoring, domain registrations

it looks something like this:

it's quite a beast. and it works. so far it's only identified businesses where the pain was real and the timing spot on. the businesses are alive, generating revenue and growing.

and you might think our partners should have been able to know where these pains were because they're industry insiders and they have the secrets. but sometimes it's not that clear.

we've now released a version of this that you can play around with

come test it out here: www.nuggetfinder.ai

we’re also live on producthunt today… would love your support

support us on producthunt by clicking here

but back to how it works. each nugget comes validated:

• confidence, urgency, complexity scores

• exact problem and solution mapped

• competitive gaps identified

• revenue models proven

• execution plans ready

why now?

but is there a gap in the market?

what pain are we solving?

gimme an overview

what should we build?

what about competitors? someone must be addressing this right?

what’s our launch strategy? early adopter? blue ocean?

and lots lots more

here are some businesses your could/should be building

→ VITA e-invoicing compliance tool Mandatory by 2025. 24M SMEs need a fix or face fines. Current tools built for enterprises. Nobody doing simple one-click validation.

→ Deepfake KYC blocker API Fraud rose 10x last year. EU AI Act forcing verification. Multimodal AI now detects fakes in under a second. No easy API exists.

→ Fatherhood custody hub LLMs can parse legal docs. Co-parenting market booming. Dads navigating custody have zero trusted tools.

→ Eco scanner for beauty brands EU Digital Passport rules making sustainability data public. CSRD greenwashing fines creating $3k/mo urgency.

→ CSRD Enforcement: Easy Audit-Ready Reports Mid-size and large EU firms must file CSRD disclosures starting now. Teams waste weeks on data collection. Risk fines. No simple audit-ready tool exists.

→ SB-53 Incident Report Helper California SB-53 requires AI teams to file incident reports. Manual processes miss deadlines and create legal risk. Teams need one place to track, draft compliant reports, and submit on time.

→ Gaia-X Certification Turbo Enterprises face long delays certifying data spaces under Gaia-X. Manual checks and changing rules block launches. Automate certification steps. Cut weeks of work.

→ Senior fitness adaptive app Wearable adoption among 65+ doubled. Insurers pushing preventive care. Every fitness app ignores mobility limits.

→ Privacy Encryption Toolkit for AI Workflows New AI regulations demand stronger data protection. Enterprises struggle with complex encryption tools. One-click keys and instant audits for banking, healthcare, law.

and many many more

the old playbook is backwards

"build → launch → validate" doesn't work anymore. the timeline from idea to launch is now so fast you need validation before you write a line of code.

no more building into saturated markets. no more shipping too early or too late. no more guessing.

build boring. build niche. build with perfect timing.

david

⬛️

btw, some posts you might have missed