Entrepreneurs feel overwhelmed by market options
10 posts across 4 communities in the last 60 days; 40% from r/Entrepreneur.
“I’d put an idea aside when the right buyers keep describing a real problem but won’t commit anything to trying a solution. A promising market report and a painful problem still don’t tell you whether this particular product is worth building. Before coding, pick one buyer type…”
“For me, B is easier to understand and probably easier to test with real customers. The problem is the marketplace side. You need both good hosts and enough users in the same place, so I would probably start wery narrow, maybe one city and one type of experience. A, could be…”
“I'd add, what can you do that they can't? Big competitors usually can't turn as fast as you can, and an opportunity that's too small for them to consider might be the perfect size for you. Serving that opportunity will teach you about the actual market, which is how you grow.”
Multiple entrepreneurs are struggling to choose a target market, feeling that all opportunities seem viable. They seek advice on how to prioritize and make decisions, with some suggesting focusing on areas where they can offer unique value or learn quickly, while others caution against solely relying on data.
SOURCES (21)
“I’d put an idea aside when the right buyers keep describing a real problem but won’t commit anything to trying a solution. A promising market report and a painful problem still don’t tell you whether this particular product is worth building. Before coding, pick one…”
“In fact i don’t know a single country which won’t tax a company incorporated abroad, when the “effective control” is in their jurisdiction.”
“Dubai is probably more interesting if you're actually planning to build an internationally focused business rather than simply moving somewhere cheaper. You get access to a very international customer and founder base, and the location is useful if you expect to deal with Europe, Asia or the Middle East. That said, Dubai isn't cheap in every category. Rent, schooling, healthcare and lifestyle can add up quickly. I'd research Meydan, Dubai South Business Hub, SHAMS, SPC, and Masdar Ci”
“Except for "making money," what are the areas that you find very interesting? Can you identify say 3 market niches in which you can immerse yourself because you're motivated to learn more and participate?”
“Yes I am considering this option also. Possibly the best option if you are in the EU.”
“e? Idea B has the same shape as ClassPass and Airbnb Experiences, and you didn't mention either once. Booking commissions on multi-day retreats sound great until you price the refunds, the insurance and the host who flakes in Portugal. Between the two I'd take B, if only because the pain is real and someone is already willing to pay for it today.”
“For me, B is easier to understand and probably easier to test with real customers. The problem is the marketplace side. You need both good hosts and enough users in the same place, so I would probably start wery narrow, maybe one city and one type of experience. A, could be easier to build, but I think it risks becoming too generic, especially with AI making strategy advice cheaper and easier to get. It would need a very specific niche or some kind of data/workflow advantage to be hard to copy.”
“Both are marketplaces, and that's the part I'd weigh first. A needs specialists and experts on one side and businesses on the other, B needs hosts and bookers. Without paid ads that's twice the outreach, and neither side shows up until the other one is there What I'm building isn't a marketplace on purpose: the founders who use it bring their own customers, so I only have to find one group If I had to pick, B. People already pay for a pottery class or a retreat without being”
“Neither of these ideas have much of a usp and both have massive competitors. Both ideas need a lot more development before I'd have much faith that they could be executed successful. Like, how are either of these ideas at all defensible from AI?”
this is the part people miss, its a window into spend not into opportunity
“Forced choice: the specialized-expert marketplace. But your low-handholding requirement is the test I'd run before building it. For one narrowly scoped offer, such as a career-transition document review, arrange five paid bookings yourself. Count the hours spent checking expert claims and handling problems after payment. Those hours come out of your commission. If bookings work only because you're personally coordinating them, an MVP won't make it a low-touch business. The distributi”
“If your building a marketplace. You need to figure out what the critical mass is before it runs itself. Because you need both sides, buyers and sellers. And neither wants to be the first to join. Marketplaces only really work if you have extreme amounts of capital to buy your way to critical mass. What you should do is make a business that can run itself with 1 user, same as it can with 10000 users. Scaling should work both ways.”
“I'm deciding between 2 ideas and want practicable feedback. Ignore which sounds more interesting and only evaluate based on cash flow, market demand, profitability, business viability and long term potential. 1. Marketplace for buying audience/distribution placements A marketplace where brands can discover and book access to audiences through different distribution channels. Starting with: Newsletters Niche digital publishers Online communities Eventually expanding into: Podcasts Coworking n”
“I’d rather dominate a smaller market with real traction than chase a huge one that only looks good on paper.”
“I'd add, what can you do that they can't? Big competitors usually can't turn as fast as you can, and an opportunity that's too small for them to consider might be the perfect size for you. Serving that opportunity will teach you about the actual market, which is how you grow.”
“The problem is that options are actually limited really Start running premortems on Claude and you'll see how many of potential ideas are not viable at all”
“For SaaS specifically I'd add payment and support friction to the list, not just market size. A country can look great on paper but if invoicing norms or support expectations are different enough, you're quietly rebuilding parts of your product just to operate there. Before testing anything real I just talk to a few people already selling something adjacent in that market. Cheap and tells you fast if the growth numbers hide friction reports don't show. What's the biggest hidden c”
“Honestly the "best on paper" market is usually a trap. What matters more is where you can learn cheap and fast. I ask three things: can I name an actual buyer and what pushes them to buy in the next couple months, do I already have some unfair access there (language, network, regs, existing customers), and if the test fails will I still walk away with something useful for the other markets. Big shiny markets often fail that last one because learning costs a fortune. If two options stil”