Our first software business came from a very ordinary problem: taking orders for signs and brochures was harder than it needed to be.
A customer would email us, and we'd have to call them back to find out how many brochures they wanted. Then there was the artwork, production and all the work of keeping track of the order. We knew the process because we were doing it.
So we built a system that made ordering and preparing artwork easier. Our own team used it every day. The software grew out of work we already understood, rather than an idea about what another industry might need.
Clipflow started in a similar way. I was making content and struggling to keep it organised, particularly once other people were involved. We built something we could use ourselves, and using it kept showing us what needed to improve.
That gives you a useful source of feedback. You don't have to wait for a customer to describe every awkward interaction. You encounter it while you're trying to finish your own work.
Customers won't always explain why something failed for them. Some will just decide it doesn't work and move on. Knowing the job yourself helps you catch problems before you rely entirely on that feedback.
It doesn't mean everyone works exactly like you. You still need to talk to other people and understand their needs. But I much prefer starting with a problem I can describe from experience.
Before building an app, try explaining the last time the problem happened. What were you doing? What made it difficult? That will give you more to work with than a guess about what people probably struggle with.
