Building What You Wish Existed: A Guide for Frustrated Users Turned Founders

“I wish there was an app for that.” “Why doesn’t this exist?” “Someone should really build…” How many times have you said these words? Here’s a radical idea: That someone is you.

The Best Products Come from Personal Pain

Every time you’re frustrated by a missing solution, you’re experiencing what thousands—maybe millions—of others are feeling. That frustration isn’t just an annoyance; it’s a business opportunity wrapped in personal experience.

Why Personal Problems Make Great Startups

1. You understand the problem deeply—no research required
2. You can’t be fooled by false validation—you know what really matters
3. You have endless motivation—you want this to exist
4. You’re your own first user—instant feedback loop
5. You know the competition’s weaknesses—you’ve tried everything else

Famous Products Born from Frustration

• Airbnb: Couldn’t afford rent, wished for a way to rent space
• Slack: Frustrated with email for team communication
• Dropbox: Tired of forgetting USB drives
• Pinterest: Wanted a better way to organize inspiration
• Square: Couldn’t accept credit cards at art fair

The founders didn’t conduct market research. They just built what they desperately wanted.

Your Frustration Audit

Take 10 minutes and list:

• Tools you use daily that annoy you
• Tasks you do manually that should be automated
• Information you can never find when you need it
• Services that are too expensive or complex
• Things you’ve Googled that had no good solution

Each item on this list is a potential product.

From Frustration to Foundation

The Validation Is Built-In

When you build what you wish existed:

• You don’t need to wonder if there’s a market
• You don’t need to guess at features
• You don’t need to imagine use cases
• You already know the value proposition

You ARE the validation.

The Scratch Your Own Itch Method

1. Identify the itch: What genuinely bothers you daily?
2. Build the minimum scratch: Solve just your problem first
3. Use it yourself: Become user #1
4. Refine based on your experience: You’ll know what’s missing
5. Share with others who have the same itch: They exist, trust me

Real Examples from Indie Founders

The Designer’s Frustration

Problem: Hated tracking time for client work Built: Simple menu bar timer Result: $30K MRR from fellow designers

The Parent’s Pain Point

Problem: Coordinating kids’ activities was chaos Built: Family calendar app Result: 10,000 active families

The Developer’s Daily Annoyance

Problem: Switching between projects was tedious Built: Project environment switcher Result: Acquired by major tech company

The Advantage of Being Your Own User

Instant Feedback Loop

• Use your product daily
• Feel every pain point immediately
• Know instantly if a feature works
• Can’t fool yourself with vanity metrics

Authentic Marketing

• You speak the user’s language (it’s yours)
• Your frustrations resonate with others
• Your solution story is genuine
• Word-of-mouth comes naturally

Common Excuses Debunked

“But similar products exist” So what? They don’t solve YOUR specific problem the way YOU want it solved. That difference matters.

“The market might be too small” If you have this problem, others do too. Even 1,000 customers paying $10/month is a $120K/year business.

“I don’t have the technical skills” No-code tools, AI assistants, and freelancers exist. The solution is more accessible than ever.

“What if nobody else wants this?” Then you’ve built something you wanted. That’s still a win. But you’ll be surprised how many share your frustration.

Your Personal Problem Playbook

Week 1: Problem Discovery

• Track every frustration for 7 days
• Note which ones repeat daily
• Pick the most annoying one

Week 2: Solution Design

• Sketch the simplest possible fix
• Focus only on your use case
• Ignore edge cases and other users

Week 3: Build Your Version

• Use any tools necessary
• Make it work for you first
• Don’t worry about polish

Week 4: Find Your Tribe

• Share in relevant communities
• Look for “I wish this existed” posts
• Connect with fellow sufferers

The Types of Problems Worth Solving

High-Frequency Annoyances

Things you deal with multiple times daily

• Password management
• File organization
• Communication workflows

High-Impact Frustrations

Less frequent but highly painful

• Tax preparation
• Moving homes
• Finding contractors

Broken Industry Standards

“Everyone does it this way” doesn’t mean it’s right

• Scheduling appointments
• Expense reporting
• Customer support

From Side Project to Startup

The Natural Evolution

1. Build for yourself
2. Share with a few others
3. Iterate based on shared needs
4. Charge for premium features
5. Quit your job when revenue allows

You don’t need to plan this. If you solve a real problem, it happens naturally.

The Builder’s Mindset Shift

Stop accepting broken solutions. Every frustration is an opportunity. Every “I wish” is a product idea. Every workaround you’ve created is a potential business.

Your Homework

This weekend:

1. Pick your biggest daily frustration
2. Build the ugliest possible solution
3. Use it for one week
4. Share it with 5 people who might have the same problem

The Permission You’re Waiting For

You don’t need anyone’s permission to build what you wish existed. You don’t need funding, a co-founder, or validation. You just need the frustration and the will to fix it.

The world is full of problems waiting for solutions. You experience them every day. The only question is: Which one will you solve first?

Stop wishing. Start building. The solution you create for yourself today might be the product thousands of people are wishing for right now.

What do you wish existed? More importantly, what’s stopping you from building it?