I cloned a popular tool, fixed a few things and now I have paying users. Here’s why this approach works

Unpopular opinion: "Cloning" a tool in a saturated market is honestly one of the most underrated ways to win as a first time founder.

I know everyone says you need to build something crazy and unique most of the profitable indie SaaS I see is basically an "alternative to X, but with one thing done better."

When I started, I thought making yet another data scraper was pointless. "So many players, why bother?" But after seeing tons of "unique" projects with literally zero users (even tho they sometimes score some early investment!), I switched it up.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, I picked a busy niche, cloned the basics, and obsessed over just one real customer pain that everyone else ignored. Didn’t even try to make it "the best ever", just "the best for THIS thing."

It actually worked. Not a unicorn story, but I got paying users faster than with any original idea. Turns out people in crowded markets already understand their problems and want simple solutions, not magic.

Why do we act like making a good alternative isn’t a win? If you’re a first time founder, copy what works and just improve a few things. Forget the "unique genius" pressure.

as someone who do IM 7 yrs i can tell u that you do only what works
never try to re invent the wheel unless u are elon musk

smart execution, i ve always said it start with a known pain point in a busy market, build a narrow solution, and iterate fast.

I dig you. There's a very popular quote that says "good artists copy". I'll think of this approach as we enter the new week and see if I can do something similar.

proven market is bigger than any unproven potential market

So true! Thanks for the reminder