Are we underestimating the value of “boring” businesses in tech?
There’s still a lot of attention on flashy categories: AI agents, creator tools, social apps. At the same time, you keep hearing quiet stories about people building solid, calm businesses around very unsexy problems: invoicing for a niche industry, compliance workflows, scheduling in weird contexts, back-office tools nobody outside the niche has heard of.
I’m curious whether your view of “what’s worth building” has changed over the last few years. Would you be excited to build something deeply boring if the demand and willingness to pay were obvious? Or do you still feel pulled towards more visible, consumer-facing or hyped spaces? And for those already in “boring” niches, how has that choice played out in terms of users, stress and revenue?
Replies
I used to think consumer apps were the only exciting path, but the more I see founders building calm, profitable businesses in niche workflows, the more it changes my mind. There’s something refreshing about solving a problem that actually hurts instead of one that just trends on X.
Seefy
@robin_prime Same shift for me, consumer used to feel like the only “real” game, but watching niche products quietly stack profit is very convincing. Solving a painful workflow for a small group seems to age way better than chasing whatever happens to trend on X this month.
IXORD
AI has definitely changed the product market, but I believe that the process of creating products has remained the same. We still need to think carefully about what is worth building. Some people create products that will be used less because AI now allows people to build faster and, in some ways, more easily than fifteen years ago. However, the foundation of product creation is still essential
Seefy
@ixord Totally agree. AI changes the speed of building, not the fundamentals of what’s worth building. If anything, the ability to ship faster makes it even more important to think hard about demand and longevity
@ixord I agree! Now it's so easy to build if you have a lot of money (since AI is so expensive), but I'm already seeing much more competition and people prioritizing their products over exploring others, and if AI starts getting more affordable it'll just get worse... leading to more competition, less creativity, and less smart people.
TinyCommand
I’ve actually started appreciating the “boring” ideas a lot more lately. They may not look exciting, but the problems are real and the users genuinely care. If the demand is clear, I’d pick that over something flashy, it feels a lot more grounded.
Seefy
@anushkahode Yeah, I’m in the same boat, the “grounded” stuff is starting to look a lot more attractive than the shiny ideas. When there’s clear demand and people genuinely care if you shut the thing down, it feels like you’re building something real, not just riding the trend of the month.
I think the flashy has money and hype, where there is money and hype that's the direction builders go these days. With AI a few things have become easy like validating, researching, building an MVP or a product, ( vibe coding), distribution etc so the boring gets lost in noise.. but I know a lot of them still build in boring niches because where there is less competition there is money.
Seefy
@mahatisingh Yeah, hype + AI definitely pulls attention toward the loudest categories. It’s so easy now to spin up something flashy that the quieter, boring problems get buried. But like you said, less competition + clear money in = very attractive for many people
@mahatisingh This is such a great point! "Build in boring niches because where there is less competition there is money." Reminds me of what Cal Newport said in his book Deep Work, basically that hard work over time will always pay off compared to trends.
Honestly, my view has shifted a lot. I'm realizing boring businesses often make the strongest foundations. If the demand is clear and customers pay reliably, I'd absolutely build something unsexy. Stability feels more exciting to me lately than chasing hype or visibility.
Seefy
@almuddin_ansari Same here, As I’ve grown a boring product with clear demand and predictable cashflow suddenly looks way more ambitious long term than another swing at the hot category of the year.
As a more technical guy I must admit that the shiny new stuff does interest me more. But i think its just because I learning new things.
However, I have spoken with some successful founders who have actually built successful "boring" businesses and I realized that those types of business seem to have better ( or maybe clearer) economic fundamentals. Now I look for boring problems to solve but still try my hand at interesting flashy projects though its mostly for the experience.
AIVory Guard
The problem really is that only the flashy categories get the attention - and that leads to everything always being focussed on that - but yeah the boring thing that won't turn into a unicorn but will help actual people every day and that makes enough to support a team? That is a different type of category that gets way too little light shed on it unfortunately.
For me personally my view on this changed as I got older and got more experience. You start to appreciate the niches more and the really thoughtful solutions.
Late to this thread and I agree with all the input.
What strikes me is that the “boring” ideas are often the most sharply defined — real pain, well defined audience, clear value. That’s becoming more appealing to me than the loud stuff. Building product is a little easier than before, and distribution is getting harder.
I’ve been trying to explore this world more through things like Half Baked and Starter Story, but the really quiet, boring businesses are the hardest to uncover. If anyone has good sources or examples of these “quiet winners,” I’d love to dig in more.
I'm in a boring niche that isn't considered boring: 3D modeling. Kids think it's fun to get into but then grow up finding it boring when nobody is interested in all the cool stuff being made from it because modeling takes a lot of brainpower! I love the mental-turmoil though, same with coding, I think people like the hype but then with anything, if it takes a lot of effort then they're less likely to go through with it.