I have 20 years in behavioral health and built 4 SaaS products. Here is what I learned about solving real problems.
Most founders build a product and then go looking for the problem it solves. I had the opposite experience.
Two decades in behavioral health utilization review means I watched the same inefficiencies repeat every single day. I knew exactly what was broken before I wrote a single line of code.
That domain expertise turned out to be the most valuable thing I had. Not the tech stack, not the funding, not the launch strategy. Just knowing the problem cold before anyone else in the room.
Four products later as a solo founder with no VC and no team here is what I actually learned:
Your first user should feel like you built it specifically for them. If it does not feel that way you have not gone deep enough on the problem yet.
Shipping ugly beats not shipping perfect every single time.
Reddit is underrated for finding your first 100 users if you show up as a human and not a brand.
The loneliest part is not the technical problems. It is the days where you wonder if anyone actually cares.
Anyone else building in a niche industry where you had deep domain experience before you started? Curious how that shaped what you built.