I struggled with this myself. Make something people want, but how?

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I found a very neat way to tackle this. Make something that is not what you want, but something that is %100 a service for other people. When you start thinking about the next idea, you can viably start with this angle.

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"A problem you had and excited about solving" solely serves you. It could serve others, but at least the starting point is you.

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Example: WPEngine. It is better wordpress hosting for who? _others_. So as a natural result, those _others_ are served and they pay.

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Of course it is hard - serving someone vs building something you like to build. Would you want to work on how to serve _me_ breakfast for instance? It's not interesting. But I found that angle is the best way to come up with good business ideas. Suck it up and serve!

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My wife put it very clearly: It is like physics. The energy that goes in and out is equal. You work hard serving others, in exchange they give you cash. It has nothing to do with an app, or a tool, or what you like.

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Automate that service with software and hopefully you have a scalable service, and business. Serve at scale, get paid at scale.

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My projects: Last year I built Buzz. It is a blog network like Medium. I indulged myself building it, worked with the best people in design. But who would pay for a blog - it is a crowded space. I did not think about who I am serving.

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My current project: SaaSBox. It makes it easier/faster for _others_ to launch their MVP idea. I added hosting as well and make it easy for others to build their stuff. I am ready to suck it up and serve :) I see a much higher chance to start with paid users.