2026-07-03

Developers are paying for AI assistants but find them frustratingly limited, forcing them to build complex workarounds, custom prompts, or even duct-taped infrastructure (Lambda+CLI) to get desired results.

"I am now using a workflow where the brainstorming process is the same, but I have claude write an instructional document for me to implement."

Businesses in marketing, manufacturing, and finance are investing heavily (building in-house tools, hiring founding engineers) to solve high-value problems that generic software can't, like simulating market conditions or modernizing physical infrastructure.

"we built our own Answer Engine Optimization engine in-house and pointed it at how models actually retrieve, rank, and cite sources."

Costco members are paying for a membership but find the in-store experience "miserable" due to crowding or incompatible with an urban, car-free lifestyle, forcing them into inefficient workarounds.

"I'd load up my gym bag full of food - even then Costco is not ideal because there's only so much you can carry (one thing of meat, one thing of eggs, some veggies)."

Developers are paying for tools like Claude Pro and GitHub Copilot but are frustrated by the 'prompt-response' loop that breaks their coding flow, creating an opening for a more integrated AI coding partner.

"I use Claude Code and Codex, but I haven't been able to enter flow state like I can when I hand write code."

SaaS companies offering AI features are paying for meta-tools to implement sophisticated trial tiers and usage limits, indicating a need for better native billing and cost control solutions.

"Working with a customer to implement RevTurbine (revturbine.com). We are implementing a reverse trial which is triggered by the key onboarding action (connecting the user's trading account), i.e. used as an incentive to complete it."