The B2B SaaS world is booming. Every day, new software companies launch with big ideas and bigger dreams. However, there’s a dirty secret in this industry that almost nobody talks about openly.
Most B2B SaaS companies are building solutions to problems that don’t actually exist. Moreover, they’re spending time, money, and energy on products that customers don’t really need. Furthermore, by the time they realize this, it’s too late.
The Fantasy Problem
Here’s how it usually starts. A founder has a brilliant idea. They think they’ve spotted a gap in the market. Therefore, they build a product to fill that gap. Additionally, they spend months coding, designing, and perfecting their solution.
But here’s the issue: they never actually asked real customers if they had this problem. Instead, they assumed. They guessed. They built what they thought companies needed, not what they actually needed.
This is the biggest mistake in B2B SaaS. When you start with an assumption instead of a real problem, everything that follows is built on sand. As a result, you can have the best product in the world, but it won’t matter. Nobody will buy something they don’t need.
Think about your own business. When you face a problem, do you search for a software solution? Or do you find a way to work around it? Most of the time, companies have workarounds. They’ve learned to deal with their problems in creative ways. So when a SaaS company shows up with a solution, the company doesn’t rush to buy it. Instead, they ask themselves: is this really worth changing our whole process?
The Difference Between Feature and Solution
Here’s something important to understand. There’s a big difference between a feature and a solution to a real problem.
A feature is something nice to have. For example, a reporting tool might be a feature. However, a solution to a real problem is something that saves time, money, or headaches in a major way. Therefore, if your SaaS product is just adding features to what already exists, you’re probably building something nobody wants.
Many B2B SaaS companies make exactly this mistake. They focus on building cool features instead of solving actual business problems. As a result, they end up with a product that’s nice but unnecessary.
The best B2B SaaS companies start differently. First, they talk to customers. Next, they listen to their pain points. Then, they build something that solves one specific pain in a powerful way.
The Problem With Building Too Fast
In today’s SaaS world, there’s a push to move fast and break things. Furthermore, investors want to see products quickly. Additionally, founders want to launch and get market feedback.
But this speed comes at a cost. When you move fast without understanding your customer’s real problems, you end up building the wrong thing. Most importantly, once you’ve built the wrong thing and launched it, changing course is hard.
You’ve already told investors your story. You’ve already hired people. You’ve already spent money on marketing. So even when you realize your product solves a problem nobody has, it’s difficult to pivot.
This is why understanding the real problem matters before you build. If you get it wrong at the start, every dollar you spend afterward is wasted money. Therefore, taking time to talk to customers first isn’t slow—it’s actually the fastest path to success.
The Market Validation Illusion
Many SaaS founders think they’ve validated their market when they get their first customers. However, early customers aren’t always proof of a real market.
Here’s why. Your first customers might be early adopters who will try anything new. Additionally, they might be friends or people who feel obligated to help you. Furthermore, they might be testing your product for free or at a steep discount. As a result, they don’t represent your real market.
Real market validation comes when strangers are willing to pay good money for your solution. Moreover, when they’re choosing your product over doing things the old way. In addition, when they’re telling other companies to buy it too.
If you’re not seeing these signs, then you don’t actually have market validation. You just have some early adopters. And that’s not enough to build a real business.
Why Customer Interviews Save Lives
This might sound dramatic, but customer interviews can actually save your SaaS company.
Before you build anything, talk to at least fifty potential customers. Ask them about their current process. Furthermore, ask them what frustrates them. Additionally, ask them what they wish existed. Most importantly, understand the real problems they face and whether solving them could create a death spiral of bad decisions.
When you do this, something interesting happens. You’ll find that many people describe similar problems. Furthermore, you’ll notice that some problems are big enough to actually build a business around. As a result, you’ll have real direction instead of guesses.
The companies that do this before building always have better products. Moreover, they get customers faster. Additionally, they raise money more easily because investors see they understand their market.
The Trap of Building What Excites You
Here’s a hard truth: just because something excites you doesn’t mean customers want it.
Many SaaS founders get excited about technology. Therefore, they build technically amazing things. However, customers don’t care about how fancy your code is. They care about whether your product solves their problem in a way that makes their life easier.
So you might have the coolest technology in your industry. But if it doesn’t solve a real problem, it doesn’t matter. Furthermore, if it solves a real problem but is hard to use, that also doesn’t matter. According to research on what customers actually want, customers will choose something simpler that works over something amazing that’s complicated.
This is why listening to customers is more important than following your own excitement. When you build based on what customers actually need, you’ll naturally make the right choices. Additionally, your product will be better. As a result, you’ll win.
The Path Forward
If you’re building a B2B SaaS company, start with this: talk to customers before you code. Moreover, ask them real questions about their problems. Furthermore, write down their exact words. Most importantly, explore how to identify problems worth solving and avoid the trap of building what excites you instead of what customers need.
If you see a consistent problem that many companies face, and if they’d be willing to pay to solve it, then you’ve found something worth building. In that case, build the simplest thing possible to solve that one problem.
Don’t try to solve everything. Rather, solve one thing really well. As a result, you’ll have a product that people actually want. Additionally, you can expand from there.
The B2B SaaS world has enough products that nobody wants. Therefore, the companies that win are the ones that solve real problems. Furthermore, the companies that talk to customers first are the ones that know what real problems actually are.
Your success in B2B SaaS isn’t about building the fanciest product. Rather, it’s about building something that solves a problem people are actually experiencing. And that journey starts with listening, not building.
