SaaS Ideas from Online Communities: 8 Forums Beyond Reddit

Most founders hunting for SaaS ideas default to Reddit. It's a goldmine, sure—but it's also crowded. Thousands of other builders are mining the same r/SaaS and r/Entrepreneur threads you are.

The real opportunities? They're hiding in specialized online communities where your target customers gather, complain, and desperately seek solutions. These niche forums have smaller audiences but higher-quality signals. Less noise, more pain.

This guide reveals eight powerful online communities beyond Reddit where successful founders extract validated SaaS ideas. You'll learn exactly what to look for, how to spot patterns, and which signals indicate real willingness to pay.

Why Online Communities Beat Traditional Market Research

Before we dive into specific communities, understand why this approach works.

Traditional market research asks people hypothetical questions. "Would you pay for X?" Everyone says yes. Then you build it and crickets.

Online communities reveal actual behavior. People share real frustrations in the moment. They describe workarounds they've cobbled together. They ask "Does anyone know a tool that does X?" with genuine urgency.

This is validation before you write a single line of code.

The founders who generated $10K MRR in year one didn't guess at problems. They listened where their customers already congregated.

The Three Signals That Indicate a Viable SaaS Idea

As you explore these communities, train yourself to recognize three critical signals:

Signal 1: Repeated complaints about the same problem. One person venting could be an outlier. Ten people describing the same pain point? That's a pattern worth investigating.

Signal 2: Expensive or time-consuming workarounds. When people describe multi-step processes involving spreadsheets, manual data entry, or paying for multiple tools to solve one problem—that's your opportunity.

Signal 3: Budget discussions. Pay attention when people mention costs, ROI, or what they currently pay for inadequate solutions. This tells you pricing expectations and willingness to pay.

These signals appear across all communities. Your job is systematic observation.

Community #1: Indie Hackers

Why it works: Indie Hackers hosts 100,000+ founders, developers, and entrepreneurs building businesses. Unlike Reddit's sprawling chaos, conversations here focus specifically on building and growing products.

Where to look:

• The "Idea Validation" group
• Product-specific groups (SaaS, marketplace, etc.)
• Monthly revenue report threads
• "Looking for" posts in the community section

What to extract: Indie Hackers members openly discuss their tech stacks, operational challenges, and gaps in existing tools. Look for threads where founders ask "What do you use for X?" and multiple people respond "Nothing good exists."

Real example: A 2024 thread about developer documentation tools revealed 40+ founders struggling with the same workflow: maintaining docs across GitHub, Notion, and their actual codebase. Three different founders in that thread mentioned they'd pay $50-100/month for a unified solution.

Pro tip: Sort by "Top" for the past month and scan the most-engaged discussions. High engagement indicates shared pain.

Community #2: Hacker News

Why it works: Hacker News attracts technical founders, CTOs, and engineers from startups to enterprise. The audience skews sophisticated—they understand complex problems and have budget authority.

Where to look:

• "Ask HN" threads (especially "What are you working on?" and "What tools do you wish existed?")
• "Show HN" posts (see what gets traction)
• Job board discussions (reveals hiring pain)
• Comments on technical articles

What to extract: HN discussions dive deep into technical implementation challenges. You'll find complaints about existing enterprise tools, debates about build-vs-buy decisions, and detailed descriptions of internal tools companies built because nothing existed.

Real example: An Ask HN thread about API testing revealed dozens of developers frustrated with Postman's complexity for simple use cases. Several mentioned they'd switched to writing custom scripts. One comment got 200+ upvotes: "I just want to test APIs without learning a new IDE." That's a validated problem.

Pro tip: Use Algolia's HN search to find threads containing phrases like "I wish there was" or "Does anyone know a tool for." Set a date range for the past 3-6 months.

Many of the B2B SaaS ideas that businesses pay to solve started as HN comment threads.

Community #3: Product Hunt Discussions

Why it works: Product Hunt isn't just for launches. The discussion section and comment threads reveal what early adopters actually want versus what gets built.

Where to look:

• Comments on newly launched products (especially critical feedback)
• "Upcoming" products (see what generates pre-launch interest)
• Discussion posts asking for recommendations
• Collections and lists (shows what categories people care about)

What to extract: Pay attention to comment patterns on new launches. When someone says "This is close but I really need it to do X," that's a feature gap. When multiple products in the same category launch within months, that indicates rising demand.

Real example: In 2023, five different "meeting recording" tools launched on Product Hunt. Comments consistently mentioned the same gap: automatic action item extraction and assignment. The first tool that nailed this feature (Granola) gained significant traction.

Pro tip: Follow specific categories relevant to your interests (Developer Tools, Productivity, Marketing). Product Hunt emails daily launches, making it easy to spot trends.

Community #4: Slack and Discord Communities

Why it works: Real-time conversations in niche Slack and Discord servers reveal immediate frustrations. People are less filtered than in public forums.

Where to look:

• Industry-specific Slack workspaces (Marketing, Sales, HR, etc.)
• Tool-specific communities (Notion, Airtable, Webflow users)
• Local startup communities
• Accelerator and incubator alumni groups

What to extract: Monitor channels like #random, #help, #tools, and #recommendations. Watch for recurring questions. Notice when people share screenshots of complex workflows or workarounds.

Real example: In a marketing operations Slack with 5,000 members, the #tools channel had weekly questions about attribution tracking across multiple ad platforms. Members shared elaborate Zapier workflows involving 8+ steps. This pattern validated demand for unified attribution software.

Pro tip: Use Slack's search function to find historical mentions of problems. Search for phrases like "frustrated with," "anyone know how to," or "better way to."

These communities often surface the boring problems that unsexy SaaS ideas solve—the ones that actually make money.

Community #5: Niche Subreddits (The Specific Ones)

Yes, we're including Reddit—but not the obvious subreddits everyone monitors.

Why it works: While r/SaaS and r/Entrepreneur are saturated, industry-specific and role-specific subreddits fly under the radar. These communities have highly concentrated pain points.

Where to look:

• r/marketing_ops (not r/marketing)
• r/salesforce (not r/sales)
• r/sysadmin (not r/technology)
• r/freelance_forhire (not r/freelance)
• r/juststart (for content creators and bloggers)
• r/ecommerce (specific platform discussions)

What to extract: Look for "How do you handle X?" threads with 50+ comments. Read the entire thread. The top comment shows the most popular solution, but the replies reveal edge cases and unmet needs.

Real example: In r/sysadmin, a thread about employee onboarding revealed that mid-size companies (50-200 employees) struggle with a specific gap: they're too big for manual onboarding but too small for enterprise solutions like Okta. Multiple IT managers mentioned budget constraints and complexity issues. That's a validated micro-SaaS opportunity.

Pro tip: Create a multireddit of 10-15 niche subreddits in your target industry. Check it daily for 15 minutes. Use tools like Postpone or Notifier for Reddit to get alerts on specific keywords.

Our guide on extracting profitable SaaS ideas from Reddit goes deeper into specific techniques and tools.

Community #6: LinkedIn Groups

Why it works: LinkedIn groups attract professionals discussing work problems during work hours. The audience has buying power and discusses B2B challenges openly.

Where to look:

• Industry-specific groups (FinTech Professionals, Healthcare IT, etc.)
• Role-specific groups (Product Managers, Sales Operations, etc.)
• Alumni groups from major companies
• Regional startup and tech communities

What to extract: LinkedIn discussions reveal enterprise pain points and budget realities. Members share what tools their companies use, what's being evaluated, and what's failing.

Real example: A Product Management group discussion about roadmap tools revealed consistent frustration with Jira's complexity for non-technical stakeholders. Multiple PMs mentioned they maintain separate roadmaps in PowerPoint or Figma because existing tools don't communicate well with executives. Several mentioned budget approval for tools under $100/user/month.

Pro tip: Don't just lurk. Ask strategic questions like "What's your biggest challenge with [specific workflow]?" or "What tools have you tried and abandoned?" People love sharing opinions.

Community #7: Quora

Why it works: Quora's question-and-answer format naturally surfaces problems people actively seek to solve. The platform's search functionality helps identify recurring questions.

Where to look:

• Topic-specific spaces (SaaS, Startups, specific industries)
• Questions with 10+ answers (indicates common problem)
• Questions with low-quality answers (opportunity gap)
• Follow relevant topics and spaces

What to extract: Look for questions that get asked repeatedly with slight variations. If five different people ask "How do I manage X without Y?" in six months, that's a pattern.

Real example: Multiple questions about "How to manage freelancer payments internationally" revealed consistent pain: Upwork and Fiverr take high fees, PayPal has currency conversion issues, and wire transfers are slow. Several answers mentioned willingness to pay 2-3% for a reliable solution. This validated the problem Deel and Remote eventually solved (though at enterprise scale).

Pro tip: Use Quora's search with operators like "How to [your topic]" or "Best tool for [your topic]." Sort by "Most Followed" to find questions people care about.

Community #8: Industry-Specific Forums

Every industry has its own forums and message boards. These are goldmines because they're hyper-targeted.

Examples by industry:

• Real estate: BiggerPockets forums
• E-commerce: Shopify Community, eCommerceFuel (private)
• Agencies: Agency Analytics Community
• Developers: Dev.to, Hashnode discussions
• Writers: Absolute Write, KBoards
• Designers: Designer Hangout (Slack), Dribbble discussions

Why it works: Industry forums have been around for years. They're not trendy, which means less competition for your attention. Members are deeply engaged and know their pain points intimately.

What to extract: Look for the "Tools and Resources" subforum (most have one). Read threads about software recommendations. Notice when people say "I've tried X, Y, and Z but none do exactly what I need."

Real example: On BiggerPockets, a thread about property management software for small landlords (1-10 properties) revealed a consistent gap: existing solutions target either DIY landlords (too simple) or large property management companies (too expensive and complex). Multiple forum members mentioned they'd pay $50-100/month for something in between.

Pro tip: Use Google search with site operators: site:industryforumname.com "looking for software" or site:industryforumname.com "recommend a tool".

These specialized forums often reveal the underserved SaaS niches that make money precisely because they're overlooked.

How to Systematically Extract SaaS Ideas from These Communities

Now you know where to look. Here's your systematic process:

Step 1: Choose Your Focus

Don't try to monitor all eight communities across all industries. Pick 2-3 communities where your target customers congregate. If you're targeting developers, focus on Hacker News, Dev.to, and relevant Slack communities.

Step 2: Set Up Your Research System

Create a simple tracking system:

• Spreadsheet or Notion database with columns: Date, Community, Problem Description, User Quote, Frequency, Willingness to Pay signals
• RSS feeds or alerts for your chosen communities
• 15-30 minutes daily for systematic scanning

Step 3: Document Everything

When you spot a potential problem:

1. Save the link
2. Copy relevant quotes
3. Note how many people mentioned it
4. Screenshot if possible
5. Tag with categories (workflow automation, data analysis, etc.)

Step 4: Look for Patterns

After 2-4 weeks, review your research. Look for:

• Problems mentioned across multiple communities
• Problems with clear workarounds (indicates urgency)
• Problems where people mention specific dollar amounts
• Problems that affect a definable segment

These patterns become your validated SaaS ideas worth pursuing.

Step 5: Engage and Validate

Once you've identified a promising pattern:

1. Join the conversation naturally
2. Ask clarifying questions
3. Share your observations ("I've noticed several people mention X...")
4. Gauge interest in a solution
5. Offer to prototype something

This engagement becomes your first validation step before building anything.

Red Flags to Watch For

Not every problem you find is worth solving. Watch for these warning signs:

Red flag #1: Only one person complains, loudly. Some people are just vocal. Look for multiple independent mentions.

Red flag #2: The workaround is "good enough." If people have found acceptable free alternatives, they won't pay for marginal improvement.

Red flag #3: The problem affects individuals, not businesses. Consumer SaaS is much harder to monetize than B2B. Unless you see clear subscription willingness, focus on business problems.

Red flag #4: Highly technical or regulated solutions. Some problems require deep expertise or regulatory compliance that makes them unsuitable for solo developers.

Red flag #5: Everyone wants it free. If discussions consistently mention "I'd use this if it were free" without acknowledging value, the monetization path is unclear.

Our article on why most SaaS ideas fail covers more validation pitfalls.

From Community Insights to Built Product

You've found a validated problem. Now what?

Don't disappear to build in isolation. The biggest mistake founders make is extracting an idea from a community, then vanishing for months to build.

Instead:

1. Stay engaged. Share your progress. Ask for feedback on mockups.
2. Build in public. Post updates in the community where you found the problem.
3. Offer early access. Give community members first access in exchange for feedback.
4. Launch where you researched. Your first customers are in these communities.

This approach transforms community research from passive observation to active customer development.

Many founders who launched successfully in 90 days maintained continuous engagement with their source communities throughout the build process.

Tools to Automate Community Monitoring

Manual monitoring works, but these tools help you scale:

For Reddit:

• F5Bot: Alerts when keywords appear across Reddit
• Postpone: Schedule and automate Reddit monitoring
• TrackReddit: Email alerts for keywords

For Hacker News:

• Algolia HN Search: Advanced search with filters
• HN Replies: Get notified of replies to your comments
• HN Daily: Curated daily email

For multiple platforms:

• Google Alerts: Basic but effective for forums
• Mention: Monitors brand and keyword mentions across platforms
• Talkwalker Alerts: Free alternative to Google Alerts

For Slack/Discord:

• Slack's built-in search and notification keywords
• Discord search with filters
• Syften: Monitors Slack communities for keywords

Advanced Technique: The Comparison Method

Here's a powerful technique most founders miss:

In your chosen communities, search for comparison questions: "X vs Y," "Alternative to Z," or "Better than A."

These searches reveal:

1. What existing solutions people have tried
2. Why those solutions fall short
3. What features matter most
4. Price sensitivity

Example: Searching Indie Hackers for "alternative to Zapier" reveals dozens of threads. Common themes: Zapier is too expensive for simple automations, the UI is confusing for non-technical users, and pricing scales too quickly.

That's validation for a simpler, more affordable automation tool targeting specific use cases.

This comparison method works across all eight communities. It's essentially reverse engineering competitor analysis through user feedback.

Your 30-Day Community Research Sprint

Ready to find your next SaaS idea? Here's your 30-day plan:

Week 1: Setup

• Choose 2-3 communities from this list
• Set up accounts and join relevant groups
• Create your tracking system
• Identify 5-10 keywords to monitor

Week 2: Observation

• Spend 30 minutes daily scanning discussions
• Document 10-15 potential problems
• Don't engage yet—just observe
• Look for patterns

Week 3: Pattern Analysis

• Review your documented problems
• Identify the top 3 most frequently mentioned
• Research existing solutions
• Assess competition and gaps

Week 4: Validation

• Engage in discussions about your top problems
• Ask clarifying questions
• Share observations
• Gauge interest in potential solutions

By day 30, you'll have 2-3 validated problems worth exploring further. That's more progress than most founders make in six months of "thinking about ideas."

Common Questions About Community Research

Q: Won't other founders steal my idea if I engage publicly?

A: Ideas are worthless without execution. The founders who succeed are the ones who engage, validate, and build relationships—not those who hide. Plus, execution matters more than your concept.

Q: How do I know when I've found enough validation?

A: Look for 10-15 independent mentions of the same problem across different people and threads. If you can find 5-10 people willing to have a 15-minute call about the problem, that's strong validation.

Q: Should I focus on communities in my own industry?

A: Not necessarily. Your domain expertise helps, but don't limit yourself. Some of the best opportunities come from applying solutions from one industry to another. However, you need to be willing to learn the industry deeply.

Q: How long should I research before building?

A: 2-4 weeks of systematic research is usually enough to identify promising problems. Don't get stuck in perpetual research mode. Once you have clear validation signals, start building an MVP.

Q: What if the community is too small?

A: Small communities can indicate niche opportunities. If a forum has 500 active members and 50 of them mention the same problem, that's potentially 10% of your addressable market showing clear pain. Sometimes smaller is better for micro-SaaS ideas.

Beyond Research: Building Your Audience

The smartest move? Don't just extract ideas from these communities—become a valued member.

Contribute helpful answers. Share your expertise. Build relationships. When you eventually launch your SaaS, you'll have:

1. Built-in distribution through community goodwill
2. Early adopters who already know and trust you
3. Continuous feedback from engaged users
4. Word-of-mouth potential from community advocates

This is how successful founders build sustainable SaaS businesses. They don't parachute in with a product. They become part of the community first.

Start Today

You now have eight proven communities where validated SaaS ideas hide in plain sight. You have a systematic process for extracting and validating those ideas. You have tools to automate monitoring.

The only thing missing is action.

Pick two communities from this list. Set up accounts. Spend 30 minutes today just observing. Look for patterns. Document problems.

Do this consistently for 30 days and you'll have more validated SaaS opportunities than you can build.

The founders making $10K MRR aren't smarter than you. They're just more systematic about finding and validating real problems. They listen where their customers already gather.

Start listening today.

For more systematic approaches to finding your next SaaS opportunity, explore our complete toolkit of research sources and learn where successful founders find their best ideas.