Niche Scoring vs the Messy Alternative for AI SaaS

Two paths.

Path A: Capability Pick

Founder picks the niche where the LLM capability is most impressive.

Six months later: ten other startups shipped the same feature. Demos look identical. Distribution is impossible without paid ads. Customers cannot tell the products apart.

Path B: Scored Pick

Founder lists five candidates. Adds crowding as a sixth criterion. The exciting niche scores third because crowding is high. The boring underexplored niche scores first.

Six months later: shipped, customers acquired, no ten-startup pile-up to fight through.

The Choice

Same total time. Path A produces a clever AI feature in a crowded category. Path B produces a useful product in an empty one.