How to Find a Product to Sell: The Product You Should Build Is Already in Your Head

About the role

Most people struggle to find a product to sell because they rely on external inspiration—scrolling Amazon, following YouTube tutorials, or using product research tools. However, successful product businesses start with founders solving a problem they’ve personally experienced. Examples include Spanx (shapewear that works under white pants), Bombas (socks that don’t fall down), and Allbirds (better wool shoes). The key is recognizing the ideas you’ve already been carrying—problems you’ve adapted to or categories where you’ve developed strong opinions as a heavy user.

This role focuses on helping others identify their unique product ideas by leveraging three lenses:

Responsibilities

• Guide founders through structured exercises to uncover product ideas hidden in their lived experiences, competencies, and shopping behaviors.
• Teach how to recognize "insider knowledge" from personal frustrations, hobbies, roles, and communities that others overlook.
• Help founders map their natural competencies (e.g., systems-thinking, aesthetic judgment, empathy) to product opportunities.
• Analyze shopping habits to identify categories where founders instinctively understand gaps in the market.
• Layer these insights to reveal actionable product ideas and business opportunities.

Requirements

• Firsthand experience building or scaling a product-based business (e.g., e-commerce, physical products).
• Deep understanding of how successful product businesses originate from personal problem-solving.
• Ability to articulate and teach frameworks for identifying unique product opportunities.
• Familiarity with tools like Jungle Scout or Helium 10 (though not as a primary method for idea generation).
• Strong communication skills to guide founders through introspective exercises.

Skills

• Lens 1: Lived Experiences – Ability to extract insights from personal roles (e.g., caregiver, traveler, small-space dweller), hobbies, and communities.
• Lens 2: Natural Competencies – Identifying innate strengths (e.g., systems-thinking, aesthetic judgment, customer empathy) and translating them into product opportunities.
• Lens 3: Shopping Instincts – Analyzing personal shopping behavior to spot gaps in product categories.
• Pattern recognition to layer these lenses and reveal viable business ideas.

This approach is detailed in Chapter 3 of The Founder’s Journal, which provides a structured exercise to surface and combine these insights.