From Inbox Experiments — Issue #28
Score any niche idea across 5 criteria. Each criterion is worth 0–2 points. Maximum total: 10 points.
| Criterion | Question | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain Intensity | Are people loudly complaining about this problem? | No threads on Reddit | A few posts or articles | Active complaint threads every month |
| Budget Signal | Has this audience paid for something similar before? | They expect free tools | Some payments exist | Clear spending signal (Gumroad, AppSumo, App Store, etc.) |
| Underserved Segment | Are the big players ignoring this audience? | Everyone is targeting this niche — no differentiation | Competitors exist but a specific segment is underserved | Big players exist but this sub-segment is completely overlooked |
| AI Disruption Risk | Could ChatGPT solve this problem within the next year? | High risk | Medium | Low / requires human touch |
| Distribution Clarity | Do I know exactly where to reach this audience? | No idea | 1–2 channels exist | Reddit / forum / community is very clear |
My niche idea: [audience] for [problem]
| Criterion | Score (0–2) | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Pain Intensity | ||
| Budget Signal | ||
| Underserved Segment | ||
| AI Disruption Risk | ||
| Distribution Clarity |
Total: /10
Niche: Automated weekly client report template for solo accountants
| Criterion | Score | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Pain Intensity | 2 | "Client reporting takes hours" threads appear monthly on r/Accounting |
| Budget Signal | 2 | Bench, FreshBooks, Wave all sell subscriptions to this audience — payment habit exists |
| Underserved Segment | 2 | FreshBooks targets everyone — the solo accountant niche is completely ignored |
| AI Disruption Risk | 1 | ChatGPT can draft reports, but client-specific data integration still requires a human |
| Distribution Clarity | 2 | r/Accounting, r/freelance, AICPA forums — audience is clear |
Total: 9/10 → Ship it, validate it.