From ICP to Sales in a Few Simple Steps

Most people think good business ideas come from what users say they want. In reality they usually come from what people already search for, quietly struggle with, or pay for without thinking. The loudest opinions online rarely match the buyers who swipe cards.

Instead of digging through “idea threads” or overmoderated Reddit posts, I use Google as my idea sensor. Autocomplete is passive research. Type phrases like “sentry lightweight…”, “self hosted error…”, or “lightweight error monitor…” and note the suggestions; they expose demand for simpler, cheaper, self-hosted setups.

Once I see a pattern I split the possible customers into two simple groups: Big Companies versus Indie developers, small teams, and solo founders. The enterprise crowd already runs feature-packed suites. The indie crowd wants fast, lightweight, affordable tools they can install tonight.

To understand their reality I only need a few conversations. I look for the one or two core features they truly care about plus clarity, speed, and predictable pricing. If I can outperform on the core feature, like cleaner setup or faster error logs, I’m already ahead.

Next I meet them where they hang out: indie hacker threads, small engineering chats, people brainstorming new tools. I comment on posts where builders share projects, offer advice, and become visible where they already talk about shipping.

Finally I turn searches into sales by creating content around the same keywords: “Sentry lightweight alternative”, “self-hosted error monitoring simple setup”, and so on. I post Reddit answers, Indie Hackers updates, and short articles using those phrases because Google crawls these communities aggressively. Reddit still helps validate ICPs, but Google → Observe → Narrow audience → Outshine the core feature → Publish with their keywords is the quickest loop I’ve found.