Idea Surfr

Have you ever noticed something strange?

In your native language, you can tell amazing stories. You can convince people, make jokes, and have deep conversations.

But the moment you start speaking English… everything feels harder.

Your mind suddenly goes blank.

I had the same problem.

In my native language, I can easily talk to anyone. But in English, I felt like I lost half of my personality.

So I started asking myself a question.

Why does this happen?

Then I looked at how we actually learn language as children.

When we are kids, we don’t start with grammar books.

First we listen.

Then we start speaking.

Only later do we learn reading and writing.

But when we learn English in school, the process is completely reversed.

First we read.

Then we write.

And only after many years… we try to speak.

That’s why speaking feels uncomfortable.

But there was another idea that helped me think about a solution.

Imagine you receive a group photo.

What is the first thing you do?

You zoom into yourself.

Humans naturally focus on themselves.

So I built an app based on this simple idea.

The app lets you record yourself speaking.

Then it reflects your speech back with subtitles, grammar corrections, and suggestions for improvement.

Instead of memorizing grammar rules, you improve by observing how you actually speak.

Because sometimes the best way to improve your communication… is simply to listen to yourself.

And that’s the idea behind this app.

so try to solve your own problems

there's a pattern i keep seeing that nobody talks about.

behind every successful micro-saas there's a spreadsheet. a google sheet or excel file that someone built for themselves, shared with a few people, and slowly realized "wait, people would pay for a better version of this."

this isn't theory. let me walk you through real examples.

example 1: a property manager had a google sheet tracking maintenance requests across 12 units. tenants would text him, he'd add a row, he'd update the status manually. sheet got to 400+ rows. completely unmanageable. he didn't build a property management platform. he built a tool that does exactly what his spreadsheet did but sends automatic updates to tenants when status changes. charges $25/month per building. 30 buildings. $9K/month.

example 2: a personal trainer was tracking 40 clients in a spreadsheet. workout plans, progress photos, meal plans, check in dates. the sheet had 15 tabs. every monday morning she'd spend 2 hours copying templates and updating client rows. she built an app that does exactly what her spreadsheet did. client sees their plan, logs their workout, trainer gets notified. $19/month per trainer. 600+ trainers. do the math.

example 3: a freight broker was tracking shipments across 3 carriers in a spreadsheet. pickup dates, delivery dates, which carrier had the best rates for which routes. he shared the sheet with 2 other brokers. they started requesting features. he realized the sheet was the product. built a simple version. $49/month. 200+ brokers.

the pattern:

someone builds a spreadsheet to manage their own workflow. the spreadsheet grows until it becomes painful. they can't find software that does the same thing without 50 features they don't need. so they keep using the spreadsheet and complaining about it.

that spreadsheet is your product spec. the tabs are your features. the manual steps are your automations. the person using it is your first customer.

how to find these spreadsheets:

search reddit for "i built a spreadsheet" or "tracking this in excel" or "my google sheet is getting out of control." you'll find them in every industry subreddit.

search "template" in niche facebook groups. people share their operational spreadsheets all the time. the ones with 50+ comments saying "can you share a copy" are products waiting to happen.

look for phrases like "i know this is janky but it works" or "held together with duct tape and formulas." that's someone describing a painful workflow they've accepted because nothing better exists.

the reason spreadsheet-to-saas works so well:

you don't have to guess if the market exists. people are already doing the thing. they already have the workflow. you're not changing behavior. you're just making existing behavior less painful.

the person doesn't need to be educated on why they need your tool. they already built the spreadsheet version themselves. they know exactly why they need it. you're just giving them the version that doesn't break when it hits row 500.

and the switching cost is almost zero because your tool does exactly what their spreadsheet did. the learning curve is "this looks like what i was already doing but better." that's the fastest adoption you'll ever see.

the best micro-saas ideas aren't invented. they're discovered inside a google sheet that someone has been quietly maintaining for 3 years and silently hating every minute of it.

what spreadsheet are you using right now that you secretly hate but can't stop using? that might be the product.

Congrats! You released your first iOS app and now you wait for your first sale. You go on X and Reddit seeing everyone “making 10k MRR”. You try out UGC, you try ASO. Time goes by and you are desperate. Good amount of signups but no paid subscribers. You think you failed but you still ship updates and ask for feedback. Then, after 10 days, your first sale! You can’t believe it, someone must have bought it by chance. The next days, new sales come in. You sit there and you can’t stop smiling. People out there use your app. The hard times without sales are forgotten and now the real work starts. This was me last month and now we are at 35$ MRR. It’s not much but it’s a start. If I can do it, you can too!