The cliché is that you need a technical background to find a tech idea. The truth is the opposite: technical founders chronically build technically interesting things nobody wants. Non-technical founders, when they look in the right place, find painful problems with obvious payers.
Mine your last job
The single best place to find an idea is the workflow that drove you nuts at your most recent job. You know the buyer (it was you). You know the budget. You know the existing tools and why they suck. This is the founding myth of half of all profitable B2B SaaS.
Mine niche communities you already inhabit
Subreddits, Discord servers, Facebook groups for your hobby, profession, or condition. Read the "I wish there was a tool for ___" posts. Read the complaint threads. There's an idea every 50 posts.
The "boring industry" goldmine
Veterinarians, court reporters, HVAC dispatchers, immigration paralegals, indie wedding photographers. Industries that tech ignored for 20 years. Pick one. Spend a week reading their forums. You will find 10 problems no SaaS exists for.
Skip "trendy" categories
AI agents for marketing, productivity tools for everyone, social apps for Gen Z — these are red oceans. As an outsider you have zero advantage there. You have a huge advantage in boring verticals because you'll be the only person willing to learn them deeply.
The 5-prompt exercise
Open a notebook and answer these:
- What did I do last week that took 3+ hours and I hated?
- What do my friends complain about that I keep nodding along to?
- What spreadsheet have I seen multiple companies use as a real product?
- What service do I pay for that's clearly held together with duct tape?
- What problem in my old industry did everyone accept as "just how it is"?
Three of those answers are real ideas. See Domain Expertise Moat for what to do next.