How to Find Build-Worthy Ideas

Hi again 👋
This blog is a part of the Intro – Build What You Imagine Series. Feel free to check out other parts and learn along the way.

🧠 Problem: Finding Project Ideas Isn’t Hard

Finding project ideas isn’t as difficult as most people think. You’re surrounded by problems every day—from the moment you wake up to when you go to bed.

Let me give you a few personal examples:

I want a product that shows all my notifications in one place when I wake up.
A plugin that can auto-generate a to-do list and show yesterday’s journal in Obsidian.
An app where I can save my thoughts, and then ask AI to summarize how my day was.
A simple util app to use my phone as a PC mic.

These are tiny daily pain points. Some already have solutions, but they’re either filled with ads, not customizable, or need me to share personal data—which I’m not comfortable with. If the tool were open-source or self-hostable, I’d try it. But in many cases, they simply don’t exist.

So, what’s the alternative?

Build these apps yourself.

Yes, seriously. Just like I noticed these small gaps, you have them too. You’ve probably caught yourself thinking, “This app should really have this one extra feature…”
And then maybe you thought: “I can build this.”

That’s the moment you grab onto. These small ideas may not make you money, but they teach you a lot, sharpen your skills, and if you solve your own problem well—you now have something to show off with pride.

💸 I Have an Idea. Can I Make Money From It?

Great! You’ve found an idea you’re excited to build. But now you’re wondering—
Can I earn money from it?

The short answer?
You can. But don’t think about money right now.

If your first goal is money, your focus shifts away from building.
If you chase money first, you’ll likely get neither skills nor money.

Let’s be clear—building projects is an art, not just business.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t aim to monetize. But before that, build the skills. If you can solve a couple of personal problems and you’re happy using your own product, then it’s ready for the world.

Share it online. Launch it on Product Hunt or LinkedIn.
You’ll always find people who share the same problem—and if they love it, you’ll naturally find a way to monetize.

👨‍💻 Do You Really Want to Be a Developer?

If you’re a beginner, especially someone who picked computer science just for the money—there’s a hard truth:

You’ll likely struggle if you’re not motivated by curiosity.

CS and development require patience, persistence, and a desire to create.
If your initial goal is only income, you’ll burn out fast.

So, what should you do?

Build for fun.
Build to learn.

Make anything:

Websites
Mobile apps
CLI tools
Games
Math animations
3D models
A unified chat app that runs in your terminal and on your phone
Your own cloud console

🌌 The sky is the limit.
Ideas are everywhere—most people just ignore them. Builders don’t.

The key is to start building and keep building. If you document your journey online, you’ll open doors: internships, jobs, freelance gigs, and more.

Build for skill first.
Money is a byproduct.

✍️ What’s Next?

By now, you’ve probably got a few ideas floating in your head. Here’s what to do next:

Write your ideas down.
Yes, physically—pen and paper. Don’t use AI yet.
Define the problem each idea solves.
Resist jumping to AI to ask how to build it. Why?
Because AI can overwhelm you and show you someone else’s way of doing it.
Your idea is unique. You’re solving a personal problem.
Avoid instant setups or templates.
You’ll end up copy-pasting without understanding the core.
Keep it simple.
Don’t overengineer. Solve just 2 small problems. Keep the scope tight and clear.

Later in this series, I’ll show you how to use AI productively during the build phase. But not now. First, learn to think, break down problems, and structure your ideas yourself.

🧾 Conclusion

The goal of this post was to help you:

Find build-worthy ideas
Get excited about building
Let go of the money-first mindset (for now)

Building something just for yourself, even if no one else uses it, is worth it.
You learn. You grow. You create.

We’ll get into execution and building in future posts.
For now, grab a notebook, look around you, and start writing your ideas.

That’s it for today.

Thanks for reading.
— Priyanshu Verma