Hey, Aron here.

Something interesting showed up in our data this week that we haven’t seen before. For the first time since we started tracking founder intent at ValidatorAI, ecommerce idea submissions outpaced SaaS. By a lot.

Here's what we think is driving it.

TikTok Shop.
When people watch someone sell out a product on a livestream it makes ecommerce seem easily achievable.

Livestream shopping is creating a gold rush feeling.
The numbers circulating in the market right now are staggering. The excitement spreads fast to the people that are looking for ‘their next thing to do’.

The barrier to entry is lower than SaaS.
Secondhand marketplaces, resale platforms, and drop shipping operations seem much easier to jump into.

Economic pressure.
When money feels tight, people gravitate to selling things that can provide immediate cash flow rather than recurring revenue that takes years to develop.

AI is changing ecommerce.
AI generated product descriptions, pricing, customer service, and inventory management are all accessible and making ecommerce easier.

👉 If you want to dive deeper on what is trending right now:

Here's the interesting part though.
More ecommerce submissions didn't produce more ecommerce builders.

Our conversion rate by category chart measures how often people move their ideas forward. People are pouring into ecommerce ideas and then stalling at nearly the same rate as everything else. The inspiration has landed, but somewhere between the idea and the first action, something stops them.

It’s clear that new founders closely follow trends. And they often follow the path that seems like it has the least resistance, and highest chance of success. But, when it comes time to put down the pen and paper and start creating, there is hesitation because the next step is unclear, or intimidating. I am curious to see if the ecommerce trend holds up, or if people are pulled back into SaaS ideas.

Email me and let me know what idea you’re working on.

Aron Meystedt
Chief Data Nerd - ValidatorAI

👬 Let’s connect on LinkedIn!

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