You’ve probably been told countless times that you need a completely unique idea to build a successful SaaS product. Here’s the truth: great SaaS products don’t always start with a unique idea, and chasing originality for its own sake might actually hurt your chances of success.
If you’re planning to launch your SaaS product, this mindset shift could be the difference between spending months building something nobody wants and creating a product that customers actually pay for. Let’s explore why following proven paths often leads to better validation and stronger businesses.
Winning Without Being First: Real-World SaaS Examples
Some of today’s most successful SaaS companies didn’t invent their categories—they just executed better than everyone else.
Slack wasn’t the first team communication tool. HipChat, Campfire, and IRC had been around for years. But Slack understood what users really wanted: better search, smoother integrations, and a more polished experience. They validated their approach by improving on existing solutions rather than creating something entirely new.
Notion didn’t pioneer the productivity space either. Evernote, OneNote, and countless other note-taking apps existed. Instead of pursuing a unique idea, Notion combined the best features of existing tools and added their own spin. Their validation came from listening to users who were already switching between multiple apps.
Zoom entered a crowded video conferencing market dominated by Skype, WebEx, and GoToMeeting. They didn’t need a unique idea—they needed better execution. Their validation process focused on solving reliability issues that plagued existing solutions.
These examples show you something powerful: you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to build a successful SaaS product. You just need to build a better wheel.
Originality Is Overrated: What Actually Matters in SaaS
When you’re obsessing over having a completely unique idea, you’re focusing on the wrong metrics for validation. Your customers don’t care if you were first—they care if you solve their problems better than anyone else.
Here’s what actually matters when validating your SaaS concept:
Problem-solution fit comes before uniqueness. You can have the most original idea in the world, but if it doesn’t solve a real problem that people are willing to pay for, it won’t succeed. When you build on proven concepts, you’re starting with validated demand.
Execution trumps innovation every time. Your unique idea means nothing if your execution is poor. But exceptional execution of a proven concept? That’s how you build a lasting business. Focus your validation efforts on proving you can execute better, not differently.
Customer experience beats novelty. Users switch to new products because they offer better experiences, not because they’re completely different. Your validation should focus on demonstrating superior user experience rather than revolutionary features.
When you’re writing copy for your validation experiments, don’t lead with how unique you are. Instead, lead with how you solve problems better than existing solutions.
Proven Demand Means Less Risk and Faster Validation
Building on existing concepts gives you a massive advantage in your validation process: you already know there’s demand.
When you enter a market with existing competitors, you’re entering a market with proven demand. Customers are already paying for solutions in this space. Your validation becomes about proving you can capture some of that demand, not about proving demand exists at all.
This makes your validation experiments much more focused. Instead of asking “Do people want this type of product?” you can ask “Why would people choose my version over what they’re currently using?” That’s a much easier question to answer through landing pages, surveys, and customer interviews.
You can validate faster because you have reference points. When you talk to potential customers, they can immediately understand what you’re building because they can compare it to existing solutions. This speeds up your feedback loops dramatically.
Your validation copy can be more specific too. Instead of educating people about a completely new concept, you can focus on differentiation. “Like Slack, but with better project management integration” is much easier to validate than “A revolutionary new way to communicate at work.”
Positioning and Differentiation Win in Crowded Markets
Entering a market with existing players doesn’t mean you’ll get lost in the crowd. It means you have clear opportunities to differentiate and position yourself strategically.
When you’re validating your SaaS concept in an established market, you can identify gaps that existing solutions haven’t filled. Maybe they’re too expensive for small businesses. Maybe they’re too complex for non-technical users. Maybe they don’t integrate well with newer tools.
Your validation experiments should test these positioning opportunities. Create landing pages that speak directly to underserved segments. Write copy that highlights the specific pain points that existing solutions don’t address well.
For example, if you’re building a project management tool, don’t try to compete with Asana on every feature. Instead, position yourself as “project management for creative teams” or “the only PM tool that integrates natively with design workflows.” Your validation becomes about proving this specific positioning resonates with your target audience.
This focused approach to validation is much more effective than trying to prove you’ve invented something entirely new. You can test specific value propositions against real alternatives that people are already considering.
Existing Players Create Ecosystem and Awareness Advantages
Here’s something counterintuitive: having competitors actually makes your validation easier and your eventual success more likely.
Existing competitors have already done the hard work of educating the market. They’ve taught potential customers why they need this type of solution. They’ve created awareness around the problem you’re solving. This means your validation efforts can focus on differentiation rather than education.
You also benefit from the ecosystem that’s developed around existing solutions. There are integration partners, consultants, content creators, and communities all focused on this problem space. You can tap into these existing channels during your validation phase.
When you’re crafting validation copy, you can reference familiar concepts and competitors. Your potential customers already have context for what you’re building. This makes your messaging more effective and your validation results more reliable.
The existence of successful competitors also validates the market size and willingness to pay. You’re not guessing about pricing or market demand—you have real data points to reference.
Clearer Path for Investors and Acquirers
If you’re planning to raise funding or eventually sell your SaaS, building in a proven market creates clearer paths to both.
Investors understand markets with existing players. They can evaluate market size, competitive dynamics, and growth potential based on real data. When you’re seeking validation from potential investors, you can point to comparable companies and their success metrics.
Your pitch becomes more concrete: “We’re building the Stripe for X industry” or “We’re creating the Slack for Y use case.” Investors immediately understand the opportunity and can evaluate your differentiation strategy.
Potential acquirers also have clearer frameworks for valuation. They can compare your metrics to other companies in the space. They understand the problem you’re solving and the market you’re serving.
This doesn’t mean you should copy exactly what exists. It means you should build on proven foundations while adding your own improvements and differentiation.
Most Users Don’t Care If You Were First — They Just Want Better
Your customers have one primary concern: does your product solve their problems better than what they’re currently using? Whether you invented the category is irrelevant to them.
When you’re validating your SaaS concept, focus on proving “better” rather than proving “different.” Better could mean easier to use, more affordable, better customer support, stronger integrations, or more focused on their specific use case.
Your validation copy should emphasize these improvements. Instead of “We’ve created a revolutionary new way to manage projects,” try “Project management that actually works for remote teams” or “Finally, a PM tool that doesn’t require a PhD to use.”
This approach to validation is much more likely to resonate with potential customers because it addresses their real frustrations with existing solutions. They don’t want revolution—they want evolution that makes their lives easier.
Test specific improvements through your validation experiments. If you claim to be easier to use, create demos that prove it. If you say you’re more affordable, show clear pricing comparisons. If you promise better integrations, list the specific tools you work with that competitors don’t.
Build Better, Not Just Different
The most important lesson for your SaaS validation journey is this: focus on building something better, not just something different.
Better solutions win in the long run because they create more value for customers. Better solutions are easier to validate because the improvements are tangible and measurable. Better solutions attract customers, investors, and team members more effectively than novel solutions that don’t clearly improve on what exists.
When you’re designing your validation experiments, always ask: “How is this better for our target customers?” Not just different, but genuinely better. Then design tests that prove those improvements matter to real users.
Your unique idea might be the improvements you make to a proven concept, not the invention of an entirely new category. And that’s perfectly fine—it might even be better.
Key Takeaways: Your Validation Roadmap
As you plan your SaaS validation strategy, remember these essential points:
- Proven markets reduce validation risk – Building on existing concepts means demand is already validated, letting you focus on proving differentiation rather than market need
- Execution beats innovation – Your validation should prove you can solve problems better than existing solutions, not that you’ve invented something completely new
- Customer experience drives switching – Focus your validation experiments on demonstrating superior user experience rather than revolutionary features
- Positioning beats originality – Test specific positioning strategies that address gaps in the current market rather than trying to create entirely new categories
- Existing ecosystems accelerate growth – Leverage established awareness, integrations, and communities to speed up your validation and go-to-market efforts
- “Better” is easier to validate than “different” – Customers understand improvements to familiar concepts much faster than completely novel approaches
- Clearer paths to funding and exits – Investors and acquirers can more easily evaluate opportunities in proven markets with existing comparables
Your unique idea doesn’t have to be about inventing a new category. It can be about executing an existing concept better than anyone else has before. That’s often a more reliable path to SaaS success.
