Good morning,
B2B sales teams waste hours creating custom proposals. University student orgs can't afford Eventbrite. Non-native English speakers struggle with grammar checkers that don't understand ESL patterns.
Today: Three ideas that create output, not insights.
💡 IDEA #1: AI Proposal Generator for B2B Sales
TLDR: B2B sales reps spend 4-6 hours creating custom proposals. Automate it with AI. Generate proposals in 5 minutes. Charge $99-299/month.
The Problem
Every B2B sale requires a custom proposal:
Executive summary
Solution overview
Pricing breakdown
Implementation timeline
Case studies
Terms and conditions
Current process:
Copy last proposal
Find-and-replace client names
Update pricing manually
Rewrite solution section
Format in Word/PowerPoint
Send to manager for review
Total time: 4-6 hours per proposal
Sales reps spend 30-40% of their time on proposals instead of selling.
The Numbers
18 million B2B sales professionals globally
Average: 2-4 proposals per week
Time per proposal: 4-6 hours
Value of time saved: $500-1,000 per week per rep
Willingness to pay: $99-299/month to automate
How It Works
Input required:
Client name and industry
Problem they're solving
Products/services sold
Pricing tier
Implementation details
AI generates in 5 minutes:
Custom executive summary
Solution aligned to their pain points
Pricing table with breakdown
Timeline and milestones
Relevant case studies from your library
Professional formatting (PDF export)
Integrations:
CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot) - pull client data
Pricing tools - auto-calculate quotes
DocuSign - send for signature immediately
Business Model
Starter: $99/mo (10 proposals/month)
Pro: $199/mo (50 proposals/month)
Team: $499/mo (unlimited, team templates, analytics)
At 1,000 users averaging $150/mo = $150k MRR
Why This Wins
Sales enablement tools track activity but don't create output. You actually generate the proposals. Sales reps get 20+ hours back per month. Managers get consistent, professional proposals. ROI is immediate.
Go-to-Market
Target sales leaders on LinkedIn. Demo: "4 hours → 5 minutes." Offer free proposal audit. Partner with sales training companies. SEO: "proposal automation" "sales proposal generator."
💡 IDEA #2: Event Registration Platform for Universities
TLDR: Eventbrite charges too much for student organizations. Build simple, affordable event registration for campus events. Charge $29-99/month.
The Problem
Student organizations host events constantly:
Guest speakers
Networking nights
Fundraisers
Workshops
Social gatherings
They need:
Registration pages
Ticket sales (free and paid)
Attendance tracking
Email reminders
Check-in at door
Eventbrite problems:
Too expensive (3% + $0.99 per ticket)
Overkill features for campus events
Takes too much cut from fundraisers
Current alternative:
Google Forms (no payment processing, manual tracking)
Paper signups (lost lists, no reminders)
The Numbers
4,000 universities in US
50-200 student orgs per campus
Average: 5-10 events per semester per org
Current spend: $100-500/year on event tools
Willing to pay: $29-99/year for simple solution
How It Works
Simple event creation:
Create event page (name, date, description, photo)
Set ticket types (free, paid, member vs non-member)
Collect registrations
Send automated reminders
Check-in at door (QR codes or name search)
Export attendee list
Payment processing:
Stripe integration
1% fee (vs Eventbrite's 3%)
Or free for free events
University-specific features:
Student ID verification
Campus calendar integration
Org directory
Multi-org event co-hosting
Business Model
Option A - Subscription:
$29/year per student org
Unlimited free events
1% fee on paid tickets
Option B - Freemium:
Free for organizations
1.5% fee on paid tickets only
Premium: $99/year for white-label, advanced analytics
At 1,000 orgs @ $50 average = $50k annual revenue + transaction fees
Why This Wins
Eventbrite is expensive and complex. Google Forms doesn't handle payments. You're the Goldilocks solution: simple, affordable, built for campus events. Student orgs have zero budget - you're their only option.
Go-to-Market
Launch at one university (your alma mater or nearby). Sign up 10 student orgs manually. Prove it works. Get referrals from org to org. Expand campus by campus. Partner with student government associations.
💡 IDEA #3: Grammar Checker for Non-Native English Speakers
TLDR: Grammarly doesn't understand ESL patterns. Build grammar checker specifically for non-native speakers. Charge $15-29/month.
The Problem
500 million people use English as a second language for work.
Grammarly problems:
Optimized for native speakers
Doesn't understand common ESL mistakes
Suggestions feel robotic
Misses cultural/language-specific patterns
Example: Non-native speaker writes: "I will send you the document until tomorrow."
Grammarly: "No issues found." (Correct: "I will send you the document by tomorrow.")
ESL speakers make systematic errors based on their native language:
Spanish speakers: article errors ("the" vs "a")
Chinese speakers: tense errors (no tenses in Chinese)
German speakers: word order issues
Generic grammar checkers miss these patterns.
The Numbers
1.5 billion English learners globally
500 million use English professionally
Current solutions: Grammarly (not ESL-specific), human tutors (expensive)
Willingness to pay: $10-30/month for career advancement
How It Works
Smart detection:
User selects native language (Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, etc.)
AI trained on common errors for that language pairing
Real-time suggestions in browser or app
Explanations in simple English (and native language)
Practice exercises for common mistakes
Key features:
Chrome extension (works in Gmail, Google Docs, LinkedIn)
Mobile keyboard (WhatsApp, messages)
Confidence scoring ("How sure are you this email sounds professional?")
Cultural context (formal vs casual tone)
Differentiation from Grammarly:
Language-pair-specific (Spanish→English training data)
Explanations why (not just corrections)
Learning mode (helps you improve, not just fix)
Business Model
Free: 50 corrections/month
Pro: $15/mo unlimited corrections, learning exercises
Team: $10/user/mo (companies with global teams)
At 10,000 users averaging $12/mo = $120k MRR
Why This Wins
Grammarly is generic. You're specific. ESL speakers know generic tools miss their errors. They'll pay $15/month for something built for them. Market is 500M people using English for work.
Go-to-Market
Target: international professionals on LinkedIn. Content: "10 grammar mistakes Spanish speakers make." Partner with language schools. Launch in one language pair first (Spanish→English or Chinese→English). Expand to other languages.
Five more from the quieter side of the internet.
Bootstrapped SaaS metrics benchmarks (real numbers, not hype)
https://openviewpartners.com/saas-benchmarks/
(OpenView)How one tiny WordPress plugin became a sustainable business
https://wptavern.com
(WP Tavern)The psychology behind why customers don’t buy (even when they should)
https://conversion-rate-experts.com
(Conversion Rate Experts)What indie hackers learned after 1,000 product launches
https://www.producthunt.com/stories
(Product Hunt)Why “boring” B2B startups quietly outperform flashy consumer apps
https://www.stratechery.com
(Stratechery)
🚀 Founder Story: How Calendly Went from Side Project to $3B
The Beginning: Tope Awotona built Calendly in 2013 while running another business. He was frustrated with scheduling: "Does 2pm work?" "No, how about 3pm?" "That's taken…"
The Insight: People don't need a better calendar. They need to eliminate the scheduling conversation entirely.
Send a link. Other person picks a time. Done.
The Growth:
2013: Launched, freemium model
2016: 1 million users (bootstrapped)
2020: 10 million users, still profitable
2021: First funding ($350M at $3B valuation)
2025: Dominant in scheduling
What You Can Steal: Calendly didn't innovate on calendars. They eliminated annoying back-and-forth.
The proposal generator is the same playbook: don't innovate on proposals, eliminate the 4-hour creation process.
Boring automation beats sexy innovation.
💭 Final Thought
The best tools create output, not insights.
Analytics dashboards show you problems. Proposal generators solve them. Grammar checkers tell you what's wrong. ESL grammar checkers fix it and teach you. Event platforms track registrations. University platforms make hosting events effortless.
People pay for solutions, not information.
Create output. Charge for time saved.
That's it for today.
Building one of these? Reply and tell me.
Sponsor Loose Ends? Fill out this form.
Tomorrow: Financial Tools, Recruiting, and API Wrappers.
Connor
P.S. Missed Saturday's deep dive? "Audience Is Not Demand" - why 10k followers ≠ $10k MRR. Read it here.