[s1gsegv]

You’ve hit on something that I think deserves to be called out more directly — all of the things you pay for have significant non-software aspects. It is pretty hard to make something people will pay for without tackling some hard problem outside of the software itself, unless your software is very niche.

Looking at your examples - ChatGPT, you need some way to get an otherworldly sized dataset before you can train a model, and the fact that you also happen to have to write a web interface for the chat looks like a footnote in comparison - Amazon Prime, have to create a distribution empire - Crude Oil Tracking, have to get raw data from somewhere, I don’t know the space well but I’d be shocked if they didn’t have some moat around the data source, or they even have a hand in collecting it - Netflix, you can solve all the hard problems of video streaming and still have nothing people want to watch - Bloomberg Terminal, this one is maybe the closest to being replicable with just good software? I’m sure building the data sourcing for it would still be the “hard part”

If you broaden your scope from SaaS to “software that makes money” the most obvious are social networks, but then your problem becomes how to actually monetize it, since you more than likely can’t charge the users for it.

[hodder]

Exactly. Wood Mackenzie has insane amounts of data sources: infrared cameras pointed at most storage tanks in North America, cameras counting the movement of rail cars, drones have been flying over tanks measuring roof levels on tanks for years, thermal tracking of crude oil pumping stations, production by field for years, hoards of data they've accumulated over decades and the list goes on. The website/apps are pretty to deliver the service but that isn't what really matters to solving my problem and providing value.