Ask HN: How do you make money with Software (SaaS) these days?

My startup is not working and clearly I am doing something wrong. I admit I don't have good network and without network there is no business, at least for B2B.

It is incredibly hard to get feedback, understand real problems, and built solutions that people pay for. Guess what, I have 15 years of technology experience. I am good at databases and large-scale systems, okay with writing good code, and working with teams. I even worked at one of the FAANG type company and made some money through the "job".

Things changed in 2022 when layoff wave started. I was not laid off but I left voluntarily in 2023 due to my manager harassing me. It was a woman manager and she could not digest the fact that I was making more than her (SF vs Austin). I ended up under her command afer reorg that I had no control over. I left SF and moved to MCOL city with impossible housing.

Since then I have been trying to build my startup. A few life events pulled me down even further and I decided to try startup rather than going through Leetcode grind and job search.

It appears that there are at least 100+ startups created each day. Twitter is buzzing with influencers, ChatGPT fanboys/fangirls.

I honestly cannot tell who is really making money and who is not. IDK, it feels extremely weird that young people in 20s are making millions in ARR just in few months, whereas me in 40s can't even make thousands. I must have missed to gain critical knowledge and network.

So my question to people who made money in Software and SaaS. How do you find ideas that people will pay for when all you have is software knowledge. I am a technology worker through and through.

Do you think it is fair to say that I should not do startup and rather search a job.

We are making money by providing off-the-cuff services but people are not buying our product. We don't see any interest unless we run ads on google. Ads on Google gets us freeloaders but no one is willing to pay $20/month subscription.

Where can I learn about finding business problems such that people and businesses PAY FOR IT?

I am fairly confident I can build it but I don't know how to find something that will be scalable to have a sustainable life on the US in an MCOL++ (slightly higher than MCOL) city.

I will appreciate your guidance and wisdom.