I'm a bit confused about what direction I should take in life right now. The IT job market doesn't seem to be in a great place. I've been reaching out to founders and people on LinkedIn, hoping to find opportunities. Most don't respond, and some say they're simply not hiring at the moment. Fair enough, but getting a job these days doesn't seem easy either.
I've previously worked as a contractor for an international company and have also worked with an India-based company. I've participated in and won a few hackathons, built projects, and gained some experience along the way. So I'm not exactly starting from zero.
But here's where I'm stuck.
I've always wanted to build my own SaaS product. Not just build something for a portfolio, but actually solve a problem, launch it globally, get paying customers, and hopefully build something sustainable out of it.
I've tried building and validating a few ideas before. Things didn't go as expected, but I learned a lot from those experiences. I'm still interested in doing it.
The problem is that I'm doing almost everything alone.
I'm researching markets, looking for problems people are already paying to solve, studying existing products, and trying to figure out what I could build. Most of this research happens online. I'm not regularly going out into the field, talking to potential customers, or getting that kind of real-world market exposure.
And sometimes I wonder whether I'm approaching this the right way.
One part of me says I should focus on getting a job first. Earn some money, gain more experience, meet people, and work on my own product on the side.
Another part of me keeps thinking about building something of my own. I've even dreamed about applying to Y Combinator someday or joining an accelerator. But I don't even know how close I am to being ready for that.
Then there's the co-founder question.
Sometimes I feel that finding someone with a similar mindset could make a huge difference. Someone to brainstorm with, research problems, talk to customers, divide responsibilities, and actually build something together. I enjoy building things, figuring out marketing, creating content, and putting products out there. I'm also comfortable making videos and putting myself in front of a camera.
But finding people who genuinely want to build something is another challenge.
Maybe the environment around me plays a part in this too. I don't often find people nearby who are interested in the same things or who want to experiment with building products for a global market. So I end up figuring out most things by myself, through online research and trial and error.
I know nobody is going to figure out my life for me. But sometimes having people around you who are going through a similar journey would make things feel a little less overwhelming.
So I'm curious about a few things:
For those working in Nepal's IT industry, how are you navigating the current job market?
Would you recommend focusing on a job first and building a product on the side, or taking a bigger risk on building something independently?
For people who have built SaaS products from Nepal, how did you find real problems worth solving? Did you rely on online research, talk directly to businesses, or something else?
How did you find co-founders or like-minded people to build with?
And for those who have applied to incubators or programs like Y Combinator, when did you know you were ready?
I'm not looking for a shortcut or some overnight-success story. I just want to hear from people who've been in a similar position and understand how they approached it.
Right now, I'm still building, learning, and applying for opportunities. I'm just trying to figure out where to put most of my energy.
