That could actually lead to a profitable business in the longer run: You will have great insights and lots of working code that may end up in a commercial product that someone is seeking?
Esp since you mentioned unmet requirements, thats actually a good indicator
I do this now! It is wonderful. So many unique projects being worked on that you'd never come across in your daily life. It's always fun to experience a world that is so far removed from tech, and see how clever people are at solving problems without SaaS, apps, or spreadsheets. Not every problem has a tech solution.
And it has turned into a decent chunk of business over the long run.
I would suggest looking for local charities whose mission you are care about. Then just finding out what issues they have. I ended up building a simple system based on Airtable for a local charity. Although pretty unsophisticated it was transformative for them.
Oh damn, I love this one. I’ve been vibe coding a ‘public benefit’ app on the side that has a few hundred users but never thought of doing something for an actual non-profit.
Care to elaborate on your process? Curious how you approach them and come up with the best path forward with limited time (assuming you have a full time job as well on the side). Thanks!
I would recommend finding a local non-profit you're interested in helping, and start volunteering. Don't go in guns blazing "I'm here from Hackernews to save you" but get to know the people and what they do, and then how to help will become apparent.
By local I would recommend truly local and not a "division" of a national non-profit; those are an entirely different beast.
The software wont be sexy, but will help the non profits and the people they serve