9.4 KiB
Banatie Passive Research: Search Directions Tracker
Date Started: November 1, 2025
Purpose: Track all passive research directions, searches, and findings
Status: Active Research
Research Methodology
Tools: Brave Search MCP, Perplexity MCP
Approach: Multiple search variations per direction to avoid false negatives
Output Focus: Verifiable Reddit/forum post links + brief conclusions
Language: Russian for notes, English for search queries
🎯 Priority Directions (Start Here)
✅ Direction 0: Initial Exploration (COMPLETED)
Status: Completed Oct 31, 2025
Document: reddit-passive-research.md
Key Findings:
- ✅ "Placeholder hell" validated (projects stall waiting for client content)
- ⌠Context switching NOT a real pain (no complaints found)
- ⌠MCP not a differentiator (already exists)
- ✅ Competitor gaps found (fal.ai pricing issues, Replicate support problems)
🔄 Direction 1: Prompt URLs + No-Code Generation
Hypothesis: Web developers want to generate images directly from HTML without code.
Key Questions:
- Do developers want
<img src="https://api.com/generate/description" />approach? - Is placeholder replacement a bottleneck in their workflow?
- Would they pay for AI-powered placeholders?
Search Topics:
- Search 1.1: "placeholder images" + "dynamic generation" (r/webdev, r/Frontend)
- Search 1.2: "HTML img tag" + "AI generation" (r/webdev)
- Search 1.3: "landing page images" + "automated" (r/SideProject, r/buildinpublic)
- Search 1.4: "placeholder.com alternative" + "AI" (r/web_design)
- Search 1.5: "unsplash.it" + "dynamic images" (r/webdev)
Findings:
- (To be filled after searches)
🔄 Direction 2: AI Agent Ecosystem
Hypothesis: AI agent builders need visual output for their products.
Key Questions:
- Do LangChain/CrewAI builders struggle with image generation?
- Is there demand for "AI agent → image generation" integration?
- Would prompt enhancement help AI agents create better visuals?
Search Topics:
- Search 2.1: "LangChain" + "image generation" (r/LangChain, r/OpenAI)
- Search 2.2: "AI agent" + "visual output" (r/ArtificialIntelligence)
- Search 2.3: "CrewAI" + "images" (r/CrewAI if exists, r/AI_Agents)
- Search 2.4: "Custom GPT" + "image generation" (r/OpenAI, r/ChatGPT)
- Search 2.5: "AI SaaS" + "image API" (r/SaaS, r/Entrepreneur)
- Search 2.6: "AutoGPT" + "images" (r/AutoGPT if exists)
Findings:
- (To be filled after searches)
â³ Direction 3: Marketing Agencies Pain
Hypothesis: Digital marketing agencies struggle with high-volume content creation for clients.
Key Questions:
- Do agencies complain about social media visual creation?
- Is stock photo cost/limitation a real pain?
- Would agencies pay for AI-generated marketing visuals?
Search Topics:
- Search 3.1: "agency" + "content creation" + "scale" (r/marketing, r/digital_marketing)
- Search 3.2: "social media images" + "workflow" (r/socialmedia)
- Search 3.3: "stock photos" + "expensive" OR "limitations" (r/marketing)
- Search 3.4: "client content" + "bottleneck" (r/Entrepreneur - agency owners)
- Search 3.5: "marketing agency tools" + "AI" (r/digital_marketing)
Findings:
- (To be filled after searches)
â³ Direction 4: E-commerce Product Variations
Hypothesis: E-commerce sellers need product image variations for A/B tests and channels.
Key Questions:
- Do sellers struggle with product photography costs?
- Is there demand for AI-generated product variations?
- Would Shopify integration be valuable?
Search Topics:
- Search 4.1: "product photography" + "expensive" (r/shopify, r/ecommerce)
- Search 4.2: "product images" + "variations" (r/shopify)
- Search 4.3: "Amazon listing images" + "AI" (r/FulfillmentByAmazon, r/AmazonSeller)
- Search 4.4: "A/B test product images" (r/ecommerce)
- Search 4.5: "Shopify" + "AI image generation" (r/shopify)
Findings:
- (To be filled after searches)
â³ Direction 5: Technical Writers + Documentation
Hypothesis: Tech writers need quick illustrations, diagrams, UI mockups for docs.
Key Questions:
- Do documentation teams struggle with illustration bottlenecks?
- Would AI-generated technical diagrams be valuable?
- Is there budget for documentation tools?
Search Topics:
- Search 5.1: "technical illustration" + "bottleneck" (r/technicalwriting)
- Search 5.2: "documentation images" + "workflow" (r/technicalwriting)
- Search 5.3: "API documentation" + "visual examples" (r/devdocs if exists, r/programming)
- Search 5.4: "UI mockups" + "documentation" (r/technicalwriting)
- Search 5.5: "diagram generation" + "automated" (Hacker News, r/programming)
Findings:
- (To be filled after searches)
🆕 Direction 6: Gemini 2.5 Flash Specific Demand
Hypothesis: There are users who specifically want Gemini 2.5 Flash Image and would pay premium for it.
Key Questions:
- What makes Gemini 2.5 better than competitors (DALL-E, Midjourney, Flux)?
- Who prefers Gemini 2.5 and why?
- Is there willingness to pay more for Gemini access via API?
Search Topics:
- Search 6.1: "Gemini 2.5 Flash" + "image generation" (r/GoogleGeminiAI, r/AI_Agents)
- Search 6.2: "Gemini vs DALL-E" + "image quality" (r/ArtificialIntelligence)
- Search 6.3: "Gemini vs Midjourney" (r/StableDiffusion, r/ArtificialIntelligence)
- Search 6.4: "Gemini 2.5" + "API" (r/GoogleGeminiAI, r/MachineLearning)
- Search 6.5: "Gemini image generation" + "pricing" (r/GoogleGeminiAI)
- Search 6.6: "Why use Gemini over" + alternatives (r/ArtificialIntelligence)
Findings:
- (To be filled after searches)
🆕 Direction 7: MCP Stability & Quality Issues
Hypothesis: Existing MCP image generation servers are unstable and low-quality.
Key Questions:
- Do developers complain about existing MCP image tools crashing?
- Is prompt quality a problem with current MCP solutions?
- Do reference images work properly in existing tools?
Search Topics:
- Search 7.1: "MCP image generation" + "crash" OR "unstable" (r/mcp, r/ClaudeAI)
- Search 7.2: "Draw Things MCP" + issues (r/mcp, r/cursor)
- Search 7.3: "MCP Flux Studio" + problems (r/mcp)
- Search 7.4: "MCP image" + "prompt quality" (r/ClaudeAI, r/mcp)
- Search 7.5: "MCP" + "reference images" (r/mcp)
Findings:
- (To be filled after searches)
🔮 Future Directions (Backlog)
Direction 8: Indie Hackers / Solo Builders
Hypothesis: Solo developers building SaaS need quick visual assets
Priority: Medium
Reason to explore: High overlap with current ICP (AI developers)
Direction 9: Game Development (Unity/Unreal)
Hypothesis: Indie game devs need concept art, textures, UI assets
Priority: Low
Reason to explore: Different market, but high volume potential
Direction 10: Education / E-learning
Hypothesis: Course creators need illustrations for educational content
Priority: Low
Reason to explore: Recurring need, willingness to pay for tools
🎯 Research Execution Strategy
Phase 1: Quick Validation (Directions 1, 2, 6, 7)
- Timeline: Nov 1-2, 2025
- Goal: Find strong signals or kill directions fast
- Success: 2-3 Reddit threads per direction showing real pain
Phase 2: Deep Dive (Top 2 directions from Phase 1)
- Timeline: Nov 3-4, 2025
- Goal: Extract specific pain points, feature requests, pricing expectations
- Success: 10+ detailed use cases, clear ICP profile
Phase 3: Synthesis (Nov 5)
- Goal: Update ICP hypothesis based on findings
- Output: Revised validation interview script
📊 Scoring Framework (Apply After Each Direction)
For each completed direction, score:
Signal Strength:
- 🔴 Weak (0-2 relevant posts): No clear pain
- 🟡 Medium (3-5 relevant posts): Some interest, unclear pain
- 🟢 Strong (6+ relevant posts): Clear, recurring pain
Actionability:
- 🔴 Vague: Generic complaints, no specific requests
- 🟡 Moderate: Some specifics, but unclear what to build
- 🟢 Clear: Specific features/workflows requested
Willingness to Pay:
- 🔴 No mentions of budget/tools
- 🟡 Use free tools, complain about paid
- 🟢 Already paying for similar tools
Strategic Fit:
- 🔴 Requires major pivot (different product)
- 🟡 Requires some features we don't have
- 🟢 Aligns with current tech stack and differentiators
📠Notes & Insights
Cross-Direction Patterns
- (To be filled as patterns emerge)
Unexpected Findings
- (To be filled with surprises)
Dead Ends
- (To be filled with directions that clearly don't work)
🚀 Next Steps After Research
If 2+ directions score 🟢🟢🟢🟢:
- Update ICP hypothesis (07-validated-icp-ai-developers.md)
- Revise interview script (03-icp-research-questions.md)
- Plan external validation
If 0-1 directions score well:
- Explore backlog directions
- Consider fundamental pivot
- Discuss with @men
Document Status: Active
Last Updated: November 1, 2025
Next Review: After Phase 1 completion (Nov 2-3)