š”Ideas: Gut Reactions
Track gut symptoms and triggers
Problem
People with gut issues need a consistent way to identify, track, and avoid what triggers their symptoms. Elimination diets are terrible, tracking everything is cumbersome, and finding the right medical professional can be a challenge.
People with gut issues are frequently left to struggle through this alone. Symptoms can be severe and debilitating, leaving little energy for anything else. And your guts are ever changing - whatās worked in the past may not consistently work in the future.
Solution
An app where users can log symptoms, food, and other relevant inputs. Where they can identify trends, experiment, and conclusively determine what triggers which symptoms. The interface would be lightweight and easy-to-use, and trends / possible triggers would be identified automatically.
Target users
People with gut issues.
Open questions
Does this already exist? The āIBS Trackerā market is crowded, with many existing apps. Iāve been trying one, Bowelle, but there are too many to reasonably test.
Is this a problem that warrants software? The pain level is high, but after a few customer interviews, its not clear yet what parts could or should be solved by software.
Business model? Assuming software is warranted, is this something people would actually pay for? B2C isnāt ideal, but a subscription fee, however small, would make sense. Especially with privacy and data-ownership in mind.
Background
Content warning: Talking about poop
Iāve been dealing with āgut stuffā over the last 4 years. TL;DR: After painstaking experimentation, Iāve figured out that dairy, caffeine, fatty/oily foods, spicy foods, and alcohol are all problematic.
Iāve seen many medical professionals, most of whom have looked at me through one narrow area of specialization. My acupuncturist was the only one who made me feel seen, because she looked at my situation holistically.
Gut problems, poop, and food sensitivities arenāt usually publicly discussed. But many people Iāve spoken with have reported similar issues in their 30s and/or since the pandemic. There seems to be a trend here.
Iām personally very motivated - I need to solve this problem for myself, and if software can help, why not make a project out of it?
Reasons why this might fail
Using the wrong words to describe the problem: This is a me problem. Iām an expert in my own body and what I feel and experience, but I am very bad at communicating these things to other people. I suspect Iām not alone in this.
Trying to be everything for everyone: The common thread here is gut issues caused by food sensitivities. So far what Iāve learned is that symptoms can vary dramatically from person to person. This will make designing user experiences, software, and even a business model, all hard until the focus becomes more narrow.
Technical barriers: Depending on the requirements, it could take significant effort to build a proof of concept to validate problem/solution fit. Competing in a crowded market would require many table-stakes features. There are other possible smaller, simplier solutions that could add value quickly, all of which still need to be validated.
Reasons why this might succeed
š Trends: The number of people with gut issues seems be growing rapidly.
š„ Painful problem: When people are dealing with severe symptoms, they are very motivated to find a solution.
š¤ Iām a user: This is something I need to solve for myself.
Next steps
Customer interviews: Iām interested in talking to more folks with gut issues, in hopes that I can narrow in on what exactly to build, and for whom.
Mocking up a proof-of-concept: Iāve been playing around with what pages, functionality, and interactions would feel most helpful as a user, and will continue this exploration.
Asks
Have you been dealing with gut issues? If so, Iād love to hear from you!
Iām especially curious to hear about your symptoms & triggers, how you figured them out, and what software or people have helped you throughout the process.
Please email me if youāre interested in chatting or sharing your experience!
As always, Iād love to hear what you think.
Shout-out to Corey Brodsky for suggesting āGut Reactionsā.