Most people scroll Reddit looking for startup ideas. After one hour, they get nothing.
With this method, I can pull data ready for analysis in 10 seconds. All from Reddit.
No reading endless comments.
No doing heavy research.
No staying up late scrolling thread after thread.
This is a lazy demand-mining method I’ve been using recently. Today I share it directly with you.
1. Why Reddit Is a Gold Mine for Startup Ideas
1) Anonymous + No Social Pressure
When people complain about products, they don’t care about saving face. The criticism is very real.
2) The Comment Section Has Full Context
Many times it doesn’t stop at one complaint. The discussion gradually develops into:
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Specific usage scenarios
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Which competitors they compared
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Why they are dissatisfied
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What they are willing to pay for
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Even alternative solutions suggested by users
This makes user research much easier.
But here comes the problem: the normal way of browsing Reddit is too slow. You open comments layer by layer, and halfway through you don’t want to read anymore.
So we need a simpler method.
2. Get the Full Discussion Data in 3 Seconds
1) Choose One Sub (The More Vertical, The Better)
For example:
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r/Notion
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r/Excel
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r/Obsidian
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r/SEO
2) Pick High-Engagement Posts
Prioritize posts with:
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Many comments
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Many upvotes
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Titles that look like questions, requests for help, or complaints
3) Add .json to the Post URL
Example:
Original link:
https://www.reddit.com/r/xxx/comments/xxxxxx/some_title/
Change it to:
https://www.reddit.com/r/xxx/comments/xxxxxx/some_title/.json
Then you will see a big block of JSON data.
4) Give It to AI for Analysis
Use a prompt like this:
Please analyze the following Reddit JSON data:
1. The 3 most concentrated user complaints
2. The most frequently mentioned alternative products
3. Potential opportunities for new tools
4. Signals that users are willing to paySummary
The core method is just 3 steps:
1️⃣ Find a vertical sub
2️⃣ Add .json to the URL
3️⃣ Send it to AI for analysis
Go try it yourself.