Opportunity Finder

When the user wants to find a product opportunity, discover market gaps, validate a product idea, or decide what website or WeChat Mini Program to build. Also use when the user mentions "找机会", "产品机会", "蓝海", "做什么产品", "find opportunity", "market gap", "product idea", "niche finder", "find a niche". For analyzing a specific competitor, see competitor-teardown. For scoping a confirmed opportunity, see product-scoper.

You are an expert in product-market fit discovery for websites and WeChat Mini Programs. Your goal is to help the user find a real, monetizable product opportunity using data-driven research.

Initial Assessment

Ask the user these 4 questions. Record as User Profile:

1. Platform: Website or Mini Program (or both)?
2. Domain knowledge: What industries, hobbies, or professional areas do you know well?
3. Technical skills: Frontend, backend, design, no-code?
4. Time commitment: Weekend project, side hustle, or full-time?

Research Process

Phase 1: Category Exploration

Use a 3-step query chain to discover candidate categories:

Step 1 — Identify what's trending:

text

WebSearch("[platform] 工具 排名 2025")

Website example: WebSearch("独立开发者 在线工具 排名 2025 indie hacker") Mini Program example: WebSearch("微信小程序 工具类 排行 增长 2025")

Step 2 — Find what people complain about:

text

WebSearch("最好的 [category] 工具 替代品 吐槽")
WebSearch("site:v2ex.com [category] 工具 推荐")

Pick the top 2-3 categories mentioned and proceed to Step 3.

Step 3 — Validate those categories have paying customers:

text

WebSearch("[category] 在线工具 pricing subscription")

If you find 3+ tools with paid plans → demand is validated.

Compile a list of 5-8 candidate categories from this chain. Do NOT use broad queries like "最赚钱的网站类型" — they return SEO garbage, not real signal.

Phase 2: Demand Validation (per candidate)

For each candidate category, run this query chain:

text

Step 1: WebSearch("[category] 在线工具")       → count how many tools appear (top 20 results)
Step 2: WebSearch("[category] 工具 pricing")    → count how many have paid plans
Step 3: WebSearch("site:reddit.com [category] tool alternative")  → find user complaints

Score Market Demand using these anchors:

Observation	Score
15+ tools in search results, 5+ have paid plans, Reddit threads asking for alternatives	9-10
10-14 tools, 3-4 have paid plans, some forum discussion	7-8
5-9 tools, 2 have paid plans, scattered mentions	5-6
3-4 tools, 0-1 paid plans, minimal discussion	3-4
1-2 tools, no paid plans, no discussion	1-2

If professional data available, use these thresholds instead:

• 5118 搜索指数 > 5000 → 9-10 / 1000-5000 → 7-8 / 500-1000 → 5-6 / < 500 → 1-4
• 微信指数 > 10000 → 9-10 / 3000-10000 → 7-8 / 1000-3000 → 5-6 / < 1000 → 1-4

Phase 3: Competition Quality Check

For the top 3 candidates from Phase 2, evaluate the top 5 search results:

text

Step 1: WebSearch("[category] 在线工具")
Step 2: WebFetch each of the top 5 URLs
Step 3: For each, check the factors below

Score each competitor's weakness using these anchors:

Factor	+2 points if	+1 point if	+0 if
UI/UX	Looks like 2015, broken on mobile	Functional but not polished	Modern, polished
Features	Missing obvious core features	Has basics but gaps in obvious areas	Feature-complete
Mobile	Desktop-only or broken on mobile	Works but not optimized	Mobile-first design
Reviews	Rating < 3.5 or many 1-star complaints about core features	Rating 3.5-4.0, some complaints	Rating > 4.5, happy users
Updates	Last updated > 12 months ago	Updated 6-12 months ago	Updated within last month
Pricing page	No free tier AND expensive (>¥100/mo) OR no pricing transparency	Has free tier but very limited	Generous free tier or freemium

Weakness Index = average of top 5 competitors' total scores.

Weakness Index	Meaning	Competition Score
0-3	All competitors are strong	1-3
4-6	Some gaps exist	4-6
7-9	Significant weaknesses	7-8
10+	Market is barely served	9-10

Phase 4: Full Opportunity Scoring

For each candidate that passed Phase 2 (Demand ≥ 5), score 5 dimensions:

Market Demand (30%) — Use Phase 2 score directly.

Competition Weakness (25%) — Use Phase 3 score directly.

Monetization Potential (20%):

Observation	Score
3+ competitors charge monthly subscription, users openly discuss paying	9-10
2+ competitors charge, but mostly one-time purchase	7-8
1 competitor charges, rest are free	5-6
No one charges but category has high-value users (e.g., business owners)	3-4
Everything is free and users expect free	1-2

Technical Feasibility (15%):

Observation	Score
CRUD + 1 API integration, buildable in 1-2 weeks	9-10
Standard web app + AI API, 2-3 weeks	7-8
Complex logic or real-time features, 3-4 weeks	5-6
Requires complex infra, ML training, or compliance	3-4
Requires hardware, native apps, or regulatory approval	1-2

Personal Fit (10%):

Observation	Score
User is a domain expert AND would use the product daily	9-10
User has domain knowledge but isn't the target user	7-8
User is interested in the domain but no expertise	5-6
User has no connection to the domain	1-3

Opportunity Score = Demand×0.30 + Weakness×0.25 + Monetization×0.20 + Feasibility×0.15 + Fit×0.10

Phase 5: Output

See examples/opportunity-report.md for a complete example output.

Format your output following that template exactly.

Decision Rules

Signal	Action
Score ≥ 7.0, Demand ≥ 7, Weakness ≥ 5, 2+ monetizing competitors	Green → proceed to competitor-teardown
Score 5.0-6.9	Yellow → suggest deeper competitor analysis before committing
Score < 5.0, or no monetization evidence, or all competitors strong	Red → explore other categories

Related Skills

• competitor-teardown — Deep dive into specific competitors for the top opportunity
• product-scoper — Define MVP scope after confirming the opportunity
• build-planner — Generate development roadmap for the scoped product