The Startup Ideas Podcast
The best businesses are built at the intersection of emerging technology, community, and real human needs.
Validate local business opportunities using Google Maps data before entering a market
Entrepreneurs wanting to start local service businesses or lead generation companies
1-2 weeks for full market analysisWhat Success Looks Like
Clear data-driven decision on whether a local niche has sufficient demand, manageable competition, and customer satisfaction gaps to exploit
Steps to Execute
Generate niche hypotheses using AI prompts for underserved markets
Set up Google Maps scraping workflow for target city and niche
Collect business data: titles, domains, addresses, contact info
Analyze review volume and velocity as demand signals
Extract review sentiment to identify service gaps
Map social media presence and operating hours
Calculate key metrics: review growth rate, player count, satisfaction scores
Use AI to synthesize patterns and opportunities
Generate ranked list of validated opportunities with specific angles
Checklist
Inputs Needed
- Target city and state
- List of potential niche keywords
- Google Maps scraping tool (n8n workflow)
- AI analysis tool (Claude/ChatGPT)
- Hosting infrastructure for workflows
Outputs
- Ranked list of validated niche opportunities
- Competitive landscape analysis
- Customer pain point summary
- Specific market entry angles
- Revenue potential estimates
Example
“Research cosmetic dentistry in Charlotte: scrape 80 practices, find average 4.2 stars but consistent complaints about wait times and pricing transparency, identify opportunity for transparent pricing and fast scheduling specialist”