It wasn't through excessive thinking for sure! The general concept came to me whilst travelling, I then worked to refine it for a while, but the idea was there!
As for me, all ideas come when I learn something new. It can be a different field or area of knowledge. And then at the intersection of areas some new solutions and ideas are found
I've had an ad-revenue based tool for years. It's always been a side/passion project and never quite knew how to make it a product or at the very least the best way to improve it. I had a feedback form on it but didn't get enough traction to truly understand the visitor's needs.
Last month I decided to change the feedback form's design, include follow-up questions, and add it in two places. The engagement jumped and visitors started providing really valuable insights on what they value and what else they need. The insights have been a game changer for the sites.
Then I thought what if my follow-up questions could take into account the feedback they have already provided so it's not redundant and I could deeply understand what their needs were? What if my feedback form could run an instant qualitative research session? I knew AI could help.
I researched and could not find anything quite like the idea, I know there's a UX research market and I knew other creators like myself could potentially find a tool like this valuable. I've been building it and learning ever since!