define build. product? side/night project? consultancy? there will be still a lot of (SRE) work building out hybrid cross-cloud that goes deep into cost and performance optimization - that AI cannot solve (e.g. have direct access to engineering in mid/big tech). if product building is your thing - focus on problems in your domain. make a list. ask others how painful it is vs how much money it can be worth etc. make it fun. my2cts good luck!
I mean - it all depends how big you want to build (what if you do a single feature very good) + you tailor your operation for a niche group of customers based on your first wave of initial POCs/pilots. You can run a great solo business with 10-20 customers.
Walk down the street and knock on local businesses doors. Ask for tech problems. Each one has a few. Ask if they would pay for it. Define for yourself if that income would justify your time/ambition/purpose. AI is hyper-hype but none of BigTech knows how to sell it and purely focus on large enterprises w a mix of fomo/experimentation.
> and no one knows where they will find applications with an ROI
This. Whoever doesn’t respond to OP’s outreach - the problem defined is not big enough or not known yet.
Ads/SEO in B2B are after PMF unless your core audience are devs and its needs bottom-up adoption/awareness - or if its O/S (i.e. Elastic).
> How to gain traction without talking to enough users
You either code or talk to customers (interview/define problem/pitch/close) in early stage. If you do outbound mails 70% of your message should be about them/their problem. Go to meetups, go to industry events etc.
Setup an advisory board w/o giving away equity. Folks w industry expertise and the network.
like any other startup. time, energy and passion. define problem/pain. talk loads w potential customers. ask them if they would pay for it. excel in customer success. find ways to scale and be found :)
I know a few folks that use their learning allowance to work with fractional CTOs that offer paid mentorship i.e. grow from an engineering manager towards CTO. LMK if you need an introduction.