A marketing manager in Chicago applies to 50 jobs over two weeks. She gets zero callbacks. Her resume looks great — professionally designed, clean layout, impressive achievements. But 75% of resumes are rejected by Applicant Tracking Systems before a human ever sees them. Her beautiful PDF uses columns that ATS software can't parse, creative headers the robot doesn't understand, and keywords that don't match the job descriptions.
The resume industry is worth $400+ million annually, but most tools focus on making resumes look pretty rather than making them work. The dirty secret of modern hiring: ATS systems like Workday, Greenhouse, and Lever filter resumes using keyword matching and format parsing. A resume optimized for human eyes often fails for robot eyes. Companies receive 250+ applications per posting — without ATS filtering, hiring would be impossible. Job seekers need resumes that pass the robot first.
Jobscan ($50/mo) analyzes ATS compatibility but doesn't build resumes. Resume.io and Kickresume build resumes but don't optimize for specific job descriptions. Teal and Rezi combine both but at $29-49/mo. The opportunity is an AI resume builder at $9-19/mo that does one thing exceptionally well: take your experience, take the job description, and output an ATS-optimized resume with matched keywords, proper formatting, and quantified achievements. Show a 'match score' before and after optimization. Target the 10M+ active job seekers who are applying to dozens of positions and need rapid resume customization.
💰 Revenue Blueprint
Three-tier value ladder to monetize from day one
1 resume, basic ATS check, standard templates
5 tailored resumes/mo, ATS optimization per job, keyword matching, match score
Unlimited resumes, AI cover letters, LinkedIn optimization, application tracker
📊 Market Evidence
The Market Gap
Jobscan is analysis-only, expensive ($50/mo). Resume.io doesn't optimize for specific jobs. No $9-19/mo tool that both builds resumes AND optimizes per job description with ATS scoring.
🏆 Competitor Landscape
How existing players stack up in this market
| Competitor | Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Resume.io | $2.95/week - $24.95/mo | Templates + ATS-friendly |
| Rezi | Free / $29/mo | AI resume + ATS checker |
| Kickresume | Free / $5-19/mo | AI writer + templates |
| Teal Resume Builder | Free / $29-49/mo | AI resume + job matching |
| Jobscan | $49.95/mo | ATS optimization + match rate |
Templates + ATS-friendly
AI resume + ATS checker
AI writer + templates
AI resume + job matching
ATS optimization + match rate
🛠️ Recommended Tech Stack
Suggested tools and technologies to build this idea
Score Breakdown
Good market signals with room for growth
Market (20%) + Revenue (20%) + Trend (15%) + Competition (15%) + Build (15%) + Pricing (15%)
🚀 Start Building
Copy a prompt into your favorite AI coding tool and start building this idea right now.
Build a SaaS product called "AI Resume Builder with ATS Optimization". ## Product Overview Create optimized resumes from job descriptions ## Problem Create optimized resumes from job descriptions ## Solution Build AI Resume Builder with ATS Optimization ## Target Audience indie hackers, small businesses, and solopreneurs ## Tech Stack - Next.js 15 (App Router) with TypeScript - Tailwind CSS v4 for styling - Supabase for auth, database, and storage - Vercel for deployment - shadcn/ui for UI components - Framer Motion for animations ## MVP Features to Build 1. Landing page with clear value proposition 2. User authentication (sign up, sign in, forgot password) 3. Core product functionality based on the solution above 4. Dashboard for users to manage their data 5. Pricing page with at least 2 tiers (free + paid) 6. Basic settings/profile page ## Known Competitors Resume.io, Rezi, Kickresume, Teal Resume Builder, Jobscan ## Key Risks to Address Standard market entry risks ## Deployment 1. Set up Supabase project and configure environment variables 2. Deploy to Vercel with `npx vercel --prod` 3. Set up custom domain 4. Configure Supabase RLS policies for security ## Instructions Start by creating the project structure, then build the landing page first. Use server components where possible. Make it mobile-responsive from the start. Focus on getting the core value loop working before adding polish.