This is maybe a meta-suggestion, more focused on chunking down problems and the process of working and shipping, but Amy Hoy’s Just Fucking Ship is full of useful advice on how to actually get things out the door. (I’ve taken their 30x500 class too, which is also excellent)
Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
41–50 of 102 posts
Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
#42I'm stuck on your opening statement rather than your question. I did the 40hr week and now do what you aspire to do. Your life will be more challenging if you start a SAAS business. It will not be easier. The only people in SAAS I know with an easy life poured their life into their company and things came good. Investors are starting to see SAAS as a 10yr investment, to give you a sense of time. Ironically those I kn…
Thank you for your insight, it is great to get to hear from someone in the trenches and an "average SAAS Joe" as you call it. The keyword in my opening statement is "eventually" as I do understand the need to hustle initially, potentially for a long time. When work is fun it is no longer work, as someone smart once said. What is hard to motivate for me is doing all that work for (mostly) someones else gain and for a…
I was part time for a few years working on my saas product before I gave in my notice. I hadn't planned to but got a place on an accelerator programme. You should maybe factor this into your thinking. I'm very glad I just didn't strike out on my own as I had planned. There is a lot to learn about doing business and accelerator programmes are great. You get to work alongside people in the same boat and get access to some of the biggest names in SAAS. My last thought is that sales is one of the toughest areas. As a founder you are the sales person. So read up on that if it's not your area. I think the days of build it and they will come is over. You will find yourself spamming people and maybe cold calling. Words from the trenches as you say.
Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
#43Before you earn the success that affords more free time, prepare for 100+ hour work weeks. It's a paradox that in order to obtain more free time you'll likely have to spend years handing over hour upon hour to your business. If you pull it off, however, the business will give you back that time with freedom as interest. I don't have a book to recommend but this guy's comments are usually gold: https://news.ycombinato…
>If you pull it off, however, the business will give you back that time with freedom as interest.
That's a wonderful way to put it. I will definitely check out his comments. Thank you!
Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
#44Here are the things that lead to my startup's success:
Get a mentor who's already been there
Read Traction by Gino Wickman
Read Traction by Gabriel Weinberg
Identify and engage a big enough channel that will sell your product for you.
Build the product that they want. You build what they want, and they'll enthusiastically sell it for you.
Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
#45I'm stuck on your opening statement rather than your question. I did the 40hr week and now do what you aspire to do. Your life will be more challenging if you start a SAAS business. It will not be easier. The only people in SAAS I know with an easy life poured their life into their company and things came good. Investors are starting to see SAAS as a 10yr investment, to give you a sense of time. Ironically those I kn…
Glad someone mentioned this. I fell hard for the idea of the mythical SaaS that just produces monthly recurring revenue and magically grows month-over-month. Boy was I wrong.
The reality is lots and lots of customer support, constant development of new features to stay competitive, new (cheaper) entrants cloning your product once they see you're successful, ever-evolving privacy regulations, sleepless nights over security concerns, long payback periods on the cost of acquiring a customer (depending on your pricing), etc.
Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
#46Fellow aspiring solo founder here! Here are a few books/resources I've found helpful: --- The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick This book stresses the idea of starting with customer interviews before you build anything and how to ask questions of prospective customers to get meaningful information when people's bias is to just tell you, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," even though they'd never pay money for it. I spen…
Start Small, Stay small is 10 years old. A lot has changed since then. The author made an unfortunate decision to write extensively about things that are not perennial. So after reading for a while about software tools and practices that are now dead or outdated, describing the limitations of an iPhone 3G, etc, I decided to stop and return the book.
Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
#47Company of One by Paul Jarvis is a nice short read. Not SaaS-specific, though.
A SaaS-specific version of "Company of One" would be awesome. I liked that book, but it was a bit generic in its recommendations (which PJ acknowledges as a limitation of the book upfront, so that's not a criticism).
Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
#48don't think of the business as just a 'SAAS'. think of it, of as a factory, or mine. you wouldn't be a part time owner or manager of a factory would, you? hence quit your job, or take a break then dive in. if it becomes successful, you won't need to go back to your job again. 3 months is good enough time, to know whether you've a business that can support you or not. of course, you've to live like a cockroach ie. limited expenses
Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
#49If you are reading a book instead of talking to and connecting with people to find out what they truly personally need, does it really matter what book you are reading? Sounds rough, but I'd recommend weighing any recommendation against this.
So you're recommending that instead of the book, they read these two sentences from you and start from there? How about a book that motivates people to do that, like four steps to the epiphany? It isn't an either-or proposition.
I hadn't thought of it that way, but yes, I would go so far as to guarantee that my previous two sentence comment is more valuable than %99 of all business books.
You can conclude the above after absorbing the opportunity cost and burn of reading a few thousand pages of anecdotes from newly wealthy people post-hoc moralizing their luck, or you can start with it as an axiom that provides the only demonstrable path to success.
However, it's the only advice I have.
Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?
#50As others have mentioned, the important thing is to start. Build something and get it in front of potential customers, figure out what is wrong about it and revise. But these helped me as I built a SaaS startup over the last few years:
Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PPW5V9C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_...
The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SLDD5YV/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_...
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0189PVAWY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_...
Who: The A Method for Hiring https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001H97LVO/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_...
The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don't) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0149NJXMO/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_...
I have more recommendations as well but they might just be distractions until you get started.