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I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

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Re: I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

#51

Post by ChuckMcM »

gshdg wrote: post #42
ChuckMcM wrote: post #32

One of the things I have observed over the years is that some people are motivated to build technology because they like building things, and some are motivated by the fact that builders of technology make money. People who like the 'art' of building this stuff, are (again in my experience, not an exhaustive study or anything) generally much better programmers and engineers that the purely financially motivated folks…

I think there's a third set, which is people who like seeing other people use the stuff they built, whether or not it makes money.

I totally agree with this too. So three sources of joy; money, elegance, and utility. Of course that reminds me there is the "other" side of developers the ones who find joy in puzzle solving, overcoming artificially imposed barriers, and discovering protected knowledge.

Re: I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

#52

Post by ChuckMcM »

n42 wrote: post #33
ChuckMcM wrote: post #32

One of the things I have observed over the years is that some people are motivated to build technology because they like building things, and some are motivated by the fact that builders of technology make money. People who like the 'art' of building this stuff, are (again in my experience, not an exhaustive study or anything) generally much better programmers and engineers that the purely financially motivated folks…

I don't disagree, but this romanticized view of the selfless visionary engineer/designer/founder is counterproductive. the truth is that moderation is important. you need both. do both. be flexible. pay attention. know when to shift focus. getting stuck on one thing at the wrong moment is how you go out of business. don't go out of business. going out of business is decidedly the most anti-user thing your company can…

I think we're on the same page here, there is a reason that sociopaths who use 'money' as their scorecard do better (at least initially) as CEOs. It is also this same principle that explains why startups with multiple founders have a higher correlation with success than solo founders. Having the ability for one person to both pay attention and recognize it is time to shift focus can be rare.

Re: I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

#53

Post by BowBun »

msvan wrote: post #41
BowBun wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, it's ridiculous! Not to mention that many app developers (as mentioned in the post) can't grind along on a single app for 10 years, so you most likely are not getting $5/mo (or more!) of value out of the product for 10 years. Sublime did it best, IMO. Charge a non-negligable amount ($70) for an individual, but pennies to a company. That's how many of us got our licenses. That $ should be enough to run their…

The flip side of the story is that Sublime died. I know they have had some updates recently, but for years it was completely stagnant. The hole that was left by Sublime was filled by VS Code. Maybe Sublime would've survived with a subscription model? When you're paying a subscription you are paying for the maintainer's continued interest in the product over time, which is not to be underestimated. Software rots quick…

I don't agree, coworkers and I use Sublime as our daily drivers. I think it depends very heavily on the tech stack and the work being done.

I also disagree that you can even compare Sublime to VS Code because one is a text editor and one is an IDE. I don't know a single person that switched just because Sublime wasn't being updated, they switched because VS Code has some really deep integrations and features that are easy to become dependent on.

Alfred has another better option than subscriptions IMO where they release new major versions you have to pay for every couple of years, but you own the previous version in perpetuity.

Re: I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

#54

Post by smnrchrds »

Inkdrop was announced more than 3 years ago on HackerNews. I am happy for the creator, and I am glad it is financially viable and going strong. But to be honest, as someone who often muses about entrepreneurship and lifestyle businesses, I find it a bit discouraging how long it takes to get to the point of financial viability.

Re: I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

#55

Post by mobitar »

smnrchrds wrote: post #54

Inkdrop was announced more than 3 years ago on HackerNews. I am happy for the creator, and I am glad it is financially viable and going strong. But to be honest, as someone who often muses about entrepreneurship and lifestyle businesses, I find it a bit discouraging how long it takes to get to the point of financial viability.

Three years is typically just the tip of the iceberg ;) There's probably at least a decade's worth of failures that lead up to finally having a successful product.

Re: I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

#56

Post by n42 »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #52
n42 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree, but this romanticized view of the selfless visionary engineer/designer/founder is counterproductive. the truth is that moderation is important. you need both. do both. be flexible. pay attention. know when to shift focus. getting stuck on one thing at the wrong moment is how you go out of business. don't go out of business. going out of business is decidedly the most anti-user thing your company can…

I think we're on the same page here, there is a reason that sociopaths who use 'money' as their scorecard do better (at least initially) as CEOs. It is also this same principle that explains why startups with multiple founders have a higher correlation with success than solo founders. Having the ability for one person to both pay attention and recognize it is time to shift focus can be rare.

Definitely. I think we are, too. I worried that your original comment could be misinterpreted.

Re: I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

#57

Post by jamil7 »

mobitar wrote: post #55
smnrchrds wrote: post #54

Inkdrop was announced more than 3 years ago on HackerNews. I am happy for the creator, and I am glad it is financially viable and going strong. But to be honest, as someone who often muses about entrepreneurship and lifestyle businesses, I find it a bit discouraging how long it takes to get to the point of financial viability.

Three years is typically just the tip of the iceberg ;) There's probably at least a decade's worth of failures that lead up to finally having a successful product.

Any tips for staying motivated? I want to see my project through but it feels like a real grind after the 1 year mark, every new signup makes me feel some guilt because I feel the product isn't ready yet.

Re: I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

#59

Post by czbond »

mobitar wrote: post #55
smnrchrds wrote: post #54

Inkdrop was announced more than 3 years ago on HackerNews. I am happy for the creator, and I am glad it is financially viable and going strong. But to be honest, as someone who often muses about entrepreneurship and lifestyle businesses, I find it a bit discouraging how long it takes to get to the point of financial viability.

Three years is typically just the tip of the iceberg ;) There's probably at least a decade's worth of failures that lead up to finally having a successful product.

Very well put. I resemble this comment.

Re: I stopped setting a financial goal for my SaaS

#60

Post by unilynx »

kho wrote: post #24
jmduke wrote: post #3

This post resonates a lot with me! I've got a side project that's current bringing in around ~2-3K MRR ( https://buttondown.email ). I spent a long time daydreaming about having it hit four-digits in recurring revenue — it felt like such an accomplishment that if I were able to crack it, it'd be a dream come true. It's certainly not enough to live off of (especially living in Seattle), but it's a non-trivial amount o…

Hey Jmduke, Others have pointed out about the free plan and I mostly agree with them. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the opportunity to position your product as the alternative for people that think mailchimp is just too much. Tell me this on the headline. "The easiest way to run your newsletter." sounds generic. Maybe something like "Write and click send, that's all it takes. No templates, no extra step…

Write Click Send. I like it. it's not even registered as a .com (or maybe I shouldn't say that out loud)
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