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Bootstrapping a SaaS Startup from Scratch

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Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Startup from Scratch 

#41

Post by Fomite »

rsp1984 wrote: post #32
rsp1984 wrote: post #26

Right in the beginning: The stone cold truth of the matter is that most of the people pandering this advice are only doing so to build up their “guru” status ... They do this so that look up to them. They do this so that you talk about them (getting you to help them grow their audience). They do this so that you’ll feel like you’re somehow less than they are ... I promise I’m not going to do any of that to you. Reall…

If the downvoters please could provide just a couple of words of explanation why they think I'm wrong. Thanks.

Because I read it far more as "This is going to be fucking hard, it sucks. Welcome to the trenches." That's considerably different than "I just did this simple thing and then money fell from the sky."

That, and the rest of the article goes on to focus on validating why your idea might not suck, or can at least be refined.

Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Startup from Scratch 

#42

Post by Trundle »

rsp1984 wrote: post #26

Right in the beginning: The stone cold truth of the matter is that most of the people pandering this advice are only doing so to build up their “guru” status ... They do this so that look up to them. They do this so that you talk about them (getting you to help them grow their audience). They do this so that you’ll feel like you’re somehow less than they are ... I promise I’m not going to do any of that to you. Reall…

There's only hypocrisy if one is to assume the author doesn't start his projects with the mentality of "lets check out this guess that probably sucks".

Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Startup from Scratch 

#43

Post by jeffreyrogers »

This is a good read, but I'm a bit concerned by his product Tamboo[1], which lets site owners track exactly what their users do on their sites. I was looking at competitors and found Smartlook[2], whose website asks "Is this super-awesome service even legal?" A better question might be, "is it ethical?" and generally when you're asking is it legal the answer to that question is no.

[1]: https://gettamboo.com/ [2]: https://www.smartlook.com/

Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Startup from Scratch 

#46

Post by danieltillett »

mack1001 wrote: post #37
danieltillett wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is your target customer in the small and medium size market? If so you will struggle finding any scalable pay per click method that is cost effective if your lifetime customer value is under $2000. If your LCV is over $2000 then you can support a direct sales model which works really well in the SMB market - the only problem is few SMB targeted products can support direct sales.

My service is for medium to large enterprise customers and lifetime value is probably much higher than $2000. But I am still validating if they would even value it or pay for it. Reaching the buyers (VP/Director Software Engineering) to validate is in itself an art form and an exercise in careful tuning. I cannot afford to be at conferences or get highly targeted lists. If you are interested - my landing page is http…

The LCV is over $2000 then your should go down then direct sales route. I know it is the nastiest, most unpleasant thing to do (cold calling), but it works and it is scaleable. You need to put down your keyboard and pick up the phone (and/or shoe leather) and get in contact with your potential customers. Once you get to $1 million ARR then hire a sales guy/gal and let them take over.

One thing that will help is to get an keen intern to help you with the direct sales. They won’t be able to do the selling, but they can help you out and make the inevitable rejection and rudeness you will face much easier to deal with - having a wing wo/man there to experience the abuse with you really helps.

Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Startup from Scratch 

#47

Post by danieltillett »

mack1001 wrote: post #38
mack1001 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My service is for medium to large enterprise customers and lifetime value is probably much higher than $2000. But I am still validating if they would even value it or pay for it. Reaching the buyers (VP/Director Software Engineering) to validate is in itself an art form and an exercise in careful tuning. I cannot afford to be at conferences or get highly targeted lists. If you are interested - my landing page is http…

And I am pretty sure, I broke all rules about landing pages mentioned in the article :-)

Yes. If you are going to direct sell it is not so critical, but if you are going to try to use PPC then you need to get the value story front and centre.

Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Startup from Scratch 

#48

Post by csallen »

realstuff wrote: post #25
csallen wrote: post #16

> Some of it may seem simple. Don’t be fooled. There is complexity in simple things. I've interviewed 80+ founders (mostly bootstrapped) for https://IndieHackers.com , and people sometimes come away from reading an interview thinking, "Well that person had it easy." We tend to underestimate the importance of the things we don't -- the part of the iceberg that's beneath the surface. In truth, the amount of work people…

How ironic of you showing in the particular post. He's precisely referring to people like you and your illegitimate interviewees at IndieHackers who all claim to be overnight successes.

Nobody on Indie Hackers has ever claimed to be an overnight success, and every interview is transparent about the details so that readers can see exactly how long it took.

Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Startup from Scratch 

#49

Post by pesfandiar »

jeffreyrogers wrote: post #43

This is a good read, but I'm a bit concerned by his product Tamboo[1], which lets site owners track exactly what their users do on their sites. I was looking at competitors and found Smartlook[2], whose website asks "Is this super-awesome service even legal?" A better question might be, "is it ethical?" and generally when you're asking is it legal the answer to that question is no. [1]: https://gettamboo.com/ [2]: ht…

In my opinion, the legal aspect is unclear too. In case of brick and mortar stores, AFAIK, most jurisdictions require a noticeable sign revealing surveillance/videotaping. The law hasn't quite caught up online though.

Regardless, I'd say it's ethical if they clearly tell users they're being watched. I bet no one would use the service if it was required.

Re: Bootstrapping a SaaS Startup from Scratch 

#50

Post by matrix »

csallen wrote: post #48
realstuff wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How ironic of you showing in the particular post. He's precisely referring to people like you and your illegitimate interviewees at IndieHackers who all claim to be overnight successes.

Nobody on Indie Hackers has ever claimed to be an overnight success, and every interview is transparent about the details so that readers can see exactly how long it took.

To be fair, he has a point. The indyhackers Submit hub article is sub-titled:

"Jason Grishkoff built a $55,000/mo SaaS business helping musicians promote their music, and he did it in under a year. Here's how."

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