My experience releasing failed SaaS products • Hacker News Board

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#41

Post by pototo666 » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 7:55 AM UTC

nikisweeting wrote: post #26

Maybe this isn't helpful advice, but don't take product failures so personally. They are experiments and learning exercises, and most companies fail by default. Of course it depends greatly on your life situation, i.e. do you have a job that can support you while working on stuff as a side-project? Or are you attempting to launch something as your full-time day job with limited savings or income? (10x more stressful)…

My first product takes 6 monthes to monetize. On hind sight I could have shortened 6 monthes to 4 monthes. Because users donated money from monthes 3 to support me. I postponed monetization for fear of user churn.

I would argue that it is possible, even necessary to try monetize early (but only after users acutually use the product). Maybe charge some small amount. PG may have written about it, I am not sure which essay.

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#42

Post by polote » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 7:57 AM UTC

Once again this post follows the usual strategy to make sure to fail your startup https://blog.luap.info/how-to-make-sure-to-fail-your-startup...

These people are very motivated, are able to start new projects and working hard on it. Unfortunately contrary to what the world wants to make you think. Succeeding is not only a question of working hard, there is a lot of luck involved and also a lot of knowledge. But it is not knowledge you learn reading books, it is a mindset. Some people are better than others to start companies.

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#43

Post by yuvalr1 » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 8:03 AM UTC

jbman223 wrote: post #18

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, niche B2B seems to be the winning play from what I have seen and heard from successful indie hackers.

I’ve had great success building B2C apps as side projects. It’s more about matching your passions to solving issues. Otherwise you’ll burn out and produce crap before you ever make anything people use.

Can you recommend resources to help you succeed in building B2C products as a solo entrepreneur? Alternatively, can you elaborate on your take?

I'm interested in building B2C products, and I find that IH is mostly concentrated around B2B (which is logical, because B2C entrepreneurs don't have incentives to post their story there).

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#44

Post by yuvalr1 » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 8:06 AM UTC

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #11

I think one of the important lessons that the author is yet to learn is that people don't give a shit about your product. You have to realize that even if someone gives you a 1 star review saying "product does not work", they still probably don't give a shit. Even people who use your product more than likely aren't going to give you any feedback. The fact the author is focused on things like SEO and is overly emotion…

> It also sounds like they're trying to build generic B2C products, which I think is the complete opposite of what you should be building as a solo bootstrapper

Why do you think solo bootstrappers shouldn't build B2C products?

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#45

Post by system2 » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 8:07 AM UTC

We don't know what the SaaS products were, what he is describing, how much they were, who was the target...

I am just fascinated by these type of posts which people can sit down and write longer than I can tolerate to read. I still don't know what the author tried to convey. Impressive this got 99 votes here.

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#46

Post by IncRnd » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 8:14 AM UTC

llaolleh wrote: post #21

Am I wrong to think that this post needs a couple of revisions? It feels like it is all over the place. I don't know if it's just me but the structure and organization feels so off... The tone of the article makes it seem like the maker is not interested in solving the problem, but more interested in getting paid and that's all that matters. It's also hard for the reader to contextualize anything if the author leaves…

No. You are not wrong. A few revisions would have made all the difference. Build it properly and they will come.

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#47

Post by dschuetz » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 8:17 AM UTC

It might sound silly, but anyone reading his self-reflection should watch the show Silicon Valley. Some of his "failures" actually failed the same way as the products of "Pied Piper".

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#48

Post by Hnrobert42 » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 8:18 AM UTC

system2 wrote: post #45

We don't know what the SaaS products were, what he is describing, how much they were, who was the target... I am just fascinated by these type of posts which people can sit down and write longer than I can tolerate to read. I still don't know what the author tried to convey. Impressive this got 99 votes here.

I actually like that the author didn’t describe the products. That’s beside the point. The point was about the evolution of their goals, definition of success, and ways of failing.

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#49

Post by Pandabob » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 8:22 AM UTC

A little off-topic, but how should one go about incorporating their side project/saas? Is it ok to start off as a sole proprietorship and later set up a LLC? I'm sure a lot also depends on local laws etc.

Re: My experience releasing failed SaaS products

#50

Post by ZephyrBlu » Sun, Apr 04, 2021, 8:23 AM UTC

yuvalr1 wrote: post #44

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #11

I think one of the important lessons that the author is yet to learn is that people don't give a shit about your product. You have to realize that even if someone gives you a 1 star review saying "product does not work", they still probably don't give a shit. Even people who use your product more than likely aren't going to give you any feedback. The fact the author is focused on things like SEO and is overly emotion…

> It also sounds like they're trying to build generic B2C products, which I think is the complete opposite of what you should be building as a solo bootstrapper Why do you think solo bootstrappers shouldn't build B2C products?

Because B2B just makes more sense for small scale businesses. And I say this as someone who is building a B2C SaaS product.

Here are a few reasons off the top of my head:

1) B2B can charge higher prices (Charge More (TM)), which means you can afford higher CAC and require less customers to reach profitability

2) Businesses tend to be more sticky than consumers

3) You can segment the market more effectively with pricing

4) Customers are more likely to be grateful/appreciative because your product directly impacts their business

5) Support is less likely to be a headache due to a smaller number of customers and 4)