Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#1

Post by Dockson » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 4:25 PM UTC

My goal in life (as of right now at least) is to start my own SaaS business so that I can eventually quit my 40 hour work week and have more time for things I enjoy doing. To reach that goal I am first compiling practical advice from people who have already been through that process and are now sharing that advice around ideation and idea validation, marketing, pricing, etc.

I've been looking for book recommendations on this topic both here on HN and also on Indiehackers and while there are many books that are most certainly relevant in some ways and generally just good reads, I would like to start out by asking you if there are any books you've read that specifically give this type of advice. I say books to keep it simple but am of course also open to other types of high-quality resources like blog series or conference talks.

Looking forward to hearing about all the great things you guys have read!

Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#2

Post by chrisa » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 4:43 PM UTC

“Start small, stay small” is good (but a bit old)

Definitely check out Indie Hackers though! The whole community and podcast is built around that idea.

Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#3

Post by Dockson » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 4:52 PM UTC

chrisa wrote: post #2

“Start small, stay small” is good (but a bit old) Definitely check out Indie Hackers though! The whole community and podcast is built around that idea.

I did see "Start small, stay small" being recommended but was put off a bit by its age. But you would still recommend it today then?

Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#4

Post by transitivebs » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 4:55 PM UTC

Here's a curated list of free resources and e-books that I've found incredibly useful: https://blog.saasify.sh/indie-saas-resources/

Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#5

Post by Dockson » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 5:01 PM UTC

transitivebs wrote: post #4

Here's a curated list of free resources and e-books that I've found incredibly useful: https://blog.saasify.sh/indie-saas-resources/

This is great, thank you!

Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#6

Post by odshoifsdhfs » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 5:01 PM UTC

Dockson wrote: post #3

chrisa wrote: post #2

“Start small, stay small” is good (but a bit old) Definitely check out Indie Hackers though! The whole community and podcast is built around that idea.

I did see "Start small, stay small" being recommended but was put off a bit by its age. But you would still recommend it today then?

Not really. With all due respect to the author, most of the advice there doesn't really apply today in the world we are living (well, maybe after COVID it will again?). I remember reading it a few years ago and it was already dated by then.

Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#7

Post by chrisa » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 5:03 PM UTC

Dockson wrote: post #3

chrisa wrote: post #2

“Start small, stay small” is good (but a bit old) Definitely check out Indie Hackers though! The whole community and podcast is built around that idea.

I did see "Start small, stay small" being recommended but was put off a bit by its age. But you would still recommend it today then?

I remember it being really good, though I haven't read it for awhile. I thought I remembered hearing a podcast where Rob talked about what he would change if he rewrote it today, but I can't seem to find it (maybe someone with better google-fu can)

Here is one of his podcast episodes where he talks about it though - so you can start here: https://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/episodes/episode-219

Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#8

Post by mtlynch » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 5:22 PM UTC

Fellow aspiring solo founder here! Here are a few books/resources I've found helpful:

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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 spent a long time trying to apply it, and the struggle was that in my experience, customers who don't mind diving deep into their unsolved problems for an aspiring founder are a disjoint group from customers who have serious money to spend.

My notes: https://mtlynch.io/book-reports/the-mom-test/

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Start Small, Stay Small by Rob Walling

This is a bit dated, but I think it has valuable takeaways. The most important for me was the value in marketing to small niche customers. Big competitors are less interested in catering to niche groups, and the more specialized, the easier they are to find and market to (e.g., they all read the same magazine or attend the same convention).

My notes: https://mtlynch.io/book-reports/start-small-stay-small/

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"Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped Business: Jason Cohen, Founder, WP Engine" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otbnC2zE2rw)

A good recording of a MicroConf talk about useful things to consider when building a new Saas business.

Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#9

Post by imrish » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 5:30 PM UTC

Traction by Gabriel Weinberg.

This book is really amazing and filled with a lot of practical advice. Can't recommend this enough.

Re: Ask HN: Books giving practical advice on starting a solo SaaS business?

#10

Post by victor9000 » Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 5:30 PM UTC

Having done this a few times, the biggest advise I can give is that time is your most valuable resource. So look to maximize this resource with each decision you make. For example, in buy vs build situations you should err on the side of buy. You can find affordable services that will handle close to 100% of your generic SaaS needs. So don't reinvent the wheel, and go with as much off-the-shelf as possible.