Chapter 1: Introduction to Micro-SaaS

First, let me introduce myself. I’m Domenico, currently working as an analyst in the fintech sector, and I’m set to join a leading international gaming company as an analyst in September. My passion for startups and technology led me to discover the indie hacker and micro-SaaS community in 2022. You can find out more about my journey here!

This article will guide you through the complete process of establishing and selling micro-SaaS, from inception to sale. Over the past 1.8 years, I’ve accumulated valuable insights that I’m eager to share regarding my mistakes and strategies for creating a successful business model.

Understanding Your Goals

Lesson 1: Defining Your Objective

Just as in life, it’s crucial to articulate your goals from a business standpoint. Before brainstorming your next big idea, focus on identifying your objective. What do you mean by "goal" in this context?

1. I want to build and sell my SaaS.
2. I want to build and retain my SaaS.

These approaches are distinctly different and will influence your entire SaaS journey.

The first option is more profit-driven: I build, scale it slightly, and then sell. Alternatively, you could acquire an existing product, enhance it with minimal effort, and then sell it. This approach is one of my favorites, and I’ll delve into it in my course.

The second option represents a mid- to long-term strategy, where you aim to create something to keep, necessitating a strong technical foundation.

Your choice may reflect your personality, mindset, and current professional situation. Personally, I lean towards the first option: I’m more of a business-oriented individual rather than a technical one, and I excel in the validation phase—taking an idea from zero to one. I’m unsure about maintaining a product for an extended period, so I prefer to build something with the intent to sell.

Time management is also a critical consideration. Given that this is tailored for individuals with full-time jobs, I understand that available time is often limited. Once you’ve clarified your goal, you can proceed with the next steps.

Validation Stage

The second pivotal step in this journey is validation. Regardless of whether your intention is to build and sell or build and retain a SaaS, this phase is essential and arguably more important than subsequent stages (building, scaling, etc.).

Here’s how I approach this phase. It might sound unconventional, but it has proven effective, and I want to share it with you.

Who Are Indie Hackers?

Before diving into validation, let’s explore the fascinating world of Indie Hackers. I stumbled upon this community 1.6 years ago, and it’s truly inspiring.

I visualize this realm as akin to "Alice in Wonderland"—a space brimming with creativity where extraordinary things can unfold in whimsical ways.

An indie hacker is someone who independently builds and launches a product or business without the backing of a large team or organization. They are typically fueled by their personal ideas, passions, and interests, and are committed to developing their offerings.

The phrase "without the support of a large organization or team" is crucial. I resonate with this identity and my work on side projects, as I’ve consistently launched new ideas in a bootstrapped manner (without external funding) in a swift and efficient way.

Validating Your SaaS Without Resources

With this mindset, I aim to achieve more with fewer resources. For validation, you'll need two essential things:

1. An idea
2. A landing page on yep.so

For my validation process, I always start with an idea without developing the product right away. Building something without knowing if it will succeed is a waste of time. Instead, I create a simple landing page on yep.so. This allows you to validate your idea without incurring costs or dedicating excessive time, while also collecting user emails for a potential beta launch if the feedback is positive.

Promote the landing page within communities like Indie Hackers, Kernel Ideas, Reddit, Hacker News by YC, and your Twitter profile. This step is vital: the more exposure you gain, the greater your chance of collecting emails and validating your product quickly.

It's important to note that you may validate the "pain" point more than the product itself at this stage, as users won’t have a product to test yet. However, you can be nearly certain that a problem exists, and you have the capability to address it.

What Constitutes a Problem Worth Addressing?

To illustrate, let’s consider one of my recent projects, recapiogpt.com (formerly AI Alfred). We managed to gather 179 emails with a conversion rate of around 15%. A conversion rate of 25% is challenging to achieve, but I encourage you to set a goal. If you only receive three emails from 1,000 views, it may indicate that the product isn’t viable or does not solve a significant issue.

In our case, we concluded that our conversion was solid, and with nearly 200 emails collected, we proceeded to develop the first beta version for testing. These early users are invaluable—they can provide feedback from day one and help shape future developments.

This entire validation process cost me nothing and required minimal time to set up the landing page and some mock product images.

Effective Time Management

Managing your time effectively during the building phase while juggling a full-time job is crucial. I’ll share my approach, but feel free to adapt it to fit your needs.

Slot Management

Numerous strategies exist for effective time management, but one of the most effective is slot management. It’s straightforward, and you might already be using it in your professional life.

The objective of slot management is to focus on a specific task for a defined period. How does it work? Use Google Calendar or any scheduling app.

Slot management involves "blocking" a segment of time to dedicate exclusively to one specific task. Minimize distractions by labeling your time slot with the task name and turning off all notifications.

Pomodoro Technique

The course will cover all these steps in detail (including free resources for the validation stage) as well as strategies for the building phase, listing your SaaS, and ultimately the selling process!

The first video titled "From Unhappy 9-5 Software Developer To Full Time Micro SaaS Founder" discusses the transformative journey of a software developer who transitioned into a successful micro-SaaS founder.

The second video, "How To Build Your Own Micro SaaS in 10 Steps (Software As A Service)," provides a step-by-step guide for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to create their own micro-SaaS businesses.