When I was starting my SaaS business, I was referred by a mentor to local startup consultant. I set up a meeting. As I walked into his office, I was full of energy about the idea I had. Sitting down in a chair in his office, he welcomed me and stood up in front of his whiteboard ready to share his secrets of success with me. He wrote in big, bold words: A BUSINESS PLAN I immediately thought, “I’m pretty sure I know what I want to build but I’m not an asshole so I’ll listen”. He went on to...
10 months ago • 1 min read
Going from no knowledge of software development in 2015 to beginner a year later changed my life. “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey is a classic personal development book. One of its core principles is “Put First Things First,” which is Habit 3. In the book, Covey introduces a time management matrix to help categorize tasks based on their urgency and importance. Here’s a breakdown: Quadrant I – Urgent and Important: These are crises, pressing problems, and...
10 months ago • 4 min read
I’m a huge advocate of talking to customers to ensure that you build a product that they and the market wants. But there’s something even more powerful than in-depth customer research…. Build the company you’d want as a customer. This is exactly what Steve Jobs and his team at Apple did with the Macintosh. See below for an expert from this 1985 (interview)[https://allaboutstevejobs.com/verbatim/interviews/playboy_1985] in Playboy. We think the Mac will sell zillions, but we didn’t build Mac...
11 months ago • 1 min read
Six years ago, I sat in a Barnes & Noble, attempting to write a blog post for my SaaS product’s email newsletter. However, I was distracted… I glanced at the company’s bank balance, and it wasn’t trending favorably. About a year into the journey of launching my SaaS product, we generated approximately $250k in ARR. A few months prior, I had made my first hire: an exceptional software developer. Realizing we needed more product-building capacity, I brought on a second developer. Our expenses...
11 months ago • 2 min read
As you start your business, you’re likely to encounter a deluge of data points and metrics. In addition, you'll likely be seeking metrics that show confirmation of your success. But metrics can be a wasteful distraction. From website traffic to sales figures, these numbers seem to tell the story of your company’s success or failure. But in the early stages of your startup, it’s essential to discern between mere metrics and meaningful signals. Here’s why. 1. Depth over Breadth Metrics are...
11 months ago • 2 min read
“If you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it.” - Captain Jack Sparrow Six or seven years ago, I sat around a table at a local coffee shop with a group of aspiring entrepreneurs. At the time, I was just starting to design my SaaS product and was having some success building an email newsletter through organic Twitter posts. The feedback on my content was encouraging, and my subscriber count was growing daily. Despite the challenges of building the SaaS product as a non-technical...
11 months ago • 1 min read