Dear SaaStr: What Are The Top 5 Things I Should Know Before Starting a SaaS Startup?
My Top 5:
- It will take you at least 24 months to really get anywhere. Everyone mentally budgets 10–12 months. It’s never enough. At least, not to get enough paying customers from Code Zero. A little more here: https://www.saastr.com/if-youre-…
- A co-founder not equally committed will blow up on you, and best case, is a disaster you will have to clean up later. Almost always. Wait and find a co-founder just as committed as you are.
- Someone else great already has the same idea. Like, always. It’s OK. That’s the way it should be. So ask yourself — why will you win? Answer that instead of worrying about being first. Too many founders aren’t honest about why they will win.
- If you’re a “business” founder, know it’s really, really hard to win without a truly great CTO. If you aren’t sure if your technical co-founder is good enough, ask the top engineering leader you know what she thinks.
- Make 100% sure the market will actually pay for your product. Not just like it. This is a top mistake so many founders make. They build a useful product, but not one the market values so much they will pay for it. At least do 30+ customer interviews and really listen on if they’d paid for real, and then go validate that some more.
A bit more here:
