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I've run with many bad SaaS ideas, some good ones and one great one. It takes great to get liftoff. The bad ideas aren't the hard ones. The hard ones are the g

I've run with many bad SaaS ideas, some good ones and one great one. It takes great to get liftoff. The bad ideas aren't the hard ones. The hard ones are the good ideas .. Maybe people are paying. Maybe they even like it. Sadly good isn't good enough in SaaS. For a SaaS product to really win it needs real, measurable velocity. If I could offer one big of insight I've managed to pick up - genuine traction in SaaS is hard won, but then it's really (really) obvious. If it's not slapping you in the face, then time to change tack. Maybe that's a tweak or it's a pivot, but keep trying till you have that clarity.

nkkollaw 10y ago
> genuine traction in SaaS is hard won, but then it's really (really) obvious Can you give an example? :-)
- jwilliams 10y ago
  I have a few! One mildly churlish one -- I was at a SaaS event way back and got asked how you know you have traction. My (rather uncharitable) answer was "you stop showing up at events like this". Traction is really when the business starts driving you rather than vice-versa. I suspect the reality is every SaaS startup out there will have a different metric or moment of realization. Could be a pulling in a big customer, or a piece of content marketing that really hits home. If I really had to hone in on just one, it's cash. If you've got a business that's getting by -- If you're charging monthly, I'd ask how many customers you can get to commit to annual payments. If people are paying $100 month, I'd ask how you double it. If your sales cycle averages to a month, I'd wonder if it can be a week. My dataset of successes is limited, but plenty of misses The meta-point is that it's really obvious when it hits. It's obvious when it misses. The tough calls are when it's just creeping along. Doesn't mean it is a bad idea, just that you need to keep iterating -- your marketing, features, onboarding, whatever you can. Good luck!
  - nkkollaw 10y ago
    Thanks. This is helpful.

nkkollaw 10y ago

> genuine traction in SaaS is hard won, but then it's really (really) obvious Can you give an example? :-)

jwilliams 10y ago
I have a few! One mildly churlish one -- I was at a SaaS event way back and got asked how you know you have traction. My (rather uncharitable) answer was "you stop showing up at events like this". Traction is really when the business starts driving you rather than vice-versa. I suspect the reality is every SaaS startup out there will have a different metric or moment of realization. Could be a pulling in a big customer, or a piece of content marketing that really hits home. If I really had to hone in on just one, it's cash. If you've got a business that's getting by -- If you're charging monthly, I'd ask how many customers you can get to commit to annual payments. If people are paying $100 month, I'd ask how you double it. If your sales cycle averages to a month, I'd wonder if it can be a week. My dataset of successes is limited, but plenty of misses The meta-point is that it's really obvious when it hits. It's obvious when it misses. The tough calls are when it's just creeping along. Doesn't mean it is a bad idea, just that you need to keep iterating -- your marketing, features, onboarding, whatever you can. Good luck!
- nkkollaw 10y ago
  Thanks. This is helpful.