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There was a recent post here on HN for a medium article "Get Rich Slow And Steady" [1]. It seems like this is a space attracting the attention of investors. I t

There was a recent post here on HN for a medium article "Get Rich Slow And Steady" [1]. It seems like this is a space attracting the attention of investors. I think the developer tool business overlaps with the type of SaaS businesses described in the article. There is still space to tackle getting from a no-revenue idea to a stable cash-positive subscription service. My eyes water when I see ideas attracting 10+m in seed capital before they even have a viable product. I remember pitching an idea with a friend for a slow burn SaaS startup (in real-estate). We wanted under 1m and we were laughed out of every room. Everyone wanted to back a potential unicorn and not waste their time on guys thinking so small. Maybe things have changed but it seems right now there are two categories: startups with huge ideas that can get substantial venture capital to take moonshots and stable existing SaaS business that can slow burn on existing subscription revenue. I'm just not sure there will ever be a market for "Give us 1m and we'll build a company that generates 250k/year of profit". https://medium.com/@tom.kubik/get-rich-slow-in-software-57001f41f3a9 https://medium.com/@tom.kubik/get-rich-slow-in-software-5700...

mamcx 7y ago
Heck, you could start ideas with much less. Here in colombia you can do US3000/month * Dev to do whatever you say. But even the people here that give funds not do that!
christiansakai 7y ago
I find it amazing that people can find many small niche ideas that are profitable enough like this. I must have my head entirely in the wrong cloud.
- reggieband 7y ago
  Well, to be fair, some (or even most) small niche ideas won't be that profitable (if they are profitable at all). That is the reason why I feel that the market for those small investments will never really flourish. The downside is the same, you lose all your investment. The upside is completely underwhelming, you recoup your investment after 4 or 5 years after which hopefully you see a profit. This is traditionally the space for friends-and-family investment or bank loans. If I was an investor then I don't think it is a space I would get into. It also explains why the article I mentioned is focused on established and profitable SaaS businesses. That means the filter for crash-and-burn has already taken place allowing investors to change their ROI calculation enough to make it viable.
  - christiansakai 7y ago
    Isn't it harder to compete on established and profitable SaaS business? What can a small dev shop, or an indie developer do to compete in a space like this?
    - reggieband 7y ago
      To be clear, the article isn't advocating for investing in companies competing against established/profitable SaaS businesses. It is advocating investing in the existing companies that have already achieved profitability.

mamcx 7y ago

Heck, you could start ideas with much less. Here in colombia you can do US3000/month * Dev to do whatever you say. But even the people here that give funds not do that!

christiansakai 7y ago

I find it amazing that people can find many small niche ideas that are profitable enough like this. I must have my head entirely in the wrong cloud.

reggieband 7y ago
Well, to be fair, some (or even most) small niche ideas won't be that profitable (if they are profitable at all). That is the reason why I feel that the market for those small investments will never really flourish. The downside is the same, you lose all your investment. The upside is completely underwhelming, you recoup your investment after 4 or 5 years after which hopefully you see a profit. This is traditionally the space for friends-and-family investment or bank loans. If I was an investor then I don't think it is a space I would get into. It also explains why the article I mentioned is focused on established and profitable SaaS businesses. That means the filter for crash-and-burn has already taken place allowing investors to change their ROI calculation enough to make it viable.
- christiansakai 7y ago
  Isn't it harder to compete on established and profitable SaaS business? What can a small dev shop, or an indie developer do to compete in a space like this?
  - reggieband 7y ago
    To be clear, the article isn't advocating for investing in companies competing against established/profitable SaaS businesses. It is advocating investing in the existing companies that have already achieved profitability.