4 ms·

Really valuable insights; really shows how different independent SaaS is. For instance, 56% of founders are solo in indie SaaS, whereas a lot of traditional VC

Really valuable insights; really shows how different independent SaaS is. For instance, 56% of founders are solo in indie SaaS, whereas a lot of traditional VC accelerators prefer (or require) at least two founders on a team.

randlet 6y ago
It's tough to find two or more compatible and like minded people who can afford to make (effectively) zero money for an extended period of time. Having VC money makes it possible to support a bigger team from the outset with less financial risk to the founders. This may contribute to the bias towards single founders in bootstrapped companies. I'm a solo SaaS founder and would absolutely love to have a partner but the few people I've discussed it with have not been able to tolerate the financial risk / lost opportunity cost.
- kirktrue 6y ago
  Additionally, the demographics on slide 7 point to the majority of founders being over 30. This age group often coincides with a greater likelihood of having a partner, mortgage, children, etc. Thus the risk aversion for that group is likely also higher. Finding 2+ people with the risk tolerance alone limiting, much less having a complementary skill set, interests, goals, etc.
- codegeek 6y ago
  I am a solo SAAS founder and I would say that other than the financial risk/lost opportunity cost, the major hurdle is finding someone ambitious and driven enough who is willing to slog it out with you. The drive, the ambition and will to do whatever it takes day in, day out is not that easy to find. Especially when you have to find others who may not feel the same about your brand/product/business.
- ta1234567890 6y ago
  > VC money makes it possible to support a bigger team from the outset Yes. However, in practice, it is very rare to be able to raise money before the founding team has already been working on the business for a few months. Hence, by the time VCs put money into the company, most likely, the founders have already incurred their most significant financial risk.
- Terretta 6y ago
  Find a seasoned co-founder who has had an exit and doesn't need another exit to retire, but does need a mission to stay sharp till then.
- xwdv 6y ago
  I am such a person. I could afford to work for years without money thanks to my high net worth and investments in the tech sector, and have over a decade of software development experience in building robust web scale applications. Unfortunately, most potential co-founders write me off when they discover I’m ethically challenged.
  - ZephyrBlu 6y ago
    > ethically challenged Is that like a euphemism for sociopath? I'm being slightly facetious, but I don't really know what you mean by "ethically challenged".
    - casey77 6y ago
      Probably a euphemism for worked at Facebook
    - harperlee 6y ago
      Perhaps time in prison? In the sense that people assume having gone to prison is a challenge to the default assumption of whether you are a good person.
  - icedchai 6y ago
    How are you "ethically challenged"? And what prevents you from simply BSing them so they don't discover this?
  - DiggyJohnson 6y ago
    What a fascinating response.
  - withinboredom 6y ago
    > most potential co-founders write me off when they discover I’m ethically challenged. I would have loved to have come across this comment years ago. I was building a bit of awesome software that turned out to be "illegal" ("PayPal is a bank -- oh, you're a regulator? PayPal isn't a bank!" kind of illegal). It was really interesting, but my cofounder backed out once we ran into regulation designed to keep us out of the market. I wanted to keep going and pretend the regulation didn't exist/apply to us.
soneca 6y ago
And they say that growth has correlation with the number of founders (up to 3 founders), so it makes sense as for VCs growth is basically the only thing that matters, not so much for bootstrappers.

randlet 6y ago

It's tough to find two or more compatible and like minded people who can afford to make (effectively) zero money for an extended period of time. Having VC money makes it possible to support a bigger team from the outset with less financial risk to the founders. This may contribute to the bias towards single founders in bootstrapped companies. I'm a solo SaaS founder and would absolutely love to have a partner but the few people I've discussed it with have not been able to tolerate the financial risk / lost opportunity cost.

kirktrue 6y ago
Additionally, the demographics on slide 7 point to the majority of founders being over 30. This age group often coincides with a greater likelihood of having a partner, mortgage, children, etc. Thus the risk aversion for that group is likely also higher. Finding 2+ people with the risk tolerance alone limiting, much less having a complementary skill set, interests, goals, etc.
codegeek 6y ago
I am a solo SAAS founder and I would say that other than the financial risk/lost opportunity cost, the major hurdle is finding someone ambitious and driven enough who is willing to slog it out with you. The drive, the ambition and will to do whatever it takes day in, day out is not that easy to find. Especially when you have to find others who may not feel the same about your brand/product/business.
ta1234567890 6y ago
> VC money makes it possible to support a bigger team from the outset Yes. However, in practice, it is very rare to be able to raise money before the founding team has already been working on the business for a few months. Hence, by the time VCs put money into the company, most likely, the founders have already incurred their most significant financial risk.
Terretta 6y ago
Find a seasoned co-founder who has had an exit and doesn't need another exit to retire, but does need a mission to stay sharp till then.
xwdv 6y ago
I am such a person. I could afford to work for years without money thanks to my high net worth and investments in the tech sector, and have over a decade of software development experience in building robust web scale applications. Unfortunately, most potential co-founders write me off when they discover I’m ethically challenged.
- ZephyrBlu 6y ago
  > ethically challenged Is that like a euphemism for sociopath? I'm being slightly facetious, but I don't really know what you mean by "ethically challenged".
  - casey77 6y ago
    Probably a euphemism for worked at Facebook
  - harperlee 6y ago
    Perhaps time in prison? In the sense that people assume having gone to prison is a challenge to the default assumption of whether you are a good person.
- icedchai 6y ago
  How are you "ethically challenged"? And what prevents you from simply BSing them so they don't discover this?
- DiggyJohnson 6y ago
  What a fascinating response.
- withinboredom 6y ago
  > most potential co-founders write me off when they discover I’m ethically challenged. I would have loved to have come across this comment years ago. I was building a bit of awesome software that turned out to be "illegal" ("PayPal is a bank -- oh, you're a regulator? PayPal isn't a bank!" kind of illegal). It was really interesting, but my cofounder backed out once we ran into regulation designed to keep us out of the market. I wanted to keep going and pretend the regulation didn't exist/apply to us.

soneca 6y ago

And they say that growth has correlation with the number of founders (up to 3 founders), so it makes sense as for VCs growth is basically the only thing that matters, not so much for bootstrappers.