Got rejected by YC - just made $5000 in revenue with my MVP

[janellhanery]

Well guys, just like the title says, I’m still early in development of my SaaS, but decided to have an LTD sale which ends soon and the results were phenomenal. And yeah, the latest YC application was a rejection.

I started charging in August and just today crossed the $5000 revenue mark. Most of that came in today, from the LTD sale.

Most people will say that LTD sale don’t make sense for SaaS companies, but I’m in a completely different situation. My platform deploys apps on client’s private AWS account, so I have virtually no associated server costs. Currently paying $50 for AWS monthly.

I’d highly suggest you try an LTD campaign if you want to get some traction!

EDIT: I've just crossed over the $6000 revenue mark!

 

[loro306]

@janellhanery Awesome! How/where did you do marketing for the LTD sale?

 

[janellhanery]

@loro306 In the Facebook groups listed on my LTD page https://codesmash.studio/lifetime-deal

 

[janellhanery]

@loro306 Sent you a DM

 

[whalstib]

@janellhanery Congrats on the revenue. That's huge.

Ltds are not dismissed because they don't get you traction. The problem is ongoing support costs. These users are now a liability to you.

Also, yc rejected you not because they thought you'd fail. Yc maybe have rejected you on the basis that your saas might only make 20 millions dollars.

They are investing in companies that they think could be a unicorn.

 

[janellhanery]

@whalstib No man, CodeSmash deploys all apps on user’s AWS account. So I don’t have any server cost associated with that. I get a new customer for a price of yearly subscription and the user gets to use my app, rather than competitors. It’s a win win.

And as far as fixing bugs goes. I have to fix bugs regardless of whether the user pays me monthly or once.

 

[iloveonlychrist03]

@janellhanery Seems like your inability to receive critical feedback might be the reason why they rejected you.

 

[janellhanery]

@iloveonlychrist03 At what point did I get offended at what you said? I just explained to you why an LTD is a good thing in my case, but might not be in an average SaaS.

 

[cy118]

@iloveonlychrist03 yea ngl i was really supporting OP after reading his post but these comments, especially the AI cope have been pretty hard to read.

Dont get me wrong AI definitely was over hyped, but its not everything. I have two close friends who got priority interviews, and the one who’s product was an advanced LLM based got rejected, while the other had nothing about AI and got in.

Wishing you the best nonetheless tho, OP

 

[janellhanery]

@cy118 I'm mostly joking with that, but in line with everyone else's criticisms of the current YC batch. We all know that AI was prioritized. In any case, I'm happy to share my experience with people in this community.

You should take things more lightly. For example, I'm quite satisfied now since I'm about to cross the $6000 revenue mark. Wonder if that's gonna happen today?

 

[cy118]

@janellhanery Congrats and im very happy for you, and hope you become better

 

[janellhanery]

@cy118 Thanks, let’s see how it goes!

 

[613jono]

@janellhanery What if your business goes under and the service goes down. Do they get refunds? Because they're gonna ask and if you don't have a great contract with them, you may be on the hook for that long-term if things don't work out.