How I validated my SaaS before building it

[calo]

Rewind 10 days ago and I had several ideas but didn’t know what to choose. I wanted a way to validate the idea before building so I could quickly iterate through each idea till I found the right one.

My solution?

Waitlists.

I setup a super simple landing page, posted my SaaS in relevant forums and on twitter. In just 5 days I have a 100+ emails for my SaaS launchcopy.co and I am hoping to launch this coming Friday.

I know this number isn’t crazy, but it’s not terrible for a first time SaaS founder. Remember to build in public and ship fast!

 

[savedbygrace71]

@calo I like it !

Do you already have a twitter following?

 

[calo]

@savedbygrace71 Started with 0 followers last week and have 60 now, I post about my journey everyday -> https://twitter.com/jack_mitchell01

 

[savedbygrace71]

@calo Id follow if I had an account still

Still seems like one of the best places to be for the indie hacker space

So, how do you avoid the noise there, I left because its a constant battle to see content I want?

 

[calo]

@savedbygrace71 I’m new to X and so far my algorithm is quite good and any crap is worth it for the small support I’ve been able to drum up on.

If you care I’m starting a newsletter this week you can sign up here https://jackmitchell.co/

 

[peachpits]

@calo That's awesome! Using waitlists for validation is smart. Excited for your SaaS launchcopy.co! #BuildInPublic

 

[calo]

@peachpits Thank you appreciate the support

 

[halltc]

@calo Wait-lists are very much hit and miss. I had close to 300 waiting for an AI art SaaS. When I launched, I emailed all of them and barely had any response. I mean my page views barely registered anything. Purchases are validation.

If you can, interview the people who signed-up to your wait-list. That's something I didn't do that could've brought me closer to potential customers and what they were thinking.

 

[calo]

@halltc Great advice will definitely do this

 

[fearey]

@calo It’s great for start tbh.
What’s the name of the forum you posted?

 

[calo]

@fearey My product is relevant to SaaS founders so I posted here, SaaS, entrepreneurship and side project.

 

[fearey]

@calo All sub reddit?

 

[calo]

@fearey Yes

 

[truthseeker522]

@calo Will you charge a one-time fee for your SaaS? I imagine startups only launch once on ProductHunt.

 

[calo]

@truthseeker522 Plan is to generate a tag line, short description and then a long description. Give the tag line and short description away for free, and charge a 1 time fee for the long description