From Zero to One: My Journey Building a SaaS Company
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An honest account of building a SaaS business from problem discovery to $40k MRR, including all the mistakes and lessons learned along the way.
Eighteen months ago, I was a frustrated marketing manager at a mid-sized tech company. Today, I'm running a SaaS business that generates $40k in monthly recurring revenue. Here's the unvarnished truth about that journey.
## The Problem That Started It All
I was spending hours every week manually creating reports for different stakeholders. Each person wanted the data formatted differently, and I was constantly copying and pasting from various tools into PowerPoint slides.
I kept thinking: "There has to be a better way to do this."
Spoiler alert: There wasn't. At least not for companies our size with our specific needs.
## The Lightbulb Moment
During a particularly frustrating Friday afternoon of report building, I realized I wasn't the only one with this problem. I started asking colleagues at other companies about their reporting processes.
The conversations were eye-opening:
- "Oh my god, yes, I hate building these reports"
- "We have three people who do nothing but create dashboards"
- "Our reports are always outdated by the time we present them"
This wasn't just my problem. This was a widespread, expensive problem.
## The MVP That Almost Wasn't
My first instinct was to build a comprehensive dashboard platform. I spent two months creating wireframes and technical specifications.
Luckily, I stumbled across the lean startup methodology before I started coding. Instead of building a platform, I decided to test the problem first.
I created a simple landing page: "Automated Marketing Reports – Sign up for early access."
Within a week, I had 127 email signups from a $200 Google Ads spend. People clearly wanted this.
## The Concierge MVP
Instead of building software, I manually created reports for my first 10 customers. I charged $200/month for a service that took me about 3 hours per client.
This taught me several crucial things:
- Which data sources were most important
- How customers actually wanted to see the information
- What automation would provide the most value
- How much they were willing to pay
## The First Real Product
After three months of manual service delivery, I had enough insight to build a real product. But instead of the comprehensive platform I originally envisioned, I built something much simpler.
The first version did exactly one thing: it connected Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Google Analytics to create a single weekly report.
That's it. No fancy dashboards, no real-time data, no customization options.
## The Launch That Taught Me Everything
I launched on Product Hunt and got... 47 upvotes. Not exactly a viral sensation.
But those 47 upvotes led to 23 trial signups, and 8 of those converted to paying customers at $99/month.
Suddenly, I was making $792 in monthly recurring revenue.
## The Growth Challenges
**Month 1-3: The Honeymoon Phase**
Everything felt exciting. I was adding features, getting user feedback, and seeing steady growth.
**Month 4-6: The Reality Check**
Growth slowed. I realized I needed to focus on marketing and sales, not just product development.
**Month 7-9: The Grind**
This was the hardest period. Growth was slow, I was working nights and weekends, and I questioned whether this was worth it.
**Month 10-12: The Breakthrough**
I finally figured out a repeatable customer acquisition process through content marketing and partnerships.
**Month 13-18: The Scale**
With a proven acquisition model, growth became more predictable and sustainable.
## What I Learned
**1. Start Smaller Than You Think**
My original vision was 10x more complex than what customers actually needed.
**2. Manual Work Beats Automation Early On**
Doing things manually first taught me what to automate and how.
**3. Customer Development Never Ends**
I'm still learning new things about my customers every week.
**4. Revenue Solves Most Problems**
Once I had consistent revenue, other challenges became much more manageable.
**5. The Middle Months Are the Hardest**
The initial excitement wears off, but you haven't reached sustainability yet. This is where most people quit.
## The Numbers
- **Month 1**: $792 MRR, 8 customers
- **Month 6**: $4,200 MRR, 47 customers
- **Month 12**: $18,500 MRR, 156 customers
- **Month 18**: $41,200 MRR, 312 customers
## What's Next
I'm still learning and iterating. The business continues to grow, but it's not automatic. Every month brings new challenges and opportunities.
The biggest lesson? Starting is more important than planning. I spent two months planning something I never built, but three hours of manual work taught me more than all that planning combined.
If you're thinking about starting something, stop planning and start experimenting. The market will teach you what to build.
## The Problem That Started It All
I was spending hours every week manually creating reports for different stakeholders. Each person wanted the data formatted differently, and I was constantly copying and pasting from various tools into PowerPoint slides.
I kept thinking: "There has to be a better way to do this."
Spoiler alert: There wasn't. At least not for companies our size with our specific needs.
## The Lightbulb Moment
During a particularly frustrating Friday afternoon of report building, I realized I wasn't the only one with this problem. I started asking colleagues at other companies about their reporting processes.
The conversations were eye-opening:
- "Oh my god, yes, I hate building these reports"
- "We have three people who do nothing but create dashboards"
- "Our reports are always outdated by the time we present them"
This wasn't just my problem. This was a widespread, expensive problem.
## The MVP That Almost Wasn't
My first instinct was to build a comprehensive dashboard platform. I spent two months creating wireframes and technical specifications.
Luckily, I stumbled across the lean startup methodology before I started coding. Instead of building a platform, I decided to test the problem first.
I created a simple landing page: "Automated Marketing Reports – Sign up for early access."
Within a week, I had 127 email signups from a $200 Google Ads spend. People clearly wanted this.
## The Concierge MVP
Instead of building software, I manually created reports for my first 10 customers. I charged $200/month for a service that took me about 3 hours per client.
This taught me several crucial things:
- Which data sources were most important
- How customers actually wanted to see the information
- What automation would provide the most value
- How much they were willing to pay
## The First Real Product
After three months of manual service delivery, I had enough insight to build a real product. But instead of the comprehensive platform I originally envisioned, I built something much simpler.
The first version did exactly one thing: it connected Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Google Analytics to create a single weekly report.
That's it. No fancy dashboards, no real-time data, no customization options.
## The Launch That Taught Me Everything
I launched on Product Hunt and got... 47 upvotes. Not exactly a viral sensation.
But those 47 upvotes led to 23 trial signups, and 8 of those converted to paying customers at $99/month.
Suddenly, I was making $792 in monthly recurring revenue.
## The Growth Challenges
**Month 1-3: The Honeymoon Phase**
Everything felt exciting. I was adding features, getting user feedback, and seeing steady growth.
**Month 4-6: The Reality Check**
Growth slowed. I realized I needed to focus on marketing and sales, not just product development.
**Month 7-9: The Grind**
This was the hardest period. Growth was slow, I was working nights and weekends, and I questioned whether this was worth it.
**Month 10-12: The Breakthrough**
I finally figured out a repeatable customer acquisition process through content marketing and partnerships.
**Month 13-18: The Scale**
With a proven acquisition model, growth became more predictable and sustainable.
## What I Learned
**1. Start Smaller Than You Think**
My original vision was 10x more complex than what customers actually needed.
**2. Manual Work Beats Automation Early On**
Doing things manually first taught me what to automate and how.
**3. Customer Development Never Ends**
I'm still learning new things about my customers every week.
**4. Revenue Solves Most Problems**
Once I had consistent revenue, other challenges became much more manageable.
**5. The Middle Months Are the Hardest**
The initial excitement wears off, but you haven't reached sustainability yet. This is where most people quit.
## The Numbers
- **Month 1**: $792 MRR, 8 customers
- **Month 6**: $4,200 MRR, 47 customers
- **Month 12**: $18,500 MRR, 156 customers
- **Month 18**: $41,200 MRR, 312 customers
## What's Next
I'm still learning and iterating. The business continues to grow, but it's not automatic. Every month brings new challenges and opportunities.
The biggest lesson? Starting is more important than planning. I spent two months planning something I never built, but three hours of manual work taught me more than all that planning combined.
If you're thinking about starting something, stop planning and start experimenting. The market will teach you what to build.