Build and sell your own product cheat sheet (SaaS)

1. 1Find a problem worth solvingStart from a painful, frequent problem that a specific group of people already spends time or money on. Ideas are cheap; evidence of pain is not.8 concepts

   1. 1Painful, frequent problemA problem that hurts enough, and happens often enough, that people already try to fix it with workarounds, spreadsheets, hired help or other products.
   2. 2Target customerThe specific group you build for, described precisely enough to find them: role, situation and where they spend time online, such as "solo physiotherapists who…
   3. 3Your advantageWhat you know, whom you can reach or what you can build that most people trying the same idea cannot: domain experience, access to a community or a rare skill.
   4. 4Scratch your own itchBuilding a product for a problem you have yourself, so you understand it deeply and can judge the product as its first user.
   5. 5Demand signalsPublic evidence that people want a solution: repeated complaints in forums, one-star reviews of existing tools, questions asked again and again, job posts for…
   6. 6Search demandHow many people search for your problem, and whether that interest is growing, seasonal or fading, as shown by Google Trends, keyword tools and autocomplete.
   7. 7Competitors as evidenceExisting products for the same problem show that people spend money on it.
   8. 8Problem statementOne or two sentences naming the customer, the problem, how they handle it today and what it costs them.

   8 in this chapterOpen this chapter
2. 2Validate before you buildFind out whether people will commit time or money before you write the product. Conversations, a one-page test and pre-sales cost days, not months.7 concepts

   1. 1The Mom TestA set of rules from Rob Fitzpatrick's book: talk about the other person's life and past behaviour, ask for specifics, and avoid pitching your idea or asking…
   2. 2Problem interviewA short conversation, often 15 to 30 minutes, with someone in your target group to learn how they experience the problem, what they have tried and what it costs…
   3. 3Smoke testA simple page that describes the product as if it exists and asks visitors to act, such as joining a waitlist or pre-ordering, to measure interest before…
   4. 4WaitlistA list of people who left their email to hear when the product launches.
   5. 5Pre-saleTaking payment, or a firm commitment, before the product is finished, usually at a discount, with a clear delivery date and a refund promise.
   6. 6Success thresholdThe result you decide in advance that counts as a pass, such as "5 pre-sales from 200 visitors in two weeks", along with what you will do if you miss it.
   7. 7Concierge MVPDelivering the result by hand for the first customers, with spreadsheets, email and your own time, before automating anything.

   7 in this chapterOpen this chapter
3. Build a small first versionShip the smallest version that solves the core problem well enough that someone pays, on a stack you already know. Speed to real users beats elegance.7 conceptsOpens with credits
4. Getting paidChoose how money moves from customer to you: a payment processor, a merchant of record or the app stores, and what that means for taxes, fees and payouts in your country.9 conceptsOpens with credits
5. PricingSet a price based on the value to the customer, pick a model that matches how they get value, and avoid deals that trade long-term revenue for a quick spike.10 conceptsOpens with credits
6. Position and launchExplain who it is for and why it beats their current option in one sentence, build a page that says it clearly, then launch in the places your customers already gather, within their rules.9 conceptsOpens with credits
7. Grow and measureAfter launch, growth comes from channels that compound, such as search, content, an email list and partners, and from fixing the numbers that show where customers drop away.10 conceptsOpens with credits
8. Run it and decideA paid product needs support, clear legal pages and basic records. Then, on a schedule you set in advance, decide whether to keep going, change direction or stop.10 conceptsOpens with credits
9. 9Glossary, A to ZEvery concept in the sheet and the smaller terms it uses, in one list.152 terms

Validate, launch and get paid.