Hello makers!

Welcome to the edition #87 of Write Your SaaS Growth - thank you to the 89 new subscribers who join us this week

Do things that don’t scale

Premature optimization - the death of all SaaS startups.

Don’t be that founder trying to launch a Kubernetes cluster before the first user.

Paul Graham, one of the Y Combinator founders wrote the definitive piece on this.

But this is about more than tech.

Manual Effort to Start 

When starting a startup, focus on tasks that don't scale initially. Many founders think success comes automatically if they build a great product, but that's rarely the case.

Most startups need a manual push to get going, similar to cranking an old car engine. Founders must actively recruit users instead of waiting for them to come.

Stripe, a successful startup, is known for setting up users manually rather than just providing a sign-up link. They literally coined this term called “Collision Installation”. Someone said they are interested - they made them set it up on the spot.

This hands-on effort is crucial, even if it seems laborious.

“Build it and they will come” is one of the biggest fallacy that exist, not helped by media’s constant portrayal of overnight successes which is almost never the case.

Recruit and Delight Users

In the early stages, personal engagement with users is essential.

Airbnb succeeded by going door-to-door in New York to recruit and help users improve their listings.

Initial user numbers may seem small, but consistent weekly growth compounds significantly over time.

Founders should aim to delight their first users with exceptional service, even if it means writing hand-written thank you notes like Wufoo did.

This creates a loyal user base and builds a positive reputation.

Continuous Feedback and Growth 

Engaging closely with early users provides valuable feedback, which helps improve the product.

Instead of aiming for perfection right away, launch a usable product and refine it based on user interactions.

Manual efforts, such as using your own software on behalf of users, help identify necessary features and improvements.

Over time, automate these tasks as the user base grows.

This approach ensures a strong foundation for scalable growth, making the startup more resilient and user-focused.

Looking for a more streamlined process to tackle SaaS growth?

Now go, and grow, but not too scaleably 😉 

The SaaSwrites Team