#buildinpublic
Each product I build unlocks more in my understanding for how to build. Sometimes I don't even notice that I've gained a deeper insight that makes me much better at building.
Warpbin was my 3rd/4th product. It has been continuing to grow and teaching me. Next,
You can have all the data about everyone that visits your webpage and uses your SaaS app... but the goal is to gain insight from it.
If you are able to use that data to personalize your interaction with the user, then you can guide them much better to recognizing your value.
#buildinpublic
Everyone wants profit. More respect to them for being able to make that model work.
It just raises questions about what the actual moats are, how to position against competitors, how to market well.
And yeah maybe not technically expensive but in terms of UX and design and marketing, it is
I guess it shows that I need to change my mindset a bit.
1. It's about marketing not backend processing
2. The moat is again about marketing and ease of use, not technical difficulty
3. Are you solving a pain point people are willing to pay for at the end of the day
4. Value not dependent on costs
Anyone else look at apps that basically require no processing or additional maintenance (e.g. white noise apps) but have $10/mo subscriptions, and get a little confused.
My own product requires a lot of processing and resources continually and I charge less than that.
#saas #buildinpublic
#buildinpublic #saas
Burning the midnight oil here 🕯️
But just sent my first newsletter-ish update to all my users at Warpbin.com
There have been a ton of features and changes, especially in last few days. I wanted to make sure people were aware about them.
Excited to see how it turns out
#buildinpublic #saas
Got hit with the clockwork hourly conversion yesterday, now back to the desert wasteland.
I even made the free stripe analytics tool warpbin.com/stripe-analytics to play around with the projections and to really sink my teeth into how the payment trend was going. (Not 100% bug free)
I think if you can sustain any double digit growth month to month, you will be flying up pretty fast.
#buildinpublic #saas
Chasing that month over month growth will be a losing battle.
First several months at 100% increase in revenue.
Made some projections about growth at that rate 🤷♂️😅.
But 100% doesn't mean much at low ranges. E.g. 50 -> 100
Then came the 60% growth phase, then maybe 40%?
Well I think if you start faking the image as part of it being curated, it's gone down the wrong path.
But if you're just filtering because you're posting in public, it's reasonable.
Anyways, I think success depends on how you weave the story rather than the raw numbers. $50 or $500 is the same
#buildinpublic #saas
I've noticed that success drives interest. When people post of their success it makes me curious.
"How did they do it"
"Let me hear more"
Which then leads to more traffic and potentially more success.
I don't generally prefer to talk about money but it piques interest
I've been thinking which is the best approach amongst a free trial, a freemium version, or a super low tier.
My aim with a super low tier was to basically be free-adjacent while not completely free.
Surprisingly it's not used much if at all though.
Might be time to sunset
#saas #buildinpublic
Generally as a new product the first thing you aim to at least be competitive on is price. If a newcomer to the scene has a superior product and superior price, that is pressure.
Even then, if people land on your page, do they convert. If so, then your product solves their need.
There's so many avenues to keep expanding on. It's inevitable another product will be better suited for some use cases.
Even then it's still a marketing game rather than who is the absolute best product.
It might spur some brainstorming.
It's scary but can be valuable.
When you see a previously unknown competitor in the market and they have a really nice product, it can feel intimidating.
It's also a great insight into how others are approaching the market and what their take is.
There's enough market for everyone. This is solid learning.
#saas #buildinpublic
I think I could've done something much cleaner and better with careful design and planning and execution from the start.
Now there's too much code and Integrated pieces I'd have to trudge through...
Restart or try that new prompt? 🤷♂️
3 days into one workflow I'm trying to setup and validate for the new reddit lead gen backend...
I am starting to think using AI shot myself in the foot in this.
Now I'm putting out fires.
#buildinpublic #saas
Really that's why it's important to focus on the daily steps and trying to move the needle in broad strokes. The one killer feature or new marketing idea you have will likely not be "killer" but it will be a step towards it.
I like to imagine there is this dynamically changing flow of traffic through the interweb. At some point some things click and maybe SEO or Ads just come together and the flow aligns with your product.
Then it falls out of sync and you enter a desert again.
There must be some name for the varied patterns you get from visitors and conversions.
I've had this clockwork pattern where every hour I almost get one conversion.
Also, I've had very long stretches without a single conversion, then get several within minutes.
Random?
#buildinpublic #saas
I think there's a lot of quick value to be had with services like neon (postgres) and clerk (auth), but especially with auth I'm wondering if I should just implement it myself...
Seemingly the most simple thing I thought would be a setting is not a setting.
I haven't started asking for testimonials or reviews yet (I should though... just never got to it and not sure where to start).
However, when I do get the odd email where a user praises Warpbin it's a very satisfying feeling.
It gives validation to the things you've built.
#buildinpublic #saas
Every time I deploy a new change I feel like I've covered a mountain of work and now can see the other side.
But pretty quickly at the summit I start planning for the next mountain of work.
My todos have grown into Grand Canyons and every day I pick a path like a backpacker #buildinpublic #saas
Just listened to a Rob Walling podcast about not starting a second project while working on your main SaaS.
That's kind of exactly what I'm planning on doing. I see the point as I'll slow my momentum.
However, this is the side project to my side project. Early hacking and building is fun #saas
The problem with keyword mention trackers for Reddit is that they can quickly turn into noise. Too many mentions or notifications means you end up not looking anymore.
Consequently you restrict the breadth of your keywords and get a very narrow funnel.
It's like Google ads.
#buildinpublic
So it's been an interesting side project, a bit of fresh air. However, if I can find the time I have a lot of little ideas which would be really cool. Will keep you updated on my progress.
As I was working on warpbin (current product I'm primarily focused on), I saw a need for something for curated and also I just find it interesting to go down this space of reddit lead gen and awareness.
In terms of highly technical code, I think there is a lot I can do. I think I can offer value.
I've been working on a new idea for a reddit lead gen and awareness app. Still in stealth mode (aka no name or domain or landing page), but the backend code is nearing v0 completion.
You might wonder why enter a market already covered by many good products, e.g. f5bot?
#buildinpublic
One thing I've been wanting is to be able to really bite my teeth into my Stripe data more and play around with it to my heart's content. I wanted more insights and couldn't find that satisfaction on Stripe. So I made my own dashboard. Check it out.
warpbin.com/stripe-analy...
#buildinpublic #saas
