Tom Harari@tomharari
May 3, 2023
11 tweets
In January, I launched a micro-SaaS as part of my solopreneur strategy.
Since then its done +$23,000 in sales, with an MRR that is growing 30% each month.
I've learned a few important lessons on bootstrapping (that I didn't know coming from VC-funded startups).
THREAD:
1/ Niche Problem
Most large tech companies fulfill a mass need. Search, social, hospitality, transportation. For a startup to be "VC-fundable" it needs to, in theory, reach a large market.
Micro-SaaS solves very niche problems.
In my case, it's bookmarks on Twitter.
2/ Small TAM
Because its so niche, the total addressable market is small.
That's a good thing.
Large companies won't enter the space.
And competition is minimal.
3/ Limited Scope
VC-backed startups are in an arms-race for growth.
New features
New markets
New growth channels
With micro-SaaS you don't play that game.
After the core product is built, new features are nice-to-have.
4/ Limited Marketing Channels
99.9% of growth has come organically from one marketing channel – Twitter.
And that's mostly users recommending it to other users.
It probably won't 2x on any given month, but that's fine because...
5/ Lifestyle Business
Micro-SaaS can be the the ultimate lifestyle business.
It's slow and steady but in time SaaS revenue can cover your basic living expenses affording you the lifestyle you want.
Plus, it can be one bet out of several. No need to be "all-in".
6/ Autonomy
No investors. No board of directors.
I work on it as much (or as little) as I want because I enjoy working on it. No one can tell me what direction to take it.
That's a very freeing idea for a creative entrepreneur.
7/ Is it profitable?
These are the expenses:
GSuite: $19
Twilio: $53
Twitter API: $100
AWS credits will run out at some point but for now that's $0.
So yeah, it's profitable.
Building a micro-SaaS is a very different animal than trying to build a rocket ship.
It's a slower pace.
There's no status involved.
And there's faster ways to make money.
But if you enjoy building and selling software, it can be very intrinsically rewarding.
I hope you enjoyed reading this.
If you did, there's 2 things you can do:
→ Follow me @Tom Harari for more writing like this.
→ RT the first tweet to share it with others.
Tom Harari@tomharari
May 03 23
View on Twitter
In January, I launched a micro-SaaS as part of my solopreneur strategy.
Since then its done +$23,000 in sales, with an MRR that is growing 30% each month.
I've learned a few important lessons on bootstrapping (that I didn't know coming from VC-funded startups).
THREAD:
And while you're here, give @dewey. a try and rescue your bookmarks:
bit.ly/getdewey
Tom Harari
@tomharari
Serial entrepreneur. Writing about personal finance, business, and self-improvement. Building https://t.co/jooak5Y68r
MIT MBA • Y Combinator Alum • Triathlete
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