Developing My SaaS From ZERO To Reaching 30K in MONTHLY Revenue!

This article details the journey of developing a Software as a Service (SaaS) product from conception to achieving $30,000 in monthly revenue. The creator emphasizes a raw, unsponsored approach, contrasting with typical "get-rich-quick" narratives often associated with SaaS. The project aims to provide a transparent look at the development process, including ideation, design, development (frontend and backend), testing, and marketing. Despite being financially independent, the creator commits to developing 100% of the SaaS themselves, with the exception of hiring a UX/UI designer. A significant initial challenge involved brainstorming a viable SaaS idea, adhering to strict criteria such as marketability, scalability, and the ability to create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The article also highlights the strategic partnership with Hostinger for all hosting needs, emphasizing reliability and comprehensive service integration.

The Vision for a Raw SaaS Development Journey

The creator's primary goal is to demystify the SaaS development process, presenting it without the typical polished facade often seen in digital marketing. Instead of promising quick riches, the aim is to showcase the real challenges and successes of building a SaaS from scratch. The environment is deliberately unglamorous—no 4K cameras or elaborate lighting—to reinforce this commitment to authenticity. The creator highlights their financial independence, stating they can afford rent, a car, meals, and travel, which allows them to approach the project without the pressure of immediate monetization. This personal context is crucial as it shapes their decision to undertake the entire development process independently, excluding team members from testing, frontend, or backend tasks. The only external hire planned is a UX/UI designer, recognizing the importance of professional design for the software's usability and aesthetic appeal.

I don't have that big structure because the idea is to really show you the raw reality of building a SaaS from beginning to end. And I'm not going to pretend to be a junior, I'm not going to pretend to be poor. I'm not going to use that crappy notebook that I have to show you that any programmer with a crappy notebook can do it, even though it's true because JavaScript runs on any machine. I'm going to start from my reality, a reality where I have money to pay my rent, where I have money to have a car, where I have money to have lunch, I have money to travel, I am financially independent, right? But I'm going to develop 100% of this SaaS.

Criteria for SaaS Idea Generation

The brainstorming phase for the SaaS idea was structured around several strict criteria to ensure the project's viability and potential for success:

Advertisable: The product must be easily advertised on major platforms like Facebook Ads and Google Ads to reach a broad audience.
MVP Feasibility: The idea, no matter how grand, must be reducible to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that can be quickly developed and tested in the market.
Proven Business Model: There should be evidence that a similar business model has succeeded elsewhere, providing a clear path to monetization.
Scalability and Market Size: The SaaS needs to be scalable, targeting a market of at least 5 million potential users to ensure significant growth opportunities.

These rules were critical in filtering out unfeasible ideas, such as a baby monitor app using OCR, which was deemed too complex and costly to develop given its always-on video processing requirements. Another idea, a platform for freelancers to find jobs, was rejected due to the difficulty of monetization,as an applicant would not pay and companies would not pay either to publicate jobs.

Partnership with Hostinger

A crucial aspect of the SaaS project is the partnership with Hostinger. The creator selected Hostinger for its reliability and comprehensive suite of services, intending to host the entire SaaS infrastructure—frontend, backend, and database—on their servers. This partnership is vital for ensuring the SaaS remains operational and receives necessary support. Hostinger's analytical and metric panels are highlighted as particularly useful for monitoring the health and performance of the services. The plan is to leverage Hostinger's entire ecosystem for rapid development and deployment. Each video in the series will feature a segment on the hosting process, demonstrating deployments and analyzing retention and access data directly from Hostinger's dashboard. This provides viewers with insights not just into the business side of SaaS but also into the technical aspects of infrastructure management.

Initial Ideas and Challenges

During a lengthy brainstorming session, several ideas were explored and subsequently discarded:

Music OCR Application

One idea proposed by Elias was a software that could convert a PDF sheet music file into a MIDI file using OCR. The rationale was that only one existing software, Musescore, does this, and it does so poorly, creating a potential market gap. The target audience of musicians, music students, and universities is vast. However, the creator noted challenges in reaching this specific audience through general advertising and the need for more direct, perhaps in-person, marketing efforts, leading them to ultimately pivot to another idea.

Platform Integration Tool

Another concept was a tool to plug into other platforms, facilitating integrations. While potentially useful, advertising such a tool would be challenging, primarily relying on Google search rather than Meta Ads, which is the creator's area of marketing expertise. This misalignment with their advertising strength led to the idea being discarded.

The Chosen SaaS Idea and Development Phases

After nearly five hours of brainstorming, a viable SaaS idea emerged. While the specific name or detailed concept of the chosen SaaS is not revealed in this segment, the subsequent development plan outlines a clear, phased approach:

Phase 1: Total System Requirements Design

This initial phase focuses on designing all system requirements, even beyond the scope of the MVP. This comprehensive approach ensures that future expansions are well-planned from the outset. This phase also includes transforming the broader idea into a concrete MVP.

Phase 2: Screen Design and UX/UI Development

The creator will personally draft wireframes for all screens, outlining the desired layout and placement of elements. These simple designs will then be handed over to an external designer, who will translate them into professional UI/UX designs that reflect the user experience.

Phase 3: Frontend Development

This phase marks the beginning of coding, transforming the UX/UI designs into a functional frontend. The primary technologies used will be Next.js and JavaScript. The development process will be documented through successive videos, showcasing progress and technological choices.

Phase 4: Backend Development

Following the completion of the frontend, backend development will commence using Node.js, leveraging technologies taught in their programming school. This phase will build the server-side logic and database interactions.

Phase 5: SAS Testing

Once both frontend and backend are developed, the SaaS will undergo rigorous testing, including load testing and automated tests, to ensure stability and performance.

Phase 6: Marketing Launch

This phase involves the official marketing launch, including ad creation, website development, and initiating paid traffic campaigns to drive sales. The content also mentions recording the ads for marketing purposes.

Phase 7: Continuous Improvement and Revenue Target

The final operational phase involves ongoing marketing efforts and continuous improvements to the SaaS. The ultimate goal for this series is to reach a $30,000 monthly revenue target. Upon achieving this, the series will conclude.

Phase 8 (Potential): Equity and Sale

Beyond the revenue target, there's a potential Phase 8, focusing on building equity with the intention of eventually selling the company. This long-term vision highlights the creator's strategic approach to building a valuable asset.

Takeaways

Authentic Development Approach: The project emphasizes a transparent, unsponsored, and raw look at building a SaaS from scratch, counteracting common "get-rich-quick" narratives.
Independent Development: The creator will develop 100% of the SaaS solo, except for hiring a UX/UI designer, demonstrating a hands-on approach despite financial independence.
Stringent Idea Selection: SaaS ideas must be highly marketable, support an MVP, have a proven business model, and target large, scalable markets (over 5 million users).
Strategic Hosting Partnership: Hostinger is chosen as the hosting partner, providing stability, comprehensive services, and analytical tools essential for rapid and reliable development.
Phased Development Plan: The project follows a structured six-phase plan: requirements design, screen design/UX/UI, frontend development (Next.js, JavaScript), backend development (Node.js), testing, and marketing, with a long-term goal of reaching $30,000 recurring revenue and potential equity building.