Thread by @StevejLamar

It's crazy difficult to build a business from scratch.

There are so many unknowns and a lot of trial and error.

Here are 13 things I've learned as a marketer turned SaaS founder.

(with highlights from folks of Twitter I've learned from along the way)

1. Be patient. Be really patient.

It took 18 months to get my first paying client and another 18 months to quit my job*.

@alexwestco highlights how we're not alone in this journey.


*I quit to focus, not because I was making gobs of money.

2. Don't quit your job without a financial plan.

I'm nowhere near the salary I was making with a salaried job.

Supplementing with contract work has helped me close the gap.

@theandreboso sums the quitting thing up nicely:

3. You're not too old to start.

I'm 45 (42 when I started).

I appreciate every experience I had until this point and how it got me to where I am now. You never know when the right time will be.

@jenalyson put this quite eloquently:

4. Build it. They won't come (without effort).

I was naïve to think clients would come quicker and with less effort.

We're working on building organically and advice from @randfish on building a flywheel has been really helpful:

5. Trust but verify.

Don't rush to work with someone because you're excited to get going.

I got screwed out of $2K by a developer because I was eager to get started & ignored warning signs.

(Silver lining - I soon found great developers I've been working with for 3 years.)

6. Use 3rd party tools as much as possible.

You don't need (and shouldn't try) to build everything.

Use 3rd party tools for things like payment processing, online chat, and onboarding sequencing.

It's less risky and keeps you focused on the core of your product.

7. Be careful with feedback.

There's always more to change, stay focused on the right things.

@yongfook

8. Pricing a product is a lot of guesswork.

It's difficult to know what to charge before having traction.

Too low and you have to raise prices later, too high and nobody buys.

@PierreDeWulf has thoughts:

9. Competition comes in many forms.

Existing process/status quota is one of the hardest competitors to overcome. People are resistant to change.

@aprildunford outlines it brilliantly:

10. Trust your team.

I've had a hard time letting go of control when I've been so close to every decision for so long.

Get out of the way and let your team do what their good at.

11. Don't overbuild.

It's easy to keep building. Add a feature, change a design, tweak a work flow.

It's difficult to know what will have a real impact. Talk to users and validate your ideas.

And as @samanthalcc mentions - don't solve for symptoms.

12. Spend more time marketing & distribution.

It seems obvious, but reality hits hard when you focus more on building than marketing.

@TheCoolestCool always throws out gems on content and distribution. I'm working to get to his level🙌

13. Keep mental health in check.

I've felt many more ups & downs then when I was employed with more obsessing over every detail of my day.

Take REAL time off.

@AdriSheares wrote a great article on entrepreneurs and mental health that really resonates.