Anytime you see a founder (or a product) who's really killing it remember: there are tons of layers (under the surface) that contributed to their success. Here are the factors that lead to a SaaS gaining traction in a given market.
The product you build should be a response to genuine demand. It's even better when you notice demand is growing, or is currently unmet.
There should be evidence that people want what you're building.
Evidence looks like:
As a founder, you'll need some "unfair advantages" in your market. Most success is about stacking your skills, network, passion together:
If you've been building a reputation and connections in a category, you have a competitive advantage.
As a new founder, you can have all the conditions for success, but ultimately your vision for the product has to resonate with the market.
Your product/brand needs to have attributes that make it attractive to customers in that category (and provide enough reason to switch).
To give your product a chance at success, you are going to need enough resources to:
If your financial runway is 3 months, and someone else is launching a similar product but has 3 years of cash in the bank, they have an advantage.
If you're a solo-founder, and you're going against another solo-founder who's equally skilled at building product, but better at marketing, they'll have an advantage.
This is why "stacking your advantages" in a category is important. (Especially in a crowded market).
The success of your product will be the culmination of all these factors:
I hope this helps you on your journey!
Cheers,
Justin Jackson
@mijustin
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