Tweets

Hello Internet. I’m getting a hair cut today.

@chalmagean yes! I like that. 👌

@andersthue thanks!

@daverodenbaugh lol. You'll need to read the whole thread.

TLDR:

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/763859302322876420?lang=en

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/763812777207005184?lang=en

@AndrewAskins only way to be sure is to try it and test. 😉

@Shpigford agreed. “Than ever” is just me saying “businesses have always been hard.”

I’m just talking out loud trying to figure shit out ;)

@Jonwestenberg thanks!

@AndrewAskins agreed.

But expensive in that they’re harder to reach online than devs, designers, freelancers, startups.

There could be a "SaaS backlash" where folks go back to desktop clients.

With so much focus on SaaS it might be ripe for disruption. 😉

Maybe, while everyone else is starting a SaaS, your best bet is to pursue other models:

Pay-to-download
Pay once web apps
Consulting

Remember, "SaaS" isn't a destination.

It's just a licensing and delivery model.

Models are fallible. It's not a golden ticket.

Starting a SaaS is easier than ever.

But building something that scales and is profitable? That's as hard as ever.

Alright folks. I've listened. You're right.

Starting a SaaS in 2016 is no greater gamble than it's ever been.

Relatively cheap to start.

RT @nathanbarry: Starting to read Jolt by @mijustin — https://justinjackson.ca/jolt/

@jasonadriaan I'm seeing less examples of viable micro-SaaS, but they definitely exist.

@tylertringas and @frankholdem are both doing it!

@TheCraigHewitt not sure. ;) My friend @peldi has been doing really well with desktop software for a long time.

@ryanhefner read the transcript. It's good too. ;)

@delk do you have a link to the study / data? I'd love to look at it.

@ryanhefner yup! It's here: http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/episodes/episode-292-moving-from-one-time-to-subscription-revenue-when-your-core-product-has-variable-costs-and-more-listener-questions

@ryanhefner products you typically associate with SaaS

@tylertringas that’s awesome! How long have you been running @Storemapper

@LinusEdwards any congested market is challenging because you really have to stand out.

@DannyvanKooten differentiation. Capture most of LTV upfront.

Like @ianlandsman says: why not look at desktop apps? Or like @cjlew23: charge once for your web app (no MRR).

https://twitter.com/ianlandsman/status/763808763950272512

I'm not saying you shouldn't build a SaaS in 2016. You might win!

I'm just wondering if you have a better chance of winning somewhere else.

@neutralhogan thanks!

"We can't build these basic crud apps like we used to be able to. The stuff’s too competitive now." - @robwalling

Point taken. Starting a SaaS is probably still cheap and easy.

But scaling non-CRUD apps is way more expensive + hard than you might think.

@Shpigford @delk gotcha. I agree. Starting a SaaS is probably still relatively cheap.

Scaling is the hard / expensive part. ;)

@delk @Shpigford I think @robwalling articulates it well here:

http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/episodes/episode-292-moving-from-one-time-to-subscription-revenue-when-your-core-product-has-variable-costs-and-more-listener-questions

@Shpigford their infrastructure + support costs are quite a big chunk of revenue. They've solved that for now, but if ESP raises rates...

@delk @Shpigford the trend I'm seeing is more expensive:

1. Scaling of infrastructure
2. Hiring required team
3. Customer acquisition

@Shpigford you don't think you need:

1. More skill
2. More money
3. More people

than before?

@ianlandsman agreed. Do you think the complexity / messiness of the available problems has gone up? Very hard to start a PM app these days.

.@Todd_Pritts yes! Challenge with those big meaty issues = they need lots of $ to work. Difficult to bootstrap. Harder to make profitable.

Example: MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, Drip, ConvertKit are all successful SaaS

All target a really unpleasant problem: mass email delivery.

@ianlandsman agreed. What opportunities do you see that we're not seeing?

Enterprise sales?
Software / service combos?

Challenges:

1. You can't just build a simple CRUD app.
2. Most niches are saturated.
3. Remaining opportunities are messy + expensive.

Starting a SaaS in 2016 is a bigger gamble than ever.

Still opportunity for disruption (à la @SlackHQ), but increasingly rare.

@nbashaw also: there's always been a discrepancy between what people *say* they want, and what they *actually* do.

@nbashaw challenging, because those are just the folks that are vocal this week.

@rstevens Beyoncé.

@sarahcassady do you still travel to Amsterdam? I think you'd dig this @echotags app. https://www.producthunt.com/tech/echotags-enjoy-amsterdam

If you run a blog, and you’re a solopreneur, maker, entrepreneur, or founder, you should take this survey:

http://convertkit.com/survey/

.@plehoux yes! I’m seeing more and more examples of low cost contributing to desire. Feels “attainable.”

@crushyourlimits I think it auto-confirms. Need to check that.

@gonsanchezs yes! (Although, Google was able to disrupt many Excel users by offering their tool for free).

@lukaszkups true. I still want one!

@FredRivett sweet!

Using Google Analytics is a convoluted way of answering 2 simple questions:

1. How many $ did I make today?
2. Where did those $ come from?

Products often fail because the customer is just not motivated to switch from their existing solution.

"Good enough" is really sticky.

@misterparker I’m here! 👋

@JordanGal 😉

RT @kovlex: Read about how we rebuilt our demo pages with the job-to-be-done in mind https://blog.mobiscroll.com/designing-with-jobs-in-mind/

@paulsearle yup

@robmerki CBC online?

@elof I spy that wine 👊

@fbourdeau thanks! 🙌

@Castro4Prsdnt so jealous!

@shapingthepage 😆

@CindyPtn love that cartoon illustration!

@FredRivett I like the design!

@clayhebert I didn't know that! I'll have to check that story out! 👍

.@Beryllium9 yes! Sometimes early movers are too early.

I think we'll actually see an AR Glass-like device get wide adoption soon.

.@clayhebert true, but when I first saw Boosted Boards I said:

"Those look ridiculous."

But when I saw Neistat riding it, I wanted one.

There are many factors that influence customer desire:

- timing
- age group
- peer group
- culture + influencers
- pressing, unmet needs

"Hover boards" are a counter example:

- no mission
- simple engineering
- spread via Vine
- good timing

Every 13 year-old wanted one.

Segway is a good example:

- inspiring mission
- brilliant engineering
- tons of pre-release hype

But it didn't hit a nerve. No desire.

There are so many "of course this should exist!" products out there.

Just because it feels pragmatic doesn't mean the market *wants it*.

Some products "sound like a good idea" objectively, but are not desired subjectively.

A good idea isn't enough.
It must be desired.

Here’s the reaction you want when you pitch your product:

“Yes!!! I’ve been looking for something like this.”

You’ve hit the nerve.

@sam3allen 💯

@avclark @chase_reeves ummmm, where’s the selfie?

@hellodomeier now THAT is a challenge I haven’t mastered.

This is awesome. Definitely @joltbook type marketing.

https://twitter.com/bk_moore/status/763542570831982596

@bk_moore lol. So good!

@jamieprip whoa!!! 😮

Everyone's affected except for me! Look at my follower count! 😮

Weird Twitter bug right now: everyone has 0 tweets and 0 followers.

We're all the same! Twitter socialism!

@jonasdowney love it!

@jamieprip today: at least 1,456. ;)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tjjnBCalYhMPuzfWWhU8IZaki3B2mo-kvHWPd0L2BOI/edit?usp=sharing

@iChris btw - when are you going to do your Instagram course?!

@iChris yes, likely. The snap chat UI is super frustrating to use too.

@jamieprip some days, none. It probably averages to 500?

@joaomdmoura yes! I don’t like losing threads on Snap.

Getting way more interaction on http://instagram.com/mijustin than I am on Snapchat these days.

Better messaging UI?

@StephenWilson @Gladwell whoaaaah! Wish I could be there.

It’s exhilarating because you see your potential. But it’s frightening because you feel your limits.

https://instagram.com/p/BI8lKExjvNG/

@hellodomeier here's a draft post if you'd like to take a sneak peek at it. Feedback welcome!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tjjnBCalYhMPuzfWWhU8IZaki3B2mo-kvHWPd0L2BOI/edit?usp=sharing

@roberthopman here's the draft post if you'd like to take a sneak peek at it. Feedback welcome!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tjjnBCalYhMPuzfWWhU8IZaki3B2mo-kvHWPd0L2BOI/edit?usp=sharing

@roberthopman writing a post now!

@nalidixic love @SingleFounder's book. 👌

@hellodomeier you can watch the recording here:

http://youtu.be/oUQ3P6Jttrw

or on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/jijackson/videos/10157243037555263/

Thanks to everyone who joined me for the live video thing. That was fun! I'll definitely do it again.

@alexhillman lol

@alexhillman so "Metamorphosis Fest?" ;)

@tnorthcutt @Shpigford

@Shpigford thanks! I'll fix that.

@mattmedeiros fixed

@iChris fixed