amarghose

Literally clicked to the comments to say exactly this. While I agree with the overall sentiment of the piece, this statement destroys the author's credibility.

I've been nomadic since 2015 (settling in the UK now though) - happy to answer any questions you have

Came here to say this. The author lost all credibility with me when including Ramit in the list as if he's actually paid any attention at all to what IWT says he'd realize that Ramit could have written the article he just published (and they would have been similarly condescending tones)

Thanks Caspar, will have the team take a look :-)

Gotta love black and white advice like this in a gray world

We just added a free for life plan to ZenMaid.com after a lot of thought and effort

Time will tell if it's right for but there's no way that it's a simple across the board as "Don't offer a free plan"

Did get some good ideas from the article though, thanks for sharing OP

For anyone interested I wrote in depth about our decision on my notion here:

https://www.notion.so/ZenMaid-Should-Launch-a-Free-Plan-1b81...

There are lots of great reasons to buy SaaS businesses. Failed product market fit, for example, does not mean that creators tried everything they could. If you're a marketer (or already have an audience) buying a product is a great idea.

Lots of people also sell good SaaS products because they have others that have taken off (I bought one last year from someone who got funding from YC on another project, for example).

"The market likes the product. In this case, the original owner can just hire people to do the work, so there's no reason to sell." is also flawed. Do you have any idea how many developers/creators hate the idea (and reality) of hiring and managing people? Plenty would prefer to cash in and go back to building and let someone else build a team.

100%

I had no idea you were on Hacker News, TJ, what a welcome surprise

That attitude here on HN boggles my mind. Almost every person I talk to about this site IRL mentions it. It's a defining feature of the community that no one likes.

Disagree in this specific situation (generally yes) - "XYZ alternative" is about as clear language as you can get. Nothing sneaky about it.

Agreed but replace 'discord' with the platform that your users already know and hang out on. For us, in a non-technical niche, that's Facebook groups. For others it might be slack or discord - just know your market and go where they are.

Agreed - after reading this one I really stepped up my reading game (Audible helps a lot!) and it's helped my creativity and problem solving a lot :-)

My favorite entrepreneurial book to recommend to others because so few have read or heard of it ... absolutely epic

A book got too famous so you didn't feel like reading it? I don't understand that logic

DuoLingo (Polish) Codecademy - (Ruby & CSS) Intermittent fasting (I'm not too strict but I try to avoid eating until 12 noon earliest) Work?

Thank you, this is really good advice I hadn't really considered

In case it helps our SaaS is built with Rails

This might be true technically but it's common knowledge that not paying will negatively affect perfectly good reviews. To the point that reviews that were ok while we paid aren't the instant we stop.

You can argue whatever you want about your former employers but convincing SBOs that Yelp aren't extortionist scumbags based on this detail is not going to fly.

Source: I work directly with maid services and trust in Yelp is at an all time low. Literally the first comment when they are mentioned in our private group is something along the lines of "Die in a grease fire" or "F*ck Yelp". And this is from some of the nicest ladies (mostly) that you'll meet.

In addition to the skills needed for each founding role (differs between teams) there are two vital things that have to align:

1. The why - if one of you is trying to legitimately change the world and the other knows up front they'd be happy to sell out for $x amount, chances are big problems regarding strategy will arise in the future, even if there never is a buy-out offer

2. Communication - I would rather work with someone whose 80% as good as the best available if their communication skills are better. Once you're out of the initial product development phase almost everything the founders do is communicating, on some level, whether that be managing employees, customers, or investors.

3.(BONUS) Growth mindset / Self-improvement driven - Starting a company means doing A LOT of shit that you don't want to. If you partner with someone that is afraid to be terribly shitty at something and won't even try, you're in for a rough time.

It's not my first time here. I can't say I'd stay here long term but it's good for focusing for a few months with high quality of life and good balance.

I have mixed feelings about this. The 4 Hour Work Week created my "why" for me that's kept me going through thick and thin. I definitely realize that it's a ton more work than it's made out to be (and while Tim Ferriss simplifies what it takes, he doesn't downplay the amount of work involved).

My company is also at a point where my business partner and I could reasonably step away and spend 4 hours a week literally running the business but of course, that's not what business is about, it's about helping our customers and we work hard every day to do that.

Think my "issue" here is I was one of the people who only had that source of prevailing wisdom for a long time and while I can't say it helped me create the business, it did create the dream that led to me starting, and powering through, what I currently do.

(also, while my partner and I both work hard on the project we both happen to be on a tropical island in Thailand at the moment ... but it's 8 am and beautiful and I'm sitting here on HN :-D )

It goes both ways, but most SaaS entrepreneurs tend toward code for obvious reasons. I run a SaaS company now (ZenMaid) where I've focused entirely on the things listed and my partner focused entirely on code. Not everyone is so lucky though and most neglect my part.

We've started "outsourcing" more (hiring help really) but I intend to talk to all of our customers personally for as long as I can.

Completely depends on where your target audience is. Are they searching for your solution already? If so, where?

Whether you're selling B2B or B2C is also going to make a big difference here.

Our main channels getting started were Google and a review site called Capterra (did paid advertising on both), as well as LinkedIn Marketing. Now we have a few other channels and partnerships but that's how the company got off the ground and profitable (I say we to refer to myself and my business partner)

Are you saying lifestyle businesses aren't a real thing or that they're being defined way too generally on this board?

I agree about "serious" business but there are different types of businesses and terms like these help

UserVoice (San Francisco, CA) is looking for a lead qualifier:

https://www.uservoice.com/jobs/lead-qualifier/

Join a growing sales team (you'd be the 5th team member) at an established company (6 years) that still has that start up feel.

Do you mind me asking how you market that? I tried something similar in the past and couldn't get consistent sign ups.

This is a long shot but posting on the off chance it's of interest to someone.

ZenMaid.com (Part time, Remote or local to the SF Bay Area)

ZenMaid.com is management software specifically for maid services. This was our original plan but we're currently pivoting to a more general service software and could use an extra hand.

Bootstrapped lifestyle business, no intention to go to VCs or outside for funding.

Looking for a 3rd partner/founder who is familiar with: - jQuery, Ruby on Rails, Postgres, Heroku (most important, - Ruby on Rails and jQuery). - design experience is a plus. - able to work part time (~20 hrs/wk).

Equity only (amount negotiable). This is a good opportunity for anyone looking to gain experience with the possibility of escaping the rat race. We have found a small product market fit but will know a lot more of our direction in the next couple months.

Email me at Amar (at) ZenMaid.com if interested or you want to find out more.

Thanks!

If you have any experience with Ruby on Rails and jQuery please email me at Amar@Zenmaid.com

How are you marketing it/planning to market it?

How early are you if you don't mind me asking? Are your secondary plans ready to go? (I assume you only have your current customers on the lowest plan based on your revenue)

UserVoice is looking to hire a Sales Development Representative.

More info here: https://www.uservoice.com/jobs/

If interested you can reach out to me directly (recommended) at Amar@UserVoice.com or submit an application online.

You'd be the 4th person on a fast growing sales team with an established company (6 years) and proven market fit. We just developed the sales process a little bit more than previously and you'd still have the chance to help shape it as we grow. You'd also be the only SDR and in line to move up to account manager very quickly as we hire.