I copied a $100M SaaS, undercut their prices, and made $10K (beginner strategy)

I copied a $100M SaaS, undercut their prices, and made $10K (beginner strategy)

Finding Micro SaaS Ideas with Abhishek

Introduction to the Strategy

  • The speaker introduces a successful strategy for finding micro SaaS ideas, emphasizing that anyone can replicate it to earn their first $10,000.
  • Abby Shake joins the discussion to break down this strategy step by step, focusing on where to find ideas and how to attract initial customers without building a product.

Abhishek's Background

  • Abhishek shares his journey of creating EUform, an alternative to Typeform, which he launched in 2023 and has grown to $11,000 MRR over two years.
  • He previously worked on Bflow, a no-code chatbot builder, where he identified user needs that led him to discover gaps in existing market solutions.

Identifying Market Gaps

  • Abhishek explains "finding the gap" as identifying pain points in popular tools that competitors are not addressing effectively.
  • He encourages aspiring developers not to shy away from existing markets but rather look for unmet needs within them.

Steps for Implementing the Strategy

  • The best approach is not inventing new concepts but improving upon validated markets with established players.
  • To implement this strategy:
  • Step 1: Search for popular tools on social platforms using keywords like "X alternative."
  • Step 2: Identify pain points or gaps users experience with those tools.
  • Step 3: Reach out with a basic landing page offering your solution.
  • Bonus Step: Create an easy migration tool for users switching from competitors.

Opportunities and Advice

  • Abhishek discusses potential opportunities he sees in the market but cannot pursue due to time constraints.
  • He highlights specific areas such as alternatives to Canny and apps focused on habit-building that have received poor reviews as ripe for development.

Conclusion and Call-to-action

How to Build with AI: Insights from Starter Story Build

Introduction to Starter Story Build

  • The speaker receives daily inquiries about building apps and tools, prompting the creation of "Starter Story Build," a program designed to help users transition from an idea to a production-ready app in just a few days.
  • The program offers guidance from experts and provides a roadmap for sustainable AI development, reflecting on the speaker's wish for such resources during their early journey.

Building Euform: Initial Steps

  • The speaker shares their experience with building Euform, emphasizing a minimalist approach by not including advanced features initially; the first version allowed basic data collection and CSV downloads.
  • A simple landing page was created quickly, leading to user acquisition before transitioning to a more polished design after reaching 200 users.

Business Metrics and Performance

  • Current business metrics include approximately $11,000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR), around 35,000 registered users, and about 500 paying customers.
  • The conversion rate is noted at roughly 1.5% - 2%, with unique monthly visitors also around 35,000; they recently surpassed four million form submissions.

Technical Stack and Tools Used

  • Euform is built on Laravel due to the speaker's long-term familiarity with it; hosting is managed through AWS while Cloudflare ensures security.
  • Various tools are utilized for different functions: Stripe for payments, OpenAI for fraud detection, Slite for documentation, Gmail for communication, Simple Analytics for web analytics, Carry for feedback management, and Mailgun for email services.

Lessons Learned in Entrepreneurship

  • Key lessons include the importance of clear messaging that resonates with ideal customers and maintaining strong customer support to retain existing clients while attracting new ones.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

  • If given advice as an earlier entrepreneur, the speaker would emphasize taking risks when young due to fewer responsibilities and highlight the significance of marketing efforts.
  • They advise against building products solely because one can; instead focus on identifying market needs before developing solutions.

Conclusion: Approachable Strategies in App Development

Channel: Starter Story
Video description

This is how Abhishek built an $11K/month SaaS by copying an existing $100M company. 🛠️ Want to start building with AI? Check out Starter Story Build → https://build.starterstory.com/build/ai-build-accelerator?utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=abhishek Follow Abhishek's journey: https://x.com/themkmaker 🔔 Follow the Second Channel: ‪@StarterStoryBuild‬ 🏁 We're hiring: starterstory.com/jobs Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 0:51 - Who is Abhishek 1:08 - Idea for YouForm 2:00 - 'Finding the gap' method 2:30 - Building a micro-version of a $100M company 3:03 - How to Find The Gap 4:01 - Opportunities to build now 5:08 - Build YOUR app with AI 6:08 - How Abhishek built YouForm 7:05 - Numbers behind YouForm 7:47 - Tech stack 8:35 - Biggest lessons learned 8:58 - Advice for founders 9:50 - The final word