Starting your own SaaS company has never been easier. New tools make it simple for anyone to build software with no code. Gone are the days of raising millions, hiring developers and racking your own servers.
If you have a SaaS idea and a few hundred bucks, well, you’re in luck, because today I’m going to show you the new way to build SaaS in 2024. I built my own AI SaaS a few months ago, so today I’m going to break down how you can build your first SaaS in 5 simple steps with zero code. Then at the end, I’m going to share our launch strategy that got us hundreds of paid users on our first day. Our goal is to be as cost efficient and as time efficient as possible.
In This Article:
Step 1: Create a Wireframe of Your App
The first thing that you’re going to want to do is create a wireframe of your app. This is a good way to visualize what your app will look like without spending the time it takes to actually build functionality.
This is important because we have no clue if our idea is even good yet to build a wireframe.
Figma is going to be your best friend. Now, if you have an eye for design and you’re on a tight budget, Figma is very user friendly and has all the components you need to lay out your app.
But if you have $200 to spare, you’re much better off just hiring a professional on upwork.
To do this, you’ll want to write down a description of what your app will do. Then list out all of the features that you want and then gather a few reference images, some screenshots of other apps that you want yours to look like.
The more reference images you have, the better the designer will actually understand your vision and the faster they will get it done. And here is an example of an upwork listing that we have used to hire Figma designers on upwork. A Figma design should be done relatively quick and can be done in a week, but it depends on the complexity of your idea.
Once you have your Figma design, now it’s time to figure out if people think your idea is good.
Step 2: Test Your Idea
This is what people typically call validating your software.
It’s best to see if people are even interested in your idea before you spend all this time building the functionality. And since you have a figma, you can easily show people what the app looks like. And from the outside, it looks like a fully built app.
Some advanced Figma apps are clickable so people can navigate each tab and click through the app. The first thing you want to do is find a few people that could potentially be interested in your app, then send them a message. Just say, hey, I’m working on a new software idea and I’m curious if this existed, would you use it? Then send them the figma and see what they say.
We are looking for brutally honest feedback and suggestions that we can use to improve the app to better fit their needs. A lot of the times your friends are going to be supportive, so it’s best to find strangers who don’t care about hurting your feelings. You can find these people in discord communities, Twitter, Reddit or even LinkedIn by just searching typical keywords that your target audience would naturally be searching on social media.
You can offer to pay them for their time, but you would be surprised how many people are actually just happy to help you. So don’t be shy. Getting their feedback on features they like or don’t like will help you prioritize on what to include in your mvp, but I’ll talk more about that in step 3.
Next, you’ll want to create a quick landing page on webflow and start a waiting list. Just a very simple website with a quick headline, a short description and some screenshots of your Figma app. Then create an email submission form for people to sign up and join your waitlist.
Then put that link to your landing page in your bio on social media. Then just create three pieces of content to drive traffic to your website. This could be organic tiktoks showing off your app, Twitter threads, Reddit posts, or probably the most effective, a $50 Facebook ad.
If people are signing up for the waitlist, you might be sitting on a gold mine. When people sign up for your email list, email them. Ask what they’re looking for, what they need it for, why they are looking for it right now, how they found it, and what else they’re considering.
When it goes well, ask them to hop on the phone. This strategy validates your idea. It helps you discover your ideal customer profile and helps you find customer acquisition channels that are going to help you in step 4.
Now I know this sounds really uncomfortable, but this pain in the short term will save you months of misery.
Now, side note, if you have a small following, some cheeky founders will do a pre sale. They will offer lifetime access for a steep discount if the person pays before the app is released.
This is a way to fund the actual development of the app, and getting someone to actually pull out their credit card and pay you is the best form of validation.
It’s basically a clear sign that your idea is a winner.
Step 3: Building Your MVP
Now that your idea is validated, it’s time for step three, building your MVP.
So an MVP is a common term in the SaaS world, and it stands for minimal, viable product. Your goal is to build only that one core feature that people want and to launch as fast as possible. Perfectionism is the number one reason most first time founders fail.
You will add the rest of the bells and whistles as you go, but building your MVP is the exciting part. The old way of doing things was to hire a developer and wait, but now anyone can build software thanks to no code tools. We use Bubble, make.com and rapidAPIs. Depending on what you want your app to do, odds are there’s already an API that can do it. So instead of having to hard code everything from scratch, you just use the existing pre built features, also known as APIs.
SaaS in 2024 is more about combining existing features in a unique way that solves a very specific niche problem. It’s like building a computer. You just buy a pre built hard drive, processor, graphics card and motherboard, then piece them all together.
If you want to make a sports betting app, just use the Rapid API’s sports betting API and then you have all of the odds, all of the recommended bets and payouts in your app. Just connect the stripe API and you’re open for business.
Make.com is the easiest no code API builder to use because it’s 100% visual. You just drag, drop and connect each step and that’s what we use to power the backend of revamped Rapid API has just about every feature you could imagine, but you will need to be able to copy and paste a small line of code. It sounds intimidating, but bubble makes it super easy. I promise.
Once you find the pre built features that you want to use, it’s now time to bring your Figma wireframe to life in Bubble. Bubble is a drag and drop software builder where you can start adding all of your components, tying all your APIs together and connect all the buttons.
You need to understand servers, databases, admin panels, APIs, and even though bubble is 90% faster than traditional code, you still have to learn where everything is, how to configure apps, and the overall flow.
Step 4: Pre Launch
What I like to do is start building up media assets as I’m building my MVP.
And the earlier you start doing this, the more money you’re going to make when you launch. And by media assets, I mean Instagram accounts, discord communities, newsletters, Twitter accounts, YouTube channel. This is where you have to know your own personal strengths.
Some people are good at writing, others are good at talking. Maybe you’re good at video editing or make banger memes. It doesn’t matter what style of content you’re good at, but you need a content strategy.
In 2024, content is king. So to set your SAAS up for success, you just need one content style on one content platform. This could be memes on Reddit threads on Twitter, Twitter AI generated ads on Instagram, or my personal favorite, paying UGC creators for TikTok.
The goal of this is to build an audience of people in your target audience. And I want to make one thing clear. You’re not making an account under your software company’s name. We are making what I call disguise accounts. You’re just an innocent account giving people free content.
For example, if you’re making a SaaS for people who flip cars, you can start an Instagram account called everyday car guy and start educating people on the car market.
Whether that’s cars for sale in a certain area, news on the car market, or trending models. You are trying to attract people who will naturally be interested in your SaaS when you launch. And you attract them by giving them content upfront and for free.
Another example is if you’re making that sports betting app, create a Twitter account and start tweeting your pics for popular games. Write threads on your strategy and your thesis, or even just make memes that are culturally relevant in the sports betting community. Then, when your sports betting app is ready, you can start advertising your tool organically through your content.
This is called content marketing and it is by far the most effective way to launch SaaS in 2024. And you don’t even have to use your own face or voice. You can use AI generated voices, make graphics on canva, hire UGC creators, just get creative.
The future is pretty cool now.
Step 5: Launch
It’s time to prepare for the launch the first thing you’re going to need for your launch is a sales page. This is going to be similar to the waitlist page you created in step two, but you’re going to need a demo video and a signup page.
The demo video can be a simple loom video of you walking them through how the app works with voiceover and screen recording. Your signup page should just clearly display your pricing and encourage them to sign up for a seven day free trial. Just make sure your stripe is connected properly.
Next, you’ll want to make the copy on your sales page as concise as possible. Do not get bogged down in all of the details of your app.
Only focus on the outcome that they will get and the problem that your app solves. People should be able to understand what it does and who it is for in only two sentences.
Lastly, visual step by step images with short descriptions.
Breaking down how the app works will be very helpful because not everyone will be able to watch the demo video with volume on and now that our sales page is ready, you’re ready to launch on product Hunt. Product Hunt is a curation of the best new products every day, where people go to discover the latest mobile apps, websites and technology products that everyone’s talking about. You see two sentences launching on product hunt can make or break your SaaS.
If you become the number one product of the day, you will get thousands of users, but you only have one shot at it.
So listen closely.
Here’s how it works.
First, you submit your product, create your product page, and then schedule your launch day. You can schedule your launch up to one month before your launch day. That way you can tease it, you can drive traffic, and you can collect followers before your big day.
For the best results, you’ll want to schedule your launch for 12:01 a.m on a Sunday. This gives people the full 24 hours to view your product on the least competitive day.
When you launch, dozens of early adopters, tech people, entrepreneurs, and people who just like new products will view your page and if they like it, they’re going to give you an up vote. Each vote moves you up the leaderboard, but remember, you’re competing against hundreds of other apps that are launching on the same day, so you have 24 hours to try and climb the leaderboard to the number one spot. This is where those media assets that we have been building for the last few months will give you an unfair advantage.
Promote the launch on your social media accounts, on your email list, and text all of your friends to vote for your product. If your app does get the most votes, you will be featured on their homepage in their newsletter and you will get thousands of new users overnight. Also, you will receive the coveted number one on product launch badge that you can proudly display on your website, which is great social proof.
This can literally change your life overnight. But even if you don’t get the number one spot, you’ll still get a lot of page views and it’s a lot of fun.