You Know What’s Cool? A Million Dollars.
I struggled with the title of this book. I’m not a fan of hard-selling, over-promising Internet marketers who use phrases like “seven-figure” or “million-dollar” because they have a nice ring to them.
And yet, this book focuses specifically on guiding you toward launching and growing a SaaS product to seven or eight figures in revenue. So “Build a Multimillion-Dollar Startup” is the actual focus, not just marketing copy.
My first book, Start Small, Stay Small, focused on tiny niche products that generate thousands or low tens of thousands in revenue each month.
That’s not the focus of this book.
This one is another step or two along the journey (in my Stair Step Method of Entrepreneurship, this book is focused on step 3).
Step 1: Your First Product
You’ve got a simple product with a simple marketing plan, usually with a single traffic channel, like a WordPress plugin or Shopify add-on. Basically, something that allows you to start generating revenue and learn the ropes.
Step 2: Rinse and Repeat
Step 2 involves doubling down on the model that worked in Step 1 and repeating it until you own your time. Take a look at what made that product a success and repeat it with another product. Continue getting good at the free or low-cost traffic channels that are working for you.
Step 3: Standalone SaaS Product
SaaS is complex to build and market, and there’s a long on-ramp to any kind of substantial revenue. The point of the Stair Step Method is to allow you to gain experience, skills, confidence, time, and revenue before starting the difficult challenge of building a standalone SaaS product.
I developed the Stair Step Method based on patterns I saw in the bootstrapped software community, but of course, it’s possible to skip the stairs and still achieve success with your product.
Whether you’ve bought out your time with smaller products or you want to jump into the deep end, this is the playbook for launching and growing a SaaS startup to millions in revenue without raising buckets of venture capital.
This book is filled with lessons I’ve learned about building companies, having done it myself, invested in more than 125 startups, and worked closely with thousands of founders through my writings, podcast, community, and SaaS accelerator.
It’s a collection of the best strategies, tactics, and frameworks I know for conquering the speed bumps you’ll encounter on your startup journey.