The SaaS Club Newsletter

Hey Reader

Here's a quick round up of what's been going on at SaaS Club:

 In this week's newsletter:

• 🎧 $1M+ Business from a Side-Project
• 📊 Jotform Tables: More Than Spreadsheets
• 🛠️ The Truth About Ugly SaaS Software
• 📚 Lean Marketing Book Recommendation

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🎧 Podcast

Bootstrapping a Side-Project to a Two-Person $1M+ Business

Since there isn't a new podcast episode this week, I decided to look into the archive and pull out an old episode which I think is quite relevant.

In episode 306, I interviewed AJ, the founder of Carrd, who transformed his side-project into a two-person 7-figure SaaS company.

After building and selling website templates and themes for several years, AJ created a website builder for really simple one-page websites.

He didn't have high expectations for the software and thought of it more like a vanity project' that hopefully would help pay for his lattes.

But the product turned out to be a lot more popular than he expected.

Even though it was a freemium product with a $19 a year paid plan, he bootstrapped to ~$30K in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) by 2020.

In the last few years, his business has grown to over $1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), he's raised $2M in funding and is hosting over 4 million websites.

I hope you enjoy it.

Listen to the full podcast episode

🤔 One-Person Billion Dollar SaaS Company?

I'm already using a lot of AI tools to run my 'creator' business. And I'm constantly thinking about how to create more leverage with AI.

I think it's just a matter of time before we see the first one-person billion dollar business that's largely powered by AI - maybe in the next 5 years.

So, what do you think? How long will it take for us to see the first one-person billion dollar SaaS company? Maybe one of you are building that business right now and don't even realize it yet? 

Reply here on LinkedIn or Twitter and let me know your thoughts.

 👩‍💻 Jotform Tables: Beyond Spreadsheets

Jotform Tables combines the power of a spreadsheet with the flexibility of a database, allowing you to collect data via customizable online forms. 

All data submitted through your Jotform forms is automatically organized and stored. You can import and export files, and collaborate with your team in real-time, ensuring everyone is always on the same page.

But Jotform Tables is more than just a spreadsheet alternative. With data visualization, conditional formatting, and 250+ integrations, it's a complete productivity platform for your team. You can even automate tasks and workflows to save time.

Create a Jotform Table - It's Free!

🤔 The Truth About Ugly SaaS Software

The truth about ugly software:

It can build you a multi-million dollar business.

Why? Three reasons:

1. Ease of use always trumps beauty.
2. Functionality is more important than aesthetics.
3. Task completion matters more than a pretty interface.

If you nail these 3 things, even ugly products can thrive.

Now, don't get me wrong. 

I'm not advocating for ugly software.

Quite the contrary, it makes me cringe.

We should always strive to create:

- Beautiful, appealing software
- Pleasing aesthetics
- Great design

But if your software isn't resonating with customers.
Don't blame its appearance as the reason.

Beautifully designed products make the world better.

But an easy-to-use, functional product that gets the job done matters most.

So focus on building a product that:

1. Solves customer pains.
2. Offers a seamless user experience. 

Aesthetics are important but never compromise functionality and usability.

Let me know if you agree or disagree here.

 📗 Book of the Week

This week's books recommendation is from me (Omer):

Lean Marketing: More leads. More profit. Less marketing. by Allan Dib

I interviewed Allan on episode 193 of The SaaS Podcast about his book "The 1-Page Marketing Plan" and is new book is just as promising.

🌟 Help Spread the Word

Enjoyed this week's newsletter? Please do me a favor and forward this email to someone who would benefit from it as much as you did. 

Sharing is caring, and it helps us grow! ❤️

😍 Let's Get Social

Want to get more social? Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Have a great week!

- Omer

Interested in sponsoring The SaaS Podcast or this newsletter?

P.S. Whenever you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Join SaaS Club Plus: Get early access to our new community for early-stage SaaS founders. Join the waitlist now!

2. Apply for SaaS Club Launch: Designed to accelerate your journey to $10K MRR for new and early-stage founders.

3. Apply for SaaS Club Mastermind: Scale from six to seven figures with our focused mastermind group.