“What would I do if money or status were not factors?”
In this week’s newsletter, I’ll share:
Why asking that question 👆 in Jan 2024 is key to my definition of success for this project
How I choose the right business model
1/2 What Does Success Look Like?
Product Metrics
For each SaaS startup I launch, the key, leading metric I’ll focus on is this:
$ per Unique Site Visitor
Why? Inspired by solopreneur Marc Lou, this metric will help me focus not just on getting to profitability (i.e. a product covers its costs & I can pay myself).
It will also allow me to see, as some of the products start generating revenue, which has most profitability potential.
i.e. If Startup A generates $0.50/USV & Startup B only $0.02/USV, I’ll focus more on improving & distributing Startup A.
Without this metric, it’s easy to focus on a startup idea that is making some money, but there’s an opportunity cost:
That would mean not building - or not improving - the one that could make a lot of money.
Related to USV, I’ll specifically try to hit these metrics in the first 30 days of each product launch:
Earn >£500 per product: All my products will be paid (more on why below & how I’ll price them). £500 likely shows real potential for profitability
For a B2B, get >3 paying users. For B2C, >10-20. Why? I want enough customers to gather feedback (analytics, surveys, speaking to customers) to understand whether the product is delivering value - & how to improve it
Require zero funding beyond a Bubble subscription ($85/month) & domain purchases ($5-20/per startup)
Optional: % of users retained after 30 days. If the product is one that would be regularly used by the customer, continued usage would signal that the product is actually delivering value to them
But I’ll be building 12 products in 12 months.
So…
What’s the bigger picture here?
What does success look like for me for this entire 12 SaaS in 12 Months project?!
🤔
Success as a Solopreneur
As a bootstrapped solopreneur, success is usually about freedom of time, making enough money to live comfortably, & working on things that give us purpose.
It’s a deliberate rejection of raising loads of money, trying to make millions, feature, building the “next big thing”, etc.
Success as Henry
But, for me, Henry, I would define success a little differently.
I’d hit my goals as a bootstrapped solopreneur up until then:
✅ Financial freedom: Prod MBA was bringing in £250k revenue per year with a 90% profit margin
✅ Freedom of time: I could work 4-5hr days, spend a load of time with my son, surf most days
✅ Purpose: It’s super rewarding helping someone get promoted, get a dream role, or just become way more confident over the course of the bootcamp
But, as I stood on the cusp of 2024, I found myself asking:
“What would I do if money & status were not factors?”
Why?
Because it forced me to go back to first principles.
To re-focus on what would really maximise my sense of purpose & enjoyment, without the baggage of previous commitments, reputation as founder of x, or the fear of failure.
The answer?
I wanted to build something new.
Something that really excites me.
And go back to the unique challenges of building a digital product.
So, my personal success metrics by the end of the 12 months?
$3k/Month Profit: Your Freedom Number is the minimum money you need each month to pay your bills. For me, that’s ~$3k/month
3/12 Products With Profit >£500/m: I’m expecting 9/12 products to fail, or hit very minimal revenue. But 3/12 to make over £500/m profit (£1,500/m total). Most likely, 1/12 will make more revenue than the other 11/12. I’m betting on that to help me hit my Freedom Number.
5am Wake Up: If I’m still waking up naturally at 5am (as I am now), energised, excited to start my day, in 12 months, then that’s a good signal that I’m enjoying the journey
3x Subscribers: A big part of sharing this project is to show you that building a startup is easier than you think. It’s just fear & excuses that hold you back. If my newsletter is growing, it signals I am creating value for you
2/2 Choosing A Business Model
Ideally, I want to charge a one-off fee - using two pricing tiers - for using each product:
e.g. Starter = $99, Pro = $199
This is what I’ll be using for my first product, TLDR Product Update.
The exact price will depend on the product (more on that when I share how I determine pricing next week), but I want to use this business model because of:
Subscription fatigue: The mental effort of working out whether you’re gonna want to use this thing in 8 months time (+ mental calculation of total annual cost) is very real.
Faster path to profitability: Rather than hopeful predications about how many customers renew their subscription, I can hopefully get more upfront sales, giving me a more accurate $ per Unique Site Visitor figure
However, one important consideration?
API calls cost money 💰.
I could bankrupt myself without factoring this in.
e.g. I charge a $99 one-off fee, but the user costs $100 per year in API calls
Therefore, for products with heavy API usage (e.g. lots of back & forth messaging with a ChatBot), I may opt for subscription. This will allow me to ensure I cover the ongoing costs of usage.
(BTW, costs for all these LLM APIs are likely to drop overtime, but best to estimate costs based on current conditions. Literally last night OpenAI announced a 60% cheaper model, 4o Mini, for example.)
But Henry… Enough Talk. Enough Planning. When Are You Gonna Tell Us About The 1st Product?!
Next Friday 🙌
I’ve built 80% of the solution.
I’m finalising the landing page, solution & pricing next week.
On Friday, I’ll then pitch the first offer (with a full launch August 6th-8th).
Keep an eye on your inbox,
Henry
P.S. If you enjoyed this newsletter, hit reply to send me any ideas/feedback. If you LOVED this newsletter, share with some friends or colleagues to help it grow 🌱
P.P.S. Here’s a snippet from the ideation workshop this week & here’s the Miro board! Big shout out to all who joined & helped collaborate on my 1st solution 👇
I love the thought process of how you've come up with the calculation, thanks for sharing.