How I'd build a startup if I were starting out in 2025:
John Rush@johnrush
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Mar 08, 2025
~1 min read
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How I'd build a startup if I were starting out in 2025:
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1. Start small with a directory.
Launch a few until one wins.
It's 100x easier to succeed with a directory than with a saas/app.
The iteration cycle is very short(days).
Can run the try-fail-try-fail-try-succeed cycle in a matter of months, not years as for saas/apps.
Launch a few until one wins.
It's 100x easier to succeed with a directory than with a saas/app.
The iteration cycle is very short(days).
Can run the try-fail-try-fail-try-succeed cycle in a matter of months, not years as for saas/apps.
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2. Look at the directory audience and sell small services to them.
e.g., website roast, SEO audit, or anything that u know better than them.
If you know nothing better than them, there is no way you can build successful saas, so pick smth small, learn it well and offer it.
e.g., website roast, SEO audit, or anything that u know better than them.
If you know nothing better than them, there is no way you can build successful saas, so pick smth small, learn it well and offer it.
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3. While doing the gigs for them, you'll see their common pains.
Write them down and launch waitlists to share with them.
E.g. while doing SEO roasts you see that most have no captions on images. So you launch auto-image-caption tool.
Write them down and launch waitlists to share with them.
E.g. while doing SEO roasts you see that most have no captions on images. So you launch auto-image-caption tool.
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4. Pick a top-performing waitlist and do a pre-sale for a 70% discount.
The early buyers will become your product people, who will help you build the MVP.
The early buyers will become your product people, who will help you build the MVP.
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5. Perfect the micro SaaS for early adopters (not by adding more features, but by solving one problem really well).
I repeat: don't add more features. Even if users ask for it. Better make existing onboarding, features, UX perfect.
It'll make the product easy to remember.
I repeat: don't add more features. Even if users ask for it. Better make existing onboarding, features, UX perfect.
It'll make the product easy to remember.
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6. If all worked, there is a high chance these early adopters have friends doing the same thing.
Ask them if they can make an introduction. Offer them an affiliate commission for referrals.
Ask them if they can make an introduction. Offer them an affiliate commission for referrals.
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7. If users don't bring friends, it means the product isn't good. Instead of looking for more users, talk to existing users to make the product worth sharing.
Once this is achieved, the word-of-mouth effect will kick in.
From here on, you'll know what to do.
Once this is achieved, the word-of-mouth effect will kick in.
From here on, you'll know what to do.
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John Rush@johnrush
I'm working on 24 startups simultaneously
(half a million b2b users, multimillion ARR)
No VC funding, employees, calls, office, managers...
Each business is 100% async over chat:
> me: idea, design, UX & marketing.
> comaker: coding, product & support.
Why, how, what:
(half a million b2b users, multimillion ARR)
No VC funding, employees, calls, office, managers...
Each business is 100% async over chat:
> me: idea, design, UX & marketing.
> comaker: coding, product & support.
Why, how, what:
