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YardScaleDigital

Module 0 · Lesson 1 of 2 · 8 min read

What you are actually signing up for

A SaaS is not a piece of software. It is a business that happens to deliver its value through software.

Objective: See the whole journey before you start, so you stop mistaking one stage for the entire job.

Working draft. The method in this lesson is complete; Andrew's own examples from the products he is building are still being added.

Most first-time founders think the job is building the product. Building is one stage out of seven. A working app with no customers is a hobby. A clear problem, a small product and ten paying customers is a business. This course is about the second thing.

The seven stages

Idea to growth

  1. 01

    Idea

    A specific problem, for a specific person, that you can describe in one sentence.

  2. 02

    Validation

    Evidence from real people that the problem is real and worth paying to solve.

  3. 03

    Planning

    The smallest product that solves the problem, written down before any code.

  4. 04

    Building

    The first version, built in small tested steps.

  5. 05

    Launch

    Real users in a beta, real feedback, a first price.

  6. 06

    Customers

    The first paying customers, found by hand.

  7. 07

    Growth

    Systems that keep customers arriving and staying without you doing everything manually.

The rule this course runs on

Work on the stage you are actually at. Designing a logo before you have spoken to a customer, or planning a referral program before anyone has paid, feels productive and moves nothing.

What it costs

  • Time, consistently. A few focused hours every week beats one heroic weekend a month.
  • Being wrong in public. Your first idea, first price and first landing page will all need changing.
  • Talking to people. The stages most founders skip are the ones that involve other humans.
  • Patience. Nothing in this course promises a result. It gives you a sound process and honest checkpoints.

No guarantees

Following a good process improves your odds. It does not guarantee customers or revenue. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

Exercise

Locate yourself

Be honest about which stage you are really at — not which one you would like to be at.

  1. 01For each of the seven stages, write one sentence of evidence that you have completed it. No evidence means not completed.
  2. 02Circle the earliest stage with no evidence. That is where you are.
  3. 03Write down what you have been working on this month. Does it belong to that stage?

Template

One-page founder brief

Copy this into your own document and fill it in.

THE PROBLEM I THINK EXISTS:

WHO HAS IT:

WHY I AM A GOOD PERSON TO SOLVE IT:

STAGE I AM HONESTLY AT:

HOURS PER WEEK I CAN PROTECT:

WHAT I WILL STOP DOING TO MAKE THAT TIME:

WHAT WOULD MAKE ME STOP OR CHANGE DIRECTION:

Implementation assignment

Write your one-page founder brief using the template below. Keep it. You will revise it at the end of every module.

Recap

  • A SaaS is a business first and software second.
  • There are seven stages. Each depends on the one before it.
  • Work on the stage you are actually at.