#SaaS since 2001 | Co-founded @clicktools (acquired) | Writing LessTalk.MoreDo - the operational playbook for SaaS founders to $10M ARR.
Devon, England
Joined July 2011
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Should you start a startup?
I can't answer that question for you. The decision is yours - all I can do is try and prepare you for some of what lies ahead.
I don’t think a dose of reality should do any harm, and if you give up after reading a list then #8 and #9 are clearly true.
With that in mind, I present to you my…
Top Ten Tips on Starting a Startup.
TAM. SAM. SOM. TAC.
You know the first three. They're on your pitch deck.
TAC (Total Active Customers) is the fourth and it's what SOM looks like when reality arrives.
Not how big the market is. How many people are actually buying right now, this month.
For most founders, it's a lot smaller than the deck suggests.
One of 5 free calculators at q14.io
Lazy SaaS founder math:
"Need $750k. Price is $10k. Therefore need 75 customers. That's 6 a month."
The reality: sign 6 a month and you end the year $254k short.
Because a customer signed at the end of the year only counts for 1 month revenue, not 12.
Know your plan. Free revenue calculator at q14.io/tools/revenue-calcula…
Bootstrapped SaaS founders between £0–£10M ARR:I'm forming a small peer group. Not a course. Not a webinar series. Real conversation about the decisions that actually matter at your stage. DM me if you want to know more.
4% of startups reach $1M ARR.
0.4% reach $10M!
Almost all the SaaS advice you read is written for those people.
I'm working on something for the other 99.6%.
Most SaaS advice ignores what stage you're at.
The move that works at $5M ARR can kill you at $500k.
I'm forming a small peer group for founders navigating £0–£10M ARR. People who want real conversation, not generic playbooks.
DM me if that sounds like you.
What's your favorite startup book and why?
My current 'go to' book is Amp It Up by Frank Slootman.
Why? Execution beats strategy for breakfast.
Are you, like me, quite surprised that more applications don't allow voice input?
For example, why can't I just speak to post on X. Yes, I know I can use one of 'X' different things to do it but I want it IN THE APP. NOW.
Something for your backlog @elonmusk.
If you're feeling a little stuck or frustrated with your startup consider this...
Someone less talented who executes will get further than a genius who doesn't.
This is your moat. Just keep going. Turn up day after day. You've got this.
Now this is a waitlist! Request early access to Artisan Ava 2.0
artisan.co/waitlist?mwr=5b9c…
Andrew Walker retweeted
Should you start a startup?
I can't answer that question for you. The decision is yours - all I can do is try and prepare you for some of what lies ahead.
I don’t think a dose of reality should do any harm, and if you give up after reading a list then #8 and #9 are clearly true.
With that in mind, I present to you my…
Top Ten Tips on Starting a Startup.
#9. It’s simple, not easy.
When we were going through a tough spell in my first startup one of our board members used to annoy me regularly by saying “It’s simple, you just need to earn more and spend less”.
After several board and other meetings where the same advice was given, I told him I found this a little challenging as I didn’t really know what it meant (If I remember correctly, those weren’t the exact words I used). He smiled, and told me I was missing the point.
His point was we were overcomplicating everything. For example, we would go through failed bids with a fine tooth comb to understand why we’d lost the work but failed to notice we’d only had 2 leads that month. We needed to focus on the important things that made a difference. Only then should we sort the details.
The more experience I gained the more I recognised this to be true. It’s very easy to get lost in the detail (which ends up with #5) or over complicate what are relatively simple concepts.
#10. It’s the best feeling in the world.
You will have times when you want to give up. When we started Clicktools, I literally ate beans on toast for about two years and I had to borrow money from my girlfriend (now wife) to pay for my new boiler.
I nearly left twice, one for a job that actually paid a salary and and once to train and become a teacher. We had some fallings out (I may come back to those) but there was something that always just kept us going.
Call it what you will, belief, tenacity, sheer bloody mindedness but half the battle is turning up day after day when you think you can go no further
If you can get 10 customers, you can get 100 then 1000. It may just take longer than you think but the act of building something from scratch, seeing it grow with a group of like-minded people is a magical feeling and I still get it every day helping to build and grow SaaS companies. I wouldn't change it for the world.
Just keep going. You’ve got this.