Building a SaaS product is one of the most rewarding challenges a developer-entrepreneur can take on. Having built and launched products like InsureSignal and Liquidity Hunters, I've learned what works, what doesn't, and what I wish I knew from the start. This guide covers the complete journey from idea to scaling.

Phase 1: Ideation and Validation

Finding Your Idea

The best SaaS ideas solve problems you've personally experienced:

Scratch your own itch - Problems you understand deeply
Listen to complaints - What do people in your network struggle with?
Analyze existing tools - What's missing or frustrating?
Look for Excel hell - Teams managing complex processes in spreadsheets

Red flags to avoid:

Building something "just because it's cool"
Too broad a market (trying to serve everyone)
No clear monetization path
Requires massive behavior change

Validate Before Building

Talk to potential customers before writing code:

Identify your target user - Be specific (not "small businesses" but "Shopify store owners with 10-50 orders/day")
Conduct customer interviews:
- "Tell me about the last time you dealt with [problem]"
- "What solutions have you tried?"
- "What did you like/dislike about them?"
- "Would you pay for a solution? How much?"
Create a landing page:
- Clear value proposition
- Email signup for early access
- Track conversion rates
Gauge interest signals:
- Email signups (aim for 100+ before building)
- Social media engagement
- Pre-orders or letters of intent

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick is essential reading for this phase.

Phase 2: Planning Your MVP

Define Your Core Value

Your MVP should do one thing exceptionally well:

Slack MVP: Simple team messaging
Dropbox MVP: File sync that actually works
Stripe MVP: Accept payments with one line of code

Ask: "What is the minimum feature set that delivers our core value?"

Ruthless Prioritization

Use the ICE framework to prioritize features:

Impact - How much will this move the needle?
Confidence - How sure are we this will work?
Ease - How quickly can we build it?

Score each 1-10, multiply together, and rank.

Create User Stories

As a [user type],
I want to [action],
so that [benefit].

Example:
As a freelance consultant,
I want to track my billable hours automatically,
so that I never miss invoicing for my time.

Phase 3: Choosing Your Tech Stack

The "Boring Technology" Approach

Choose proven technologies that let you move fast:

Frontend:

Next.js + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS

Server-side rendering for SEO
Great developer experience
Excellent documentation

Backend:

Next.js API Routes or Node.js + Express

Use what you know best
TypeScript for type safety
Prisma for database access

Database:

PostgreSQL (hosted on Supabase, Neon, or Railway)

Battle-tested reliability
Excellent tooling
Free tiers available

Authentication:

NextAuth.js or Clerk

Don't roll your own auth
Handle edge cases out of the box
Social login support

Payments:

Stripe

Industry standard
Great documentation
Handles complexity (subscriptions, invoicing, taxes)

Hosting:

Vercel (frontend) + Railway/Render (backend/database)

Free tiers for validation
Scales automatically
Easy deployment

My Production Stack

For InsureSignal and Liquidity Hunters, I use:

// Core stack
const stack = {
  framework: 'Next.js 14 (App Router)',
  language: 'TypeScript',
  styling: 'Tailwind CSS',
  database: 'PostgreSQL + Prisma',
  auth: 'NextAuth.js',
  payments: 'Stripe',
  email: 'Resend',
  hosting: 'Vercel',
  monitoring: 'Sentry + Vercel Analytics',
};

Phase 4: Building the Product

Set Up Your Development Environment

# Create Next.js app
npx create-next-app@latest my-saas --typescript --tailwind --eslint

# Add essential dependencies
npm install @prisma/client next-auth stripe
npm install -D prisma

Database Schema Design

Start with a solid foundation:

// prisma/schema.prisma
model User {
  id            String    @id @default(cuid())
  email         String    @unique
  name          String?
  image         String?
  emailVerified DateTime?
  createdAt     DateTime  @default(now())

  subscription  Subscription?
  accounts      Account[]
  sessions      Session[]
}

model Subscription {
  id                   String   @id @default(cuid())
  userId               String   @unique
  user                 User     @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id])
  stripeCustomerId     String   @unique
  stripeSubscriptionId String?  @unique
  stripePriceId        String?
  stripeCurrentPeriodEnd DateTime?
  status               SubscriptionStatus @default(INACTIVE)
  plan                 PlanType @default(FREE)
  createdAt            DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt            DateTime @updatedAt
}

enum SubscriptionStatus {
  ACTIVE
  INACTIVE
  CANCELED
  PAST_DUE
}

enum PlanType {
  FREE
  PRO
  ENTERPRISE
}

Essential Features to Build

Must-have for launch:

User authentication (signup, login, password reset)
Core product functionality (your value prop)
Settings page (profile, notifications)
Billing integration (plans, checkout, portal)
Basic analytics/dashboard

Can wait:

Team/organization features
Advanced permissions
Integrations
Mobile app

Build in Public (Optionally)

Share your progress on Twitter/X or indie hacker communities:

Creates accountability
Builds audience before launch
Gets early feedback
Attracts potential beta users

Phase 5: Pricing Strategy

Pricing Principles

Charge from day one - Free users give different feedback than paying customers
Start higher than you think - You can always offer discounts
Value-based pricing - Price based on value delivered, not cost to you
Simple tiers - 3 plans maximum for most SaaS

Common Pricing Models

Per-seat pricing:

Free: 1 user
Pro: $10/user/month
Enterprise: Custom

Usage-based:

Free: 100 API calls/month
Pro: $29/month (10,000 calls)
Enterprise: Custom

Flat-rate tiers:

Starter: $29/month
Growth: $79/month
Scale: $199/month

Stripe Integration

// app/api/checkout/route.ts
import { stripe } from '@/lib/stripe';
import { getServerSession } from 'next-auth';

export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const session = await getServerSession();
  const { priceId } = await req.json();

  const checkoutSession = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({
    customer_email: session?.user?.email,
    mode: 'subscription',
    payment_method_types: ['card'],
    line_items: [{ price: priceId, quantity: 1 }],
    success_url: `${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_URL}/dashboard?success=true`,
    cancel_url: `${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_URL}/pricing?canceled=true`,
    metadata: { userId: session?.user?.id },
  });

  return Response.json({ url: checkoutSession.url });
}

Phase 6: Launch Strategy

Pre-Launch Checklist

[ ] Landing page with clear value proposition
[ ] Email capture for waitlist
[ ] Product is stable and tested
[ ] Onboarding flow is smooth
[ ] Payment system tested (use Stripe test mode)
[ ] Error monitoring in place (Sentry)
[ ] Analytics tracking (Vercel, Plausible, or PostHog)
[ ] Legal pages (Privacy Policy, Terms of Service)
[ ] Support system (email or Intercom)

Launch Channels

High-impact, low-effort:

Product Hunt
Indie Hackers
Hacker News (Show HN)
Twitter/X
Relevant subreddits

Medium-effort, high-value:

Guest blog posts
Podcast appearances
YouTube demos
Newsletter sponsorships

Launch Day

Wake up early (Product Hunt launches at midnight PT)
Personally email your waitlist
Post on all social channels
Engage with every comment and question
Monitor for bugs (they will happen)
Thank early supporters publicly

Phase 7: Post-Launch and Scaling

Listen to Users

// Set up feedback collection
const feedbackChannels = [
  'In-app feedback widget',
  'User interviews (monthly)',
  'Support ticket analysis',
  'NPS surveys (quarterly)',
  'Usage analytics',
];

Key Metrics to Track

Growth:

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Lifetime Value (LTV)
Churn rate

Product:

Daily/Monthly Active Users
Feature adoption
Time to value (how fast users get value)

Health:

NPS score
Support ticket volume
Uptime percentage

Iterate and Improve

The launch is just the beginning:

Weekly: Review support tickets, ship small improvements
Monthly: Analyze metrics, prioritize roadmap
Quarterly: User interviews, strategic planning
Yearly: Major feature releases, pricing reviews

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Building too much before validating - Talk to customers first
Underpricing - You can always discount, but raising prices is hard
Ignoring churn - Understand why users leave
Feature creep - Stay focused on core value
No distribution plan - Building is 20%, getting users is 80%
Perfectionism - Ship and iterate

Conclusion

Building a SaaS is a marathon, not a sprint. Start with a real problem, validate before building, ship an MVP fast, and iterate based on user feedback. The best products evolve through continuous improvement.

The tools and infrastructure available today make it easier than ever to build and launch a SaaS. What matters is solving a real problem for real people who are willing to pay.

For more startup and development content, explore my other blog posts or check out the products I've built on my portfolio.