On today’s episode I share a comprehensive guide to building microSaaS businesses, which are niche-focused software products that can be developed by individuals or small teams. I explain the difference between traditional SaaS and micro SaaS, share real examples of successful businesses generating $20K-40K monthly revenue, and outline a step-by-step playbook for validating ideas, building MVPs, and growing through audience building and SEO.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:08 – What is a MicroSaaS?
02:25 – Examples of successful micro SaaS businesses
05:35 – Growth flywheel explanation 07:57 – User journey and funnel metrics
12:06 – Building in public strategy
18:28 – MicroSaaS Frameworks
21:58 – MicroSaaS Ideas 1: PermitSync
25:33 – MicroSaaS Ideas 2: PodScriptor
28:52 – MicroSaaS Ideas 3: SpecSheet
32:30 – MicroSaaS Ideas 4: CartSaver
33:58 – MicroSaaS Ideas 5: GrantGuru
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Key Points:
• Micro SaaS businesses focus on niche markets with specific products, typically built by solo founders or small teams
• Successful micro SaaS businesses can generate $10K-50K monthly profit with 80-90% margins
• Growth comes from building an audience first, identifying pain points, creating solutions, and reinvesting revenue
• Pricing strategies typically include free trials converting to monthly subscriptions or usage-based models
1) What is Micro SaaS?
Unlike big SaaS companies targeting everyone (think Salesforce), micro SaaS:
• Targets an extremely niche audience
• Offers a "feature of a feature" product
• Focuses on profitability (not growth at all costs)
• Can be built by a solo founder or tiny team
• Often reaches $10-50K monthly profit
Why build one? 80-90% margins and lifestyle freedom!
2) Real Examples That WORK
• Bank Statement Converter: $40K/month, solo founder
Simply converts PDF bank statements to Excel format
• Projection: $24K/month
Projects your financial net worth visually
• CleanVoice: $20K/month
Edits podcasts by removing background noise, filler words, etc.
The pattern? Simple solution to SPECIFIC pain points!
3) The Growth Flywheel
Here’s the secret sauce to micro SaaS success:
1. Build an audience/community FIRST
2. Learn their acute pain points
3. Build a solution to those pains
4. Generate word of mouth
5. Create recurring revenue
6. Reinvest in growing your audience
This is why building in public WORKS. The community becomes your distribution!
4) User Journey Breakdown
The typical micro SaaS journey:
• People have a manual, painful workflow
• They search Google/ChatGPT for a solution
• They find your micro SaaS (good domain name is KEY)
• They have a "wow moment" using your product
• Free trial converts to paying customer
• They tell friends or share in communities
• Growth compounds through referrals + SEO
5) The Numbers Game
Here’s what success might look like:
• 10,000 monthly site visitors
• 1,500 free trials
• 300 active users
• 150 paying subscribers ($19/month)
• 30 true advocates who spread the word
Month 1: $200 revenue
Month 3: $2,000
Month 6-7: $7,000+
It COMPOUNDS if you reinvest in growth!
6) The Weekend MVP Approach
Don’t spend months building! Instead:
• Time-constrain your MVP to 48 hours
• Use no-code tools or hire a freelancer
• Automate as much as possible
• Tweet your progress DAILY
• Create feedback loops
• Focus on distribution from day one
7) Finding the Perfect Opportunity
Use these frameworks to identify winning ideas:
• Market Gap Heat Map: Focus on high demand + few tools
• Problem-Pay Matrix: Target high pain + high willingness to pay
• Innovation Matrix: Aim for niche + high polish
The sweet spot? Where your passion meets monetization potential!
8) Micro SaaS Ideas You Can STEAL
5) ideas anyone can build:
• Permitting: Help homeowners navigate city permit processes ($99 one-time fee)
• Podscripter: Auto-generate show notes and video clips from podcast episodes ($29/month)
• SpecSheet: Convert PDF spec sheets into sortable comparison tables ($49/month)
• CartSaver: AI video messages to recover abandoned Shopify carts (1% of recovered revenue)
• GrantGuru: AI-powered grant proposal generator for nonprofits ($149/proposal)
The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends – https://www.ideabrowser.com
LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future – from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn ‘what if’ into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/
Boringmarketing – Vibe Marketing for Companies: http://boringmarketing.com/
The Vibe Marketer – Join the Community and Learn: http://thevibemarketer.com/
Startup Empire – a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
