The author reflects on how the market has changed since 2011, with sales response rates dropping due to AI prospecting and the rise of spam. They argue that to counter this, one needs to invest in tooling. However, the fixed costs of these services are becoming a problem. The author also notes that without a good UI/quality, it's challenging to generate high revenue and retention. They express frustration at the increasing limitations of service plans and the challenges of self-hosting certain software. The author concludes by questioning if a service like "Once" could cover these issues, as SaaS boilerplates have solved some of their problems.
Key takeaways:
- The author runs multiple side projects, with the majority of their costs now being tech/SaaS related, up from 30% in 2011 to 80% currently.
- Despite the high costs, the author finds some SaaS services invaluable for tasks such as bug detection, accounting, and AI prospecting. However, they also note that the minimum plans for these services are often expensive, especially when running multiple projects.
- The author reflects on the past when they were able to generate revenue without as much tech, with the main cost being servers and accounting. They note that the problem has shifted from distribution to fixed costs.
- The author suggests that without a good UI/quality, it's difficult to generate high revenue and retention. They have tried self-hosting some services, but found it too difficult. They express a desire for a service like "Once" to cover these needs.