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How to build a $1M+ vertical SaaS business (step-by-step guide)

Greg Isenberg
252K subscribers
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30K views 6 months ago The Startup Ideas Podcast Episodes
Join me as I chat with Luke Sophinos, Founder & CEO of CourseKey, as we discuss the frameworks and strategies for building a successful vertical SaaS business. Learn how to find, validate, and launch SaaS opportunities! Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:39 Why Vertical SaaS? 05:34 How to pick your vertical 10:53 Understand the industry inside-out 18:59 Analyze existing solutions 21:50 Automating the ideation and validation process with AI 34:51 Go-to-market strategy is CRITICAL 40:07 The power of the wedge product 49:22 Pricing framework 1) Why Vertical SaaS? • Market often overlooked by VCs chasing unicorns • Opportunity to build enduring businesses with strong retention • Still massive potential in 2024, even in "boring" industries 2) How to pick your vertical: • Focus on industry, not idea • Look for: a) Large market size ($1B+) b) Fragmented (many SMBs) c) Mix of small, mid-market, enterprise 3) Understand the industry inside-out: • Map end-t …...more
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How to build a $1M+ vertical SaaS business (step-by-step guide)
732Likes
30,511Views
Sep 252024
Join me as I chat with Luke Sophinos, Founder & CEO of CourseKey, as we discuss the frameworks and strategies for building a successful vertical SaaS business. Learn how to find, validate, and launch SaaS opportunities! Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:39 Why Vertical SaaS? 05:34 How to pick your vertical 10:53 Understand the industry inside-out 18:59 Analyze existing solutions 21:50 Automating the ideation and validation process with AI 34:51 Go-to-market strategy is CRITICAL 40:07 The power of the wedge product 49:22 Pricing framework 1) Why Vertical SaaS? • Market often overlooked by VCs chasing unicorns • Opportunity to build enduring businesses with strong retention • Still massive potential in 2024, even in "boring" industries 2) How to pick your vertical: • Focus on industry, not idea • Look for: a) Large market size ($1B+) b) Fragmented (many SMBs) c) Mix of small, mid-market, enterprise 3) Understand the industry inside-out: • Map end-to-end operations • Get hands on P&Ls • Follow the money - where are they spending? • Identify areas still using pen & paper 4) Analyze existing solutions: • Look for legacy providers • Identify where they're using horizontal solutions • Find gaps where AI/FinTech could add value 5) The power of the wedge product: • Your "get in the door" offering • Should be: a) Easy to implement b) Solves a critical problem c) Ideally free or low-cost • Example: Roofer․com's proposal tool 6) Go-to-market strategy is CRITICAL: • Many industries require relationship-based sales • Product-led growth is ideal (but rare) • Get creative: Industry newsletters, memes, etc. 7) The payments opportunity: • Owning the transaction can 10x your market size • Build before/after transaction, then capture it • Example: Toast in restaurants 8) Pricing framework: • Understand current spend on problem you're solving • Price based on ROI you deliver • Aim for 20-50% of value created 9) Keys to success: • Only build products that: • Increase revenue • Decrease costs • Prevent churn • Maintain compliance 10) Validating ideas: • Don't just Google search • Talk to actual businesses • Offer to buy lunch and shadow operations Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav) Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startu... 🎯 To build your own portfolio businesses powered by community you might enjoy my membership. You'll get my full course with all my secrets on building businesses, peer-groups to keep you accountable, business ideas every single month and more! Spots are limited. https://www.communityempire.co/ 📬 Join my free newsletter to get weekly startup insights for free: https://www.gregisenberg.com/ 70,000+ people are already subscribed. To improve your rankings your business on Google and using AI for SEO, sign up to http://boringmarketing.com/ FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter:   / gregisenberg   Instagram:   / gregisenberg   LinkedIn:   / gisenberg   FIND LUKE ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://x.com/lukesophinos Luke’s Newsletter: https://www.newsletter.lukesophinos.com Luke’s vSaaS Bible: https://verticalsaasbible.com
232 episodes
The Startup Ideas Podcast Episodes
Greg Isenberg

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Greg Isenberg

252K subscribers