Stop "building"; Do this instead to succeed

I see countless posts saying like... ...I spent 3 months building my app and I'm risking everything on it! ...I have a trillion dollar idea, I just need to build it ...I've been building for 2 years and I'm finally ready to reveal my masterpiece!

Those are all major red flags and a sign of imminent failure.

I've been doing business online for 17 years. It's been my dream to build SaaS for about 14 ever since I learned full stack development.

But that whole time, while I made a lot of money, I couldn't get any traction with SaaS. It wasn't until 3 years ago, with AI and vibe coding, that I finally was able to leverage myself and build properly.

And guess what.

**I made all those mistakes.**

I risked everything on "one app" idea. I worked on a platform for a year and a half, adding dozens and dozens of features. (just 1 more feature and the users will love it)

Mistake, after mistake.

I made so many mistakes, that it finally became obvious what I was doing wrong: **BUILDING**.

So, I decided to reset a bit. I took on some software clients. Made some money. And then one client couldn't afford to hire me, so he paid me like 10% of my fee and we did a 50%/50% split.

I built something I thought was insanely simple and stupid.

It wasn't genius. It wasn't awesome. It just worked.

It wasn't unique. In fact, it was a very obvious thing and there were other competitors in the field with literally the same software.

But I did. This wasn't "my baby". It was for the client. I didn't really care.

And guess what? It made money. In fact, it ended up making $30k in 3 months.

That's when I finally realized my mistake. **I was focusing on the product, not the people.**

You guys have seen these marketing gurus on YouTube or Facebook or whatever, and you see the big numbers they get. And you look at their products, and their products suck.

Yet they are still making insane money. But how many indie projects are there with insane features, insane UI/UX, and the founders are starving?

Why? Because they don't have a following.

This is what I learned: The key is about building community.

Now, I turned this small software into a community (not on reddit — on facebook). These are marketing agency owners. They use a marketing software which I built a plugin for.

Guess what? They have hundreds of requests and needs. They want new things everyday.

So I create a product suite for them. I turn them into affiliates, partners, and investors in the ecosystem.

Cashflow problems are all gone now. The only question is how hard to scale and what to prioritize.

This is what I propose to you.

Instead of trying to build like a stand alone product that thousands or millions can use.

Think more in terms of people.

It's even best if you can get a client to finance your project.

Get a client that needs your software. Build it for them. Don't sell your rights, just let them use it for a lifetime.

Once you finish your software, now sell it to a group of people. Position your offer as a community or group. Like... ...ADHD group ...indie hackers collective ...agency level up

What I did was sell a lifetime deal for $199, so they get all future updates for free.

You sell to that group, and that becomes your "beta group". You focus hard on monetizing them, taking care of them and giving them what they need. Think of them as your clients.

But guess what... ...this is your incubator.

They are paying you to find your "million dollar app". They will finance your development. You can even come up with partnerships, affiliate, and investor schemes so they support your growth.

THIS IS THE TICKET.

This way, you validate your product, you finance your development, and you maintain your sanity.

And guess what... ...this is what investors are looking for.

If you tell them you have a community or platform with like 10,000 users on it and 1000 customers and lifetime value of each customer at like $500 a month. That's what moves the needle.

So I urge those who are starting their journey or struggling or hoping to "vipe code the next ChatGPT". Put down your Vibe Coder, and open up your messenger.

Start getting clients and groups of people and communities to work with you.

Serve them. Give them value. And build for them.

This is the hybrid model idea I came up with like 4 months ago and it's been a total game changer.

In fact, after I launched the software, the #1 complaint people had was

"I like the software, but I don't know where to find X to use it"

So guess what? I just build an "X Finder" for them.

Now this is a new revenue stream. New value add. I gave them a lot of free credits to use it. And as I was building it, I realized something:

This "X Finder" had an alternate use: it can be used for lead generation. They can use this exact tools to find the perfect clients for them.

So, instantly, it became not just a "supportive feature" but a potential main product I can promote to marketing agencies in this niche.

They are literally begging to get access and can't wait to use.

I really really hope this helps. I know the start up journey can be maddening. But this is a path for sanity. I hope you consider it.