My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Build exceptional SaaS product through customer obsession
Early-stage SaaS founders trying to achieve product-market fit
6-12 months to see resultsWhat Success Looks Like
Customers become advocates, feature requests get implemented quickly, and users can't imagine using anything else.
Steps to Execute
Respond to every customer complaint within hours
Ask 'why' questions to understand root needs, not just surface requests
Create manual workarounds for missing features while building real solutions
Ship promised features in the timeline you commit to
Proactively follow up when features are released
Make customers feel heard and important
Turn limitations into opportunities to over-deliver
Checklist
Inputs Needed
- Direct customer communication channels
- Product development bandwidth
- Customer feedback tracking system
- Ability to create temporary solutions
Outputs
- Higher customer retention
- Strong word-of-mouth growth
- Better product-market fit
- Premium pricing power
- Investor confidence
Example
“A newsletter platform founder gets complaints about missing analytics. Instead of just adding basic analytics, they ask why customers need this data, discover they want to optimize referral programs, and build both analytics and referral optimization tools, exceeding expectations.”
Related Knowledge
Fix-It Theory
A customer service framework where fixing mistakes creates higher customer loyalty than perfect service from the start.
Paul Graham's Animal Test
An entrepreneur evaluation framework that asks: 'Can you describe this person as an animal?
Hold Me Back Guy Strategy
A face-saving mechanism where someone makes aggressive threats while ensuring they have an excuse not to follow through, maintaining reputation without actual risk.
market-over-founder-mistake
information-leak-grudge
Write investor updates that build trust and get help
Investors understand your business health, offer help proactively, and maintain confidence in your team even during tough times.