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41 Comments

Quit or not to Quit

I launched BABU nearly 12 months ago. 18 months worth of development work and 2500 hours of my own time spent coding alone.

The idea started walking out of the gym one day after doing my workout from my emails which my PT had sent me.

That's where BABU started, MVP launched in April 2022 and have been building in core features since then.

I'm ready to throw the towel in, my revenue is very very small, I'm awful at marketing after so much help and my competitors are smashing it. I have had a couple of people use their platform over mine and that hurts the most. I don't take too much notice and move on but recently I just have this feeling of giving up.

I can't seem to grow, get investment or moving anywhere. Ready to just let my current clients know to move off the platform and shut it down.

On a positive note I managed to get a profitable business running in production on my own with 0 help.

Does anyone have any final advise or inspiration or help for me?

  1. 6

    Ash, I can understand your problem because every business faces hard times, and currently, you are facing difficulties as a solo founder because you have invested most of your time, money, and other resources.

    First, you need to find out what the problem is - whether it's a low number of customers due to marketing, budget, competition, or a narrow niche. As you mentioned, your competitor is investing a good amount, which means your product can also compete if you do it correctly.

    I will say do not quit!

    In the past, we had the same feeling because our product, churnfree.com, Churnfree is a product that helps membership businesses to reduce their churn rate (our target customers as businesses who are already making good revenue and had a high user base).

    Consistency is the key!

    But now, we are getting good results because of proper marketing and analyzing our competitors. We evaluate what they are doing and how we can add more value to our product to attract more customers.

    1. 1

      This is the part I am struggling with. My competitors are doing everything really really well and I cannot see a way of doing it even slightly better without copying or replicating their marketing

  2. 3

    you can't fail, unless you quit.

    if you're ready to quit after 18 months there's only one piece of advice I can give you - go find a boxing gym near your house (one that actually has a pro fight team), and sign up for lessons. it toughens the mind more than anything, and you will soon find a relentless resilience to combat failure.

    if you sign up and go everyday for 3 months, and disagree with me at the end of month 3 - ill pay all your gym fees, and then venmo you $500.

    dont quit until you do that ^

    1. 2

      This is one of the best pieces of advice. I am going to look for a boxing gym and head over there. Thank you Devin

  3. 3

    Hey Ash,

    As I understand it, you've got a solution that people are paying for.

    And your competitors are doing well which suggests that there is a lot of potential here.

    The issue is your marketing. Which I think you know.

    If you want to give up and never try building a business again then there's no shame in that whatsoever.

    But if your plan is to give up and build another business you're just going to run into the same problem.

    Building a successful business is 90%+ marketing.

    You've got to learn how to do it well if you want to succeed.

    The problem is that it's hard to do when you do take the traditional approach of selling your product - it's an incredibly ineffective way to market a business. It can be done (hell, I spent nearly 2 decades doing just that), but it's the reason why 90% of startups fail.

    Why this is and what to do instead is something I've explained it in different articles on this forum but rather than sending you to lots of different posts I'll just point you towards the complete (and free) resource which is here - www.thebluntmethod.com

    Hope that helps

    Any questions just ask :-)

    Best

    Chris

    1. 1

      Thank you for this! I will take a read through. I'm a developer and not a marketer so I am trying to become creative and figure out how to get my marketing engaged with and looked at.

      I've watched so many videos and read so many articles but just never seem to have a spark of creativity. Maybe I should look at getting someone partnered to the business who wants to work in a startup that has low cashflow but high growth potential

      1. 1

        Hey,

        You’re very welcome. Any questions just let me know.

        Best

        Chris

    2. 1

      This comment was deleted 6 months ago.

      1. 1

        That’s a bit disingenuous.

        The entire explanation of what the strategy is, how and why it works as well as case studies detailing the how other companies have used it are all on the website for free (just got to check the top menu for it all).

        The « paywall » as you put it is a more in-depth explanation of exactly how to implement it yourself as well as access to my help (and therefore time) doing so.

  4. 3

    before closing do a post mortem analysis on why did you failed? was it marketing? or retaining existing users or anything else? and make sure you imrpove upon it next time.
    Ideally you close when you have tried everything and you don't know what else can be done or you close when you know what needs to be done but you are unwilling to do it because of some contraint like capital, time, developing expertise etc.

    I also see that there is no blog, youtube, tiktok chnnel etc. only instagram channel of your product and that too seems to have low engagement, how do your customers discover your product?

    not retaining customers is a bigger problem, why are you losing cutomers to competitors? price, feature, reliability?

    1. 1

      Thanks for the response, I have tiktok but just see really low engagement. I think I may want to look into getting someone partnered with the business to help with marketing. My only issue is the low revenue and not being able to pay someone fully

  5. 2

    Hi Ash - what is Babu? Can you describe it in a couple sentences? I ask because I truly want to know, but also it's super important to be able to distill the essence of what you are building so others can grasp on to it. What is the pain you are solving?

  6. 2

    Story time ...

    Years ago I built a SaaS app to manage small gyms (CrossFit, yoga, spin, etc). After about a year and a half, I had a handful of customers, but it was growing. Then a few companies came out of stealth and half my customers jumped ship to the competitors. I saw it as "the end of the world" and I thought I could not compete. The short of it is ... I shut down the product about 3-4 months later and helped customers move to another platform.

    Fast forward a few years later .... a couple of these companies folded and ran out of money (they were VC backed). I was bootstrapped. Had I weathered the storm I would have been in a completely different world right now. I would not be writing you.

    I even had a few prior customers reach out to me in regards moving back to the product even.

    The moral of the story is ... I wish I did not quit. This is a long game. The flywheel takes a long time to get going. A LONG TIME.

    Don't quit. I know a number of people who might be interested in this product.

    I was in the same place as you before. I felt the same. Keep plugging away.

  7. 2

    So let sum it up: You have build a greate product
    You found customers for your product
    Your customers like the product
    You are making money with the product.
    You have proven that your product sells

    All that is left is to make enough sales?
    I would never give up

  8. 2

    If you have paying customers than you have validated the idea, now marketing can be tricky but you can gain some knowledge in online courses. I don't know anything about your business but I know one thing, if people are paying for it than it is worth trying. Do you know that 80% of startups here on IH never make a single dollar and if you have paying customers than try to learn some marketing skills or find a partner who can join you and help with it.

    1. 3

      You're right that their idea is already working, and they have paying customers. They just need to see what the root causes of the problem are regarding low customers (marketing, content, target audience and other).

      1. 1

        Thanks for both responses, they are really helpful. I am going to sit down and try to come up with ways I can improve. I will stop all feature building for the foreseeable until I can figure out a way to solve at least some of these issues and see some growth

  9. 2

    Hi

    First of fall congratulations on launching a business. That in itself is a great achievement. In addition to that writing code and building your product.

    When launching a companyplease note that the idea should be to build a company that creates revenue. Depending on VC investments is not a good idea (my opinion).

    The amount of code that you have written will bot go waste. Even if this product does not work out you can always salvage the source code to build some other product in the future. I have done that once with one of my products.

    Also you have launched the product in 2022. I would suggest you wait till 2024 before you shutdown your product. Jason Lemkin says that every product should be given 2 years and in those 2 years if your product fails to get 10 unrelated customers then you should go ahead and shutdown that product.

    Everyone, especially us tech people are bad in digital marketing or overall marketing. But I would suggest you use ChatGPT here. If not anything you will atleast learn marketing. Use ChatGpt you create blog articles for your product and publish it on your blog. Identify which social media platoforms your target audience hang and then focus only on them. ChatGpt can also be used to create interesting posts which can be posted to the social media accounts. Use buffer to schedule your social media posts. Reach out to your target audience and talk to them give them free trial etc.

    Lets say inspite of doing all this if your company still fails to get 10 customers at the end of 2 years you can then shutdown the company. There is no shame in it. You can always use the source code for something else.

    1. 2

      what do you mean by unrelated customers? why not just customers

      1. 1

        By inrelated customer I mean businesses that are not closely related. For example, a customer might buy your product for himself and his subsidiaries or branches. In the initial days it is safe to consider this scenario as individual customers but instead consider them as one customer. So unrelated customers are different businesses.

        Reaching 10 unrelated customers can be an indication to a product that has a need in the market.

    2. 2

      Thanks Krishnan, I will look for some of his videos and give them a watch

  10. 2

    Hey Ash,

    Don't have really any advice, cause don't have any knowledge of your business,

    You did great job already bringing your idea to life !

    It's sometimes Hard to find your market, You did everything alone, maybe it's time also to get help on the things you don't master (marketing, audience, brading etc)

    I know it sometimes hard to keep going forward, whenever your decision will be , it will be the right one.

    Good luck

    1. 1

      Thanks man, I’ve tried getting help but no one is able to help me as of yet and that maybe due to the low revenue/budget

  11. 1

    It seems to be a common issue among solopreneurs with a development background that they are skilled in creating products but lack the ability to effectively market and sell them.
    Personally, I also face this challenge and am seeking ways to address it.
    One option is to seek a partner who excels in sales and marketing.
    Alternatively, one can acquire these skills themselves, but this requires an open mind and a willingness to learn new things, which can be difficult when stepping outside of one's comfort zone.
    While failure is a possibility, the learning experience gained from the process can be invaluable and lead to success in future projects.
    Best of luck in overcoming this obstacle!

  12. 1

    I have created a YouTube channel and I have posted my first video!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlDabdPbvw4

    I just watched it back and it is presented terribly but I think the content is good. Got to start somewhere I guess.

    Thanks people !

  13. 1

    Hey Ash, Loved "Babu"!

    First, don't quit!!!

    Second, I would recommend you Explain/Show better what the Software does because there is a lot of information in boxes and there are no photos/animations like in the first banner, showing how the software looks.

    Third, I don't know what Strategy are you doing with Marketing or Advertising, but I can recommend you get a "Sales Team" with some Appointment Setters and Closers that work on Commision based Only, and you explain to them the Ideal Customer/Target and they will start getting in touch with them and you can also work as a closer.
    You can find them on UpWork or any other app.

    Hope you continue with this project!
    Gaspar.

  14. 1

    Have you tried reddit? I would post on some coaching subreddits there or DM people.

  15. 1

    Launching a startup is never easy, and it's normal to feel discouraged when things aren't going as planned. However, it's important to remember that success often takes time, persistence, and trial and error to achieve your goals.

    It's great that you were able to develop and launch BABU on your own and that you've managed to attract some clients. That's a significant accomplishment, and it shows that you have the skills and drive to make things happen.

    That being said, it's essential to evaluate your current situation and identify what's working and what's not. You mentioned struggling with marketing, and that's an area that's crucial for any business to succeed. It might be worth considering getting help from a marketing professional or exploring different marketing strategies to reach a broader audience.

    Another suggestion is to analyze your competitors and see what they're doing differently. Perhaps there's something you can learn from their success and implement in your own business.

    It's understandable to feel like giving up, but before you make any decisions, take some time to reflect on why you started this venture in the first place. What motivated you to create BABU, and what impact do you want it to have on your customers? Reminding yourself of your vision and purpose can help reignite your passion and give you the motivation to keep going.

    Lastly, don't be afraid to reach out for help or advice. There are many resources available for entrepreneurs, from mentors and networking groups to online forums and support communities. Seeking guidance from others who have gone through similar experiences can provide valuable insights and help you navigate through the challenges you're facing.

    Remember, building a successful business takes time, patience, and perseverance. Stay focused on your goals, keep learning and improving, and don't give up on your dreams.

  16. 1
    1. Product

    What are the features your customers want to use?
    What are the ones they are not interested in?

    I suggest you assess the product in the most honest way possible and understand what works and what doesn't work.
    Get rid of what is unnecessary and double down on the core features.

    1. Marketing

    If you have paying customers, your product is something valuable for them.
    How did you get them?
    Referral?
    Paid Ads?
    Social media?
    Focus on that channel and forget the others for a while.

    1. Focus

    As said before, eliminate all the unneeded tasks, projects, and features.
    Fewer things, but you need to be excellent at doing them.

    1. Resilience

    As @donnfelker wrote already, this is a long-term journey. Make sure you want to do it; if so, keep pushing.
    Think about finding a co-founder to support your journey. Remember: 100% of nothing is nothing.

  17. 1

    I've spent a whole career in marketing and can tell you a majority of the success of any business is down to this very principle.
    That is very much the case for saas founders and it's a real barrier for so many. Inversely, I see marketing as the easy part whilst you coders find that side a breeze.
    I've seen some awful products absolutely fly because they have great marketing strategies in place.
    Do you have a full marketing plan in place? Do you know who your users and where they are likely to be?
    Don't be afraid to drive interest with incentives.
    Give me a shout if you need any pointers.

    As a side note, I've read alot on here lately with founders struggling with the marketing - would a product such as a course or step by step guide for SAAS developers be useful??

  18. 1

    Ash - it sounds like you've worked SO hard to get where you are and no matter what I don't think any of that will be a waste. Whether you press on, or move on, you've learned invaluable skills and learned how to take initiative! I think where this seems trickiest is the fact that you have clients... I would definitely ask someone who has been in your position before if possible to get the best advice but it might be worth chatting with some of your current clients to see where they are at as well before shutting down.

    You've done something amazing here 💚

  19. 1

    Imagine you have already quit. Now you have lost and you have nothing else to loose.

    Now, you can do something wild. As you have nothing to loose. Perhaps start cold mailing like never before or something really weird. It may very well work. I wish you all the luck.

    1. 1

      My point is what is the best alternative to quitting?

      You may put your income (no matter how small) to PPC (fairly passive marketing).

      Disclosure: I haven't done it. But I will do it when I get to where you are.

  20. 1

    Don't give up just yet. Keep pushing forward and explore different marketing strategies to get your platform in front of potential users.

    1. 1

      I’ve been trying buddy. It’s hard trying to me a marketer when you’re a developer 🤯

      1. 3

        Send me all your stuff to [email protected], I am a marketer and ops guy and if you're giving up, let me at least help you determine what lessons should you be taking going into your next venture 👍

        EDIT: Found your website, I will email you a list of suggestions moving forward, the great part is that you don't need to quit - you need to message what you do better both on social media and especially on the landing pages.

        This is far from a lost case, but you definitely have some work to do on optimizing pages for conversion.

        1. 1

          Thank you. Appreciate the help here ❤️

  21. 0

    https://skydownloading.com This is site where you can Find more of these things.

  22. 1

    This comment was deleted 7 months ago.

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