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It is over 6 years ago now that I read MJ DeMarco's "Millionaire Fastlane ". In that time I've seen consistent growth in my chosen slow lane profession of Software Engineering, and am now embodying mastery of the craft after nearly 12 years. I've also seen two failed startups - one with a partner and one on my own. I'll confess, after the last failure I mostly gave up on the prospect of a fast lane life as my salary increased and my lifestyle comfort with it. With the experience I now have and position I hold, the next "sensible" move would be into FAANG and a plush total compensation in the 400k range.
But 2020 happened. The intensity of emotion from media, politics, the economy, and social isolation reconnected me to a part of myself I'd forgotten. A source of real inspiration which is revealing to me what I really value in life; freedom and service, and (maybe more importantly) what I don't value; money.
To me freedom means not answering to an arbitrary authority (my superiors at work) but instead to the feedback and needs of people in the market. It means forgoing the safety of a 9-5 for the risk, responsibility and spontaneity of entrepreneurship, being in charge of my own time and accepting the consequences. Service means realizing the union of passion and utility, but this hasn't come easy. I can safely say software is not a passion of mine, but the creative aspect is. My real passion lies somewhere closer to nature, therapy, art, and the human spirit, and from that fusion creating a ripple of positive change in the lake that is the consciousness of humankind.
Well, so what? Everyone has dreams, and this is a forum on entrepreneurship. I see now how forming an income generating SaaS business can lead to the realization of my values and an unscripted life. Software engineering has been good to me, and I have enough savings that I could live frugally for years while I invest in my business. Most of my peers have invested in real estate (a place to live), relationship (marriage isn't cheap) and family. I once had that same trajectory but things didn't work out. Being unattached, I exited my NYC lease 2 months ago and have been traveling while working remotely, taking in some of America's natural beauty which inspires me so much. I'm now honing in on a rental in a gorgeous (and inexpensive) area where I can begin to build out SaaS product(s) in earnest. I've already laid some of the groundwork and am working towards a prototype of one idea.
I don't have much of a formal plan but here are some of my thoughts.
SaaS is a natural fit for me because I've spent most of my life absorbed in computing.
As a highly skilled engineer I am my business's competitive advantage. For example, in a low competition B2B market I can quickly ingest and parse existing solutions, reproduce a lighter weight composition of their best elements and sell for a fraction of the cost. This works because I am much smaller and have very little overhead compared to the large companies offering existing SaaS solutions.
I'd love to stumble on a novel solution to an existing problem, but 6 years of asking people "What is your biggest pain point?" hasn't gotten me anywhere. I'm open to it, but lacking a novel niche I'm more than OK with iterating in existing spaces.
I will need help with copy writing and marketing, when the time comes. I've reached to a friend about this, and hope to continue the conversation as the need arises.
I have an abundance of ideas, how does one know which one to pursue? I've looked about as far I can into existing competition, market size, interest, and beyond that it's tough to judge. Is execution really king? How does one really judge the viability of a SaaS market? Am I using the right tools to make that determination? Any guidance anyone can offer here would be welcome.
When should I quit my full-time job? I realize this is a pretty absurd thing to ask the internet, but I'm going for it anyway.
Thank you for reading. Writing my thoughts down on the page has been helpful for me, hopefully something here rings true for someone else also.
But 2020 happened. The intensity of emotion from media, politics, the economy, and social isolation reconnected me to a part of myself I'd forgotten. A source of real inspiration which is revealing to me what I really value in life; freedom and service, and (maybe more importantly) what I don't value; money.
To me freedom means not answering to an arbitrary authority (my superiors at work) but instead to the feedback and needs of people in the market. It means forgoing the safety of a 9-5 for the risk, responsibility and spontaneity of entrepreneurship, being in charge of my own time and accepting the consequences. Service means realizing the union of passion and utility, but this hasn't come easy. I can safely say software is not a passion of mine, but the creative aspect is. My real passion lies somewhere closer to nature, therapy, art, and the human spirit, and from that fusion creating a ripple of positive change in the lake that is the consciousness of humankind.
Well, so what? Everyone has dreams, and this is a forum on entrepreneurship. I see now how forming an income generating SaaS business can lead to the realization of my values and an unscripted life. Software engineering has been good to me, and I have enough savings that I could live frugally for years while I invest in my business. Most of my peers have invested in real estate (a place to live), relationship (marriage isn't cheap) and family. I once had that same trajectory but things didn't work out. Being unattached, I exited my NYC lease 2 months ago and have been traveling while working remotely, taking in some of America's natural beauty which inspires me so much. I'm now honing in on a rental in a gorgeous (and inexpensive) area where I can begin to build out SaaS product(s) in earnest. I've already laid some of the groundwork and am working towards a prototype of one idea.
I don't have much of a formal plan but here are some of my thoughts.
SaaS is a natural fit for me because I've spent most of my life absorbed in computing.
As a highly skilled engineer I am my business's competitive advantage. For example, in a low competition B2B market I can quickly ingest and parse existing solutions, reproduce a lighter weight composition of their best elements and sell for a fraction of the cost. This works because I am much smaller and have very little overhead compared to the large companies offering existing SaaS solutions.
I'd love to stumble on a novel solution to an existing problem, but 6 years of asking people "What is your biggest pain point?" hasn't gotten me anywhere. I'm open to it, but lacking a novel niche I'm more than OK with iterating in existing spaces.
I will need help with copy writing and marketing, when the time comes. I've reached to a friend about this, and hope to continue the conversation as the need arises.
I have an abundance of ideas, how does one know which one to pursue? I've looked about as far I can into existing competition, market size, interest, and beyond that it's tough to judge. Is execution really king? How does one really judge the viability of a SaaS market? Am I using the right tools to make that determination? Any guidance anyone can offer here would be welcome.
When should I quit my full-time job? I realize this is a pretty absurd thing to ask the internet, but I'm going for it anyway.
Thank you for reading. Writing my thoughts down on the page has been helpful for me, hopefully something here rings true for someone else also.
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