I Built 3 SaaS Apps to $200K MRR: Here's My Exact Playbook

Starter Story • • 13min • #107
I Built 3 SaaS Apps to $200K MRR: Here's My Exact Playbook
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Summary

  • Mike

    • Background and origin story
      • Started as a Flash developer and ran a digital advertising agency, which he later sold
      • Realized he was not good at advertising but loved building products, which led him to SaaS
      • Based in Australia and fully bootstrapped across all ventures
    • Business growth and current status
      • Currently operates three SaaS businesses doing over $200K MRR, with two more launching soon
      • Goal is to reach $1M MRR within five years with a small team and no outside capital
      • Has never had a business failure using his repeatable playbook

  • Products and Offerings

    • Curator.io: Social media aggregator for websites and events
    • Thrill.co: Customer feedback tool that collects feedback, plots it to a roadmap, and announces new features
    • JUNO.co: Digital signage platform for cafes, gyms, schools, and shops
    • Fluke.co: No-code onboarding tours platform for SaaS businesses (tooltips, pop-ups, etc.)
    • Smile.co (launching soon): Group e-card solution for B2B businesses
    • All five apps combined generate just over $200K MRR

  • Metrics and Financials

    • Combined MRR across all apps: just over $200,000
    • Businesses are grown to approximately $10K MRR before founders begin taking profits
    • Lifetime deals (LTDs) are used to raise capital early, with a target of $100K from LTDs to fund 1–2 years of content and growth
    • Thrill.co raised approximately $30K from its private LTD launch
    • Profits are split equally among four co-founders once $10K MRR is reached

  • Strategy and Growth

    • Overall vision and positioning
      • Focuses on minimizing risk by only pursuing ideas that have already been validated in the market
      • Avoids AI-dependent businesses due to platform risk and reliance on APIs they do not control
      • Prioritizes design as a core selling point and believes good design drives sales
      • Targets boring, proven markets rather than trendy or speculative ideas
    • Primary growth engine
      • Lifetime deals (LTDs) as the primary early-stage growth and funding mechanism
      • Heavy use of content marketing, including landing pages, blog posts, and competitor/alternative pages
      • Marketplace launches on platforms like AppSumo for broad reach and capital infusion
    • Key tactics and strategic steps
      • Follows a strict 10-step playbook for every new business launch:
        1. Pick an idea that has already been done before to eliminate validation risk
        2. Define a good enough MVP based on competitor customer feedback
        3. Offer a lifetime deal ($59–$100 one-time payment) to generate early revenue
        4. Never give away free accounts—always charge to ensure usage and feedback
        5. Sell LTDs aggressively through Reddit, Facebook groups, X, and LTD-specific communities
        6. Start writing content immediately (landing pages, blog posts, competitor pages)
        7. Launch on AppSumo or similar marketplace for reach and additional capital
        8. Run one final private LTD at a higher price before closing lifetime deals permanently
        9. Get LTD customers to leave honest reviews on Trustpilot, G2, etc. to boost domain ranking
        10. Transition to MRR and sustain the business before LTD funds run out
      • Builds in public and engages authentically on Reddit and other communities where customers gather
      • Uses early LTD customers as ambassadors who are invested in the product’s success

  • Tech Stack and Infrastructure

    • Front end varies by team preference (Vue or React)
    • Back end predominantly uses PHP and Laravel
    • Design and prototyping done in Vyo and Figma
    • Websites built on Framer, shifting website work away from the tech team
    • Meeting notes handled through Granola
    • Internal communication via Slack
    • Uses Willow Voice for voice-to-text input

  • Lessons and Advice

    • Work with people you genuinely enjoy being around—founder relationships are critical to longevity
    • Build something you love creating, not just something customers want
    • Minimize founder fallout by starting with four co-founders with equal 25% equity splits
    • Stay lean and prioritize founder salaries over reinvestment, advertising, or large teams
    • Avoid ideas that depend on external platforms or APIs you cannot control
    • Good documentation is increasingly important because AI relies on it to recommend products
    • The fun of building with people you like is a core reason to do it—enjoy the process
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