Solo founder’s must-have tools to launch SaaS without funding

Steal my method with bootstrapping a SaaS on a limited budget – what I learned and what I'd do differently

Being an indie maker means that my goal is to launch a new Saas as cheaply as possible . Due to the vast number of options that are available nowadays, it's hard to choose the affordable services.

This article will explore a number of services suggested that allow you to save your budget during the SaaS launching.

During the creation of SaaS, breaking down the components into smaller parts is the vital thing. As front-end hosting, back-end infrastructure, database, authentication, customer support, analytics, and, surely, security measures like Captcha. We'll consider each component and examine the helpful services.

TL/DR

1. Applying Cloudflare Pages for front-end hosting will allow you to press the advantage of limitless bandwidth and a free plan.
2. Use Digital Ocean for back-end infrastructure with free 2-month $200 credit at the beginning.
3. For database and authentication needs - choose Supabase , but remember about the free tier’s limitations.
4. To provide a convenient experience for your users - integrate Crisp .
5. To have a more streamlined analytics’ experience - choose Plausible over Google Analytics.
6. The usage of hCaptcha will provide a free and easy-to-integrate Captcha’s solution.
7. Self-hosting with Coolify provides you with a customizable and cost-effective solution.
8. To save time and money for branding - use Namelix .

Front-end Hosting: Cloudflare Pages

Cloudflare Pages - a great choice for hosting your client-side’s application. And the existence of the free plan with unlimited bandwidth speaks for itself.

Cloudflare Pages provides a scalable and secure platform for your front-end. SSL encryption, custom domains, and continuous integration, deployment (CI/CD) pipelines - all of these features are included in the free plan.

Back-end Infrastructure: Digital Ocean

For back-ending infrastructure a lot of indie makers prefer to use Digital Ocean .

Renting a Linux Virtual Machine (VM) or "droplet" is much more affordable than other cloud providers can offer. You can face some difficulties during setting up a droplet, but there are a large number of helpful tutorials that will simplify the process.

Digital Ocean provides free 2-month $200 credit. So you can try out Digital Ocean without paying.

Database and Authentication: Supabase

Supabase is a PostgreSQL-based database-as-a-service that is perfect for launching your SaaS due to its free tier.

The simpleness of UI provides easy Supabase’s integration into your application. Real-time data synchronization, authentication and authorization are included in the free tier.

Keep in mind that Supabase may not be the appropriate choice, especially if you're looking for a NoSQL database.?

Customer Support: Crisp

Crisp is also a popular customer support platform with a free tier.

A single code line is the only thing that you will need for integrating Crisp into your application. Moreover, Crisp provides a convenient support experience for the users.

A message box, website analytics and a customizable dashboard - all of these you can try while having the free tier.

Analytics: Plausible > Google Analytics

Surely, the majority of us still use Google Analytics, but some of us understood that Plausible offers a more streamlined experience. Thus, Plausible is a great alternative.

Pay $10 and get access to page views, bounce rates and referrers. So if you want a simple and easy-to-use analytics platform - choose Plausible.?

Spam prevent: hCaptcha

As in the previous case, we have two similar options: the most popular - reCaptcha and less popular but still useful - hCaptcha .

hCaptcha is a free and simple-to-integrate Captcha solution that provides a strong measure’s security for your application. So this tool can prevent spam and abuse no worse than reCaptcha.

Self-hosting: Coolify

Coolify is a great option for self-hosting, if you prefer so. Coolify offers the opportunities for managing all your projects/resources from one dashboard and automating tasks like CI/CD.

Coolify copies the Vercel/Heroku experience on the cheap, providing the flexibility to adjust your setup as you need. It can handle all the levels of your configurations: from the simple ones to more complex ones, including load-balancing.

Branding: Namelix

When branding, then Namelix . Namelix helps to solve any branding problems: finding a name, creating a brand identity, and even choosing colors for your SaaS.

The usage of Namelix assists you to save your money and time for more important things. It turned branding into a?breeze, so say thanks to it and start using it!

Conclusion: Keep Pushing Forward

To launch a SaaS without any investments means to have and follow a detailed plan. Thus, choosing the right services for each step of your plan is very significant. As they can easily save your money and time or easily waste them. So, if you are into the first option - take into the account the services listed above.

Now, let’s review some pleasant statistical facts: solo founders are succeeding in launching and growing their SaaS projects.

The global SaaS market is expected to reach $232 billion by 2025,? growing at a CAGR of 18.3%, due to Gartner’s report. Additionally, a Statista’s examination released that 78% of small businesses are using an average of 10-15 SaaS tools per business.

The numbers are promising:

• The SaaS market is expected to account for 45% of the total software market by 2025 (Source: IDC)
• 92% of SaaS companies report using cloud infrastructure, with 61% AWS’ using and 45% Azure’s using (Source: Datadog)

Some notable examples of solo founders that are raising millions of dollars in funding:

• Notion, founded by Ivan Zhao, raised $275 million in funding in 2022 (Source: Crunchbase)
• Airtable, founded by Howie Liu, raised $735 million in funding in 2022 (Source: Crunchbase)

These inspiring stories demonstrate to us that launching a SaaS being a solo founder is possible and potentially profitable . So, turning any idea into a successful business is what you can do.?

But remember that you must be resourceful and flexible during the launching of a SaaS. Applying free or low-cost services is the way to validate your ideas. The keys for launching the perfect SaaS is to keep costs low, be flexible and focus on your users.

Originally posted at Setproduct Blog ?? https://www.setproduct.com/blog/launching-saas-with-zero-investments