← All hustles
💻 Software
15–30 hrs/wk

Micro-SaaS

Build a small SaaS tool solving a specific pain point. Can scale to $10k-$100k+ MRR with the right niche.

Startup cost
$500–$3,000
Time to first $
~21 days
Break even at
23 subscribers/mo
Following
8.1K
Overview

The ratings, in full

Difficulty
Startup cost
Income ceiling
Scalability
Time to first $

Who can help

SaaS Dev
Onboarding PM
Pricing
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Videos

9 walkthroughs worth watching

6 more walkthroughs

All-Access opens the rest, each with a written summary and timestamped jump points so you can skip to the part you need — for $120/year.

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Break-even

The number that decides it

At this playbook's own planning figures, covering $425 of monthly running costs takes:

23 subscribers a month

You keep about $19 per subscriber after fees and delivery costs.

Run your own numbers

That figure assumes this playbook's prices and costs. Members get the calculator: change the price, the fees, the delivery cost, the churn — and watch the break-even move before spending a cent.

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Economics

What the maths has to do

ARPU net planning
$19
Monthly revenue target
$1,000

Pricing

Subscription
9–49per month — Start simple (1–2 tiers + annual option)

Baseline costs

Note
App + DB/Auth + analytics + error tracking
Hosting tools per month
50–200

Paths to target

  • ≈ 60 subs @ $19/mo
  • or 40 subs @ $29/mo
  • or 20 subs @ $49/mo

Launch velocity

Week 1
Problem/ICP narrowed, 10 interviews booked
Week 2 to 4
MVP with manual backend; first 3–5 paying testers
Week 5 to 8
Onboarding improvements; Product Hunt/HN launch; hit $1k MRR

Monetization notes

  • Charge from day 1 (free trial ≤ 14d or usage-limited free tier).
  • Annual plan at 10–20% discount; add seat-based or usage add-ons later.
  • Keep pricing pages clean: one 'recommended' plan aligned to ICP job.

Calculator defaults

Paid CAC
120
Paid share
40
Unit price
$19
Hustle type
subscribers
Payment fee %
2.9%
Monthly churn rate
6
Monthly fixed cost
$120
New customers per month
10
Variable cost per customer
$1.50

Estimated gross margin

85–90%

Budget

What it costs, line by line

Build to first sale
$500 – $3,000

Caps at $3,500 fully loaded

Sales & marketing to $1k/mo
$300 – $1,200

Per 30 days

The itemised budget

The top-line range is above. Members get every line under it — what each tool, sample and ad test costs at lean, standard and fully-loaded, so you know what you're committing to before you commit.

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What you’ll need

The kit, and what it runs you

  • Coding skills (or hire dev)Free
  • Hosting + tools$50 – $200per month
  • Build time$2 – $6months to MVP
  • PatienceFreeslow initial growth

Everything above: $52 – $206 to get started.

Recommended stack

Hosting

Vercel
Render

$0–$20/mo · Vercel free tier

DB/Auth

Supabase
Clerk

$0–$25/mo · Supabase free tier

The rest of the stack

Every remaining tool this playbook recommends, what each one costs, and which free tier is good enough to start on.

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Checklist

8 steps, in order, costed

  1. 1

    Identify problem via Reddit, forums, Twitter

    Build: FreeMarketing: Free
  2. 2

    Validate with 10 potential users

    Build: FreeMarketing: Free
  3. 3

    Build MVP (manual backend OK)

    Infra, UI kit, API credits

    Build: $200 – $800Marketing: Free

5 more steps in the full playbook

Unlock the rest — plus progress tracking, the break-even calculator and every other playbook — for $120/year.

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Risks

How this goes wrong

Wrong problem or bad timing

Low willingness to pay or incumbents already satisfy the job.

Watch these

  • WTP signal
    Leading
    % interviews agreeing to paid trialHealthy: ≥ 20–30%Act at: < 10%
  • Trial→Paid
    Lagging
    % trials converting to paidHealthy: ≥ 40–50%Act at: < 25%
  • Activation
    Leading
    Users hit ‘aha’ action in 1 sessionHealthy: ≥ 30–40%Act at: < 25%

What to do

  • Narrow ICP; re-interview; pivot to more painful sub-job.
  • Ship a single ‘aha’ flow; remove steps; block features behind the ‘aha’.
  • Price test early; require card for trial on premium ICPs.

The rest of the failure modes

Every remaining risk, with the metric that warns you it's happening, the reading that means act now, and what to do about it.

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Timeline

What the first months look like

Week by week

The milestone schedule this playbook is written around — what should be true by week one, week three and month three, so you can tell early whether you're behind.

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