Bidsketch is a profitable bootstrapped SaaS (subscription web app) that customers use to create client proposals. I launched Bidsketch working nights and weekends, and eventually grew it to a small team of four. Now we're looking for someone with Rails experience to join the team.
Some of the benefits:
- Work remotely
- Flexible schedule
- No layers of management and no investors or shrinking runway to worry about
- Fun and friendly team that gets stuff done
We currently have a great team of four :) I'm the founder -- I mostly do marketing and some lightweight coding. Nicole does customer success (which means she helps customers). Eric and Paul do a lot of the heavy lifting and spend most their time writing code. Our team page can be found here: https://www.bidsketch.com/about
I'm a big fan of outsourcing development as that was the route I chose to launch my product (http://www.bidsketch.com) in a much shorter time than it took when I was doing everything myself.
I outsourced the early code and design. Quality of both was shaky, but I only had $3,000 to put into it so I wasn't working with much. I later picked up on the last 25% of the development to get into a beta (since my cash ran out), but I was very glad I took this approach.
I've since been able to work with higher quality of developers and designers and improved both areas, but when you have a product that's solving a real problem, customers will be more than happy to pay for that shaky 1st version (as they did with mine).
That said, I have a dev background and learning Rails before outsourcing it was a big help. I know people that don't have a dev background and successfully outsourced dev of their products (I even helped a couple pick their developers), but it's a bit tougher and it helps if you have at least someone with a dev background that can help you pick the right developer.
You know, after I helped them out with picking a developer, they didn't ask for help once development started. I offered to help but they either didn't run into problems or didn't come to me when they did.
These are the ones that were successful at it...many more were not. But I don't know if the ratio is the same for people with/without dev experience (plus sample size is too small).
What I do know is that most:
1. Got help picking a developer initially
2. Had some guidelines on how to work with a developer
3. Had no development experience
4. Had to get learn how to outsource and made some mistakes (but eventually made it work)
Outsourcing is tough at first but it gets easier. Like any skill, you have to get better at it.
In any case, I do think it's a great idea to learn how to program so you're not so helpless if/when problems come up.
Ruben nailed it with this list. In my experience outsourcing is a continuum; it's not a never/always situation. Meaning you can increase your chance of success by having the factors Ruben mentioned above in place. I would also add that these factors make it easier to outsource your app:
1. Having dev skills
2. Building a mobile app or WP plugin (i.e., something simple) vs. a SaaS app (i.e. tons of moving parts and more ongoing maintenance)
3. Experience outsourcing in the past. It is absolutely a learned skill and the more you do it the better you get.
If you have none of the things Ruben and I have listed (so you're not a dev, you're building a SaaS or other complex app, it's your first time outsourcing, etc...) you have a very, very low chance of succeeding. And if you have every single one you're on the opposite end - IMO the swing could literally be from 10% chance to 90% chance of success depending on the factors you have in place.
Rob, rubeng, this is fantastic insight. It sounds like you have to start small to learn the ropes however ambitious you are. i.e. even if you want to build a SaaS app, if you've got no experience, you will likely fail.
So, if you're new to development, it's probably best to build small products (wp plugins, niche sites etc.) to build your portfolio, earn a little cash and more importantly increase your knowledge and experience. Amy, I'm not sure you would agree with this but I'd love to hear your views.
Aside: Rob, you mentioned that outsourcing is a continuum and something that needs to be learned. Is it possible that some people just get lucky with a great outsourced developer? For example, you've said on various podcasts that you're an advocate of VAs but have you had more than 1 or 2? Presumably, as soon as one works, you stick with him/her - perhaps that's luck rather than learning?
>>So, if you're new to development, it's probably best to build small products (wp plugins, niche sites etc.) to build your portfolio, earn a little cash and more importantly increase your knowledge and experience.
Early successes are huge not only for you learning the ropes of outsourcing/marketing and giving yourself a small financial cushion, but also for building your confidence that you can make this happen.
>>Rob, is it possible that some people just get lucky with a great outsourced developer?
Good point. This is definitely possible. In my list of the 3 factors above I should have added a 4th: You find an awesome developer, whether through luck, having a great network, or knowing how to hire.
But it's just another variable that impacts that continuum I mentioned and pushes you more towards that 90% or 10% end.
>>For example, you've said on various podcasts that you're an advocate of VAs but have you had more than 1 or 2? Presumably, as soon as one works, you stick with him/her - perhaps that's luck rather than learning?
My success rate at hiring and managing VAs, developers, designers, writers, etc... is waaay better than it was when I started (at least 2x better, maybe 3x). I attribute this to getting better at both hiring (i.e., choosing the right fit) and managing/delegating (i.e. having more skill with outsourcing).
> * So, if you're new to development, it's probably best to build small products (wp plugins, niche sites etc.) to build your portfolio, earn a little cash and more importantly increase your knowledge and experience. Amy, I'm not sure you would agree with this but I'd love to hear your views.*
Oh, of course I agree. One of the things I harp on over & over is the idea of stacking the bricks:
The whole concept says "Don't try to build a SaaS the first time. Build something small. Don't try to build a huge business the first time. Focus on selling SOMETHING." etc. :)
Not a prob! :) These were single people with a limited budget. I do have a Bidsketch customer that almost falls into this category (and I helped find a dev), but I didn't include him since he runs a small SEO shop where he's used to outsourcing and had tens of thousands to help him fund the development. Dane Maxwell, which Nathan mentions and doesn't have dev experience, also took the outsourcing approach in building his $40k+/month web app. Though he had a few years experience trying to bootstrap other apps before he was successful to that level.
I tested increasing prices without touching anything else and it resulted in significant revenue increase but I hit a local maximum as the segmenting was off and value communication needed to be improved. The right branding with the wrong pricing can actually hurt so it's extremely important to get both pricing and value messaging (including the qualitative stuff) right.
The brand and the price are not separate entities. The brand is the entity and the price is a property of the brand. If you change the price you modify the brand, but if you change the brand you completely change the price.
Sorry about that. What happened when you submitted the form? Did you receive a confirmation message saying that you'll receive an email? If so, you might want to check your spam folder in case it made its way there for some reason.
Two reasons for the email: 1. Marketing purposes. So I can send additional educational (and hopefully useful) content. 2. I actually take the name and email address then dynamically create a PDF proposal using that information on the cover page.
The execution is a bit sloppy as it was an experiment and quickly put together so I'll need to work on improving that now that I'll be keeping it.
I had more people signing up for the higher tier plans when I a/b tested the plan names. Don't remember what the numbers were exactly but it was interesting to see behavior change because of the plan names.
Have you watched Dan Ariely's TED talk on irrational decision making? Your revised pricing tiers reminded me of the discussion about tom, jerry, and "slightly ugly" jerry around the 15:00 mark. If you haven't seen it, it's interesting that you've stumbled on the effect independently.
You might find that further tweaks push more people to the agency tier by creating a "slightly ugly" agency instead of a "slightly ugly" studio -- freelancer.
I've wanted to a/b test my plan name but don't know of any good alternatives. I have a free WordPress plugin and have a paid-for version which adds more features so it's called generically 'Premium version'.
The people who buy it come from different backgrounds and I don't want to segment the product.
It's a recipe plugin and the premium version adds a nutrition tab to satisfy the nutritionists and category listing pages for people who want to organise their recipes more than what the free version allows.
Don't take it the wrong way, but you're trying to squeeze your users into the rigid frame of your preconceived notions about who they are. Changing people is a very difficult job. I understand you put a lot of effort into your product and feel entitled to steer it as you see fit, but it's far more productive to do what the topic post suggests - ask the users who they are and what they care about. In other words, reconsider your decision not to segment.
mmh how about "Hobby" and "Passion"? I got nothing. To be honest I'm not sure whether those features are a good way to diversify, but then again I probably don't know enough about your product.
This is not only the right thing to do, but you may notice higher retention rates in the grandfathered group. Now they're getting a great deal and may be reluctant to cancel.
I have a forum membership grandfathered at $8/mo from when I subscribed 7 years ago, which over the years has gone up to $50/mo for new members. Even if a few months go by where I don't visit the forum, I'm not going to let that thing lapse. :)
Bidsketch is a profitable bootstrapped SaaS (subscription web app) that customers use to create client proposals. I launched Bidsketch working nights and weekends, and eventually grew it to a small team of four. Now we're looking for someone with Rails experience to join the team.
Some of the benefits:
- Work remotely
- Flexible schedule
- No layers of management and no investors or shrinking runway to worry about
- Fun and friendly team that gets stuff done
We currently have a great team of four :) I'm the founder -- I mostly do marketing and some lightweight coding. Nicole does customer success (which means she helps customers). Eric and Paul do a lot of the heavy lifting and spend most their time writing code. Our team page can be found here: https://www.bidsketch.com/about
You can see more details and apply here: https://weworkremotely.com/jobs/2232-rails-developer