Go solo or find a partner?
Newbie to IH... Long time builder though.
I currently run a dev shop, have for a while, and its going ok.
Mid way through this 25, I started to think about stopping running the dev shop and creating our own saas products that we can sell to the market. (AI playing a role in the changes of course )
By Nov that idea has been decided and slowing positioning from what we were, to what we are going to be....
That is to focus on niche saas products for niche problems, that we build and own.
I want to spend 2026, building out the 4 core products and growing them slowly as we onboard users.
Primarily through cold email, growing my social following on linkedin/x, newsletter of past customers and content etc..
No paid ads and staying away from large cost lead generation activites ( Cost on either $ or my time )
I am torn between trying to push these products out myself, or trying to find someone to join and help me grow them. (Not paid, but more as a co-founder on the products)
I have been building software for my clients through my agencies for 20+years, so everything about design, build, support etc is covered, but everything related to sales, marketing is a huge gap. (I think I know what to do, but lack the execution and procrastinate too much in this area. )
Is anyone else in this situation? How do you handle lead gen / sales / biz dev as a solo operator? What have you found works for you to help grow that doesn't take up all your day hours?
Thanks in advance
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Revenue-Share SaaS MVP - Stripe + Automation
Been solo for a while and can relate to the marketing gap.
One thing that shifted my perspective: marketing doesn't have to mean "convincing people to buy." It can mean "showing up where people already have the problem you solve."
Instead of creating content hoping for reach, I started monitoring discussions where people describe their pain points. Reddit threads, Quora questions, niche communities - places where people are actively asking for solutions. A single helpful reply there often converts better than a polished blog post that gets lost in the algorithm.
For niche SaaS specifically, your 20 years of client work is an underrated advantage. You know exactly what problems people struggle with because you've solved them hundreds of times. That domain knowledge IS the marketing - you just need a way to put it in front of the right people.
Cold email is fine but the conversion is brutal. Finding existing conversations where people are already raising their hand is way more efficient for solo operators.
Similar situation here — developer background, solo on a tech news aggregator, and marketing feels like a different language.
What's working for me so far: treating "build in public" as the marketing strategy itself. Every feature I ship becomes content. Every problem I solve becomes a post. It doesn't feel like marketing because I'm just documenting what I'm already doing.
The interview tool you mentioned is clever — turning talking into writing. I've found the same principle applies to community engagement: answering questions in forums like this naturally positions you as someone building in the space, without the "marketing" feeling.
One thing I'd push back on slightly: the gap might not be sales/marketing skills, but finding the version of marketing that fits how you already think. You clearly communicate well (this post is proof). The challenge is finding the channel where that communication style converts.
For niche SaaS specifically — have you considered that your 20 years of client relationships might be the distribution channel itself? Those people already trust you and know your work quality.
definitely as said by others. build yourself first. scale it how you want it, and then draft in partners to assist
Id say you build yourself as first. I did that, built myself at first and then when the project started to scale, I brought in some more people. The thing is that it depends on the scale of the project as well. Right now im young, 15 and started building simple projects where I could be CEO CTO and CMO all at once due to the small scale.
Each product could either stay small or go large... Depending really on the uptake. But goign solo then brining in people as I go is my default. I have had 2 biz parters in the past with varied levels of success.
I've got a great idea for an app that I need help with- I'm not a developer. I'm trying to set up a Revenue-Share Saas MVP - Stripe + Automation app where users commit to goals and are automatically charged penalties if they fail. No content, no coaching, no social feed- just rules, automation, and Stripe.
Love your energy and focus! It's really Amazing!
I’m also working on something that might help with exactly the challenge you mentioned about finding early users and monitoring conversations.
I built a Chrome extension called PulseOfReddit it tracks Reddit keywords and alerts you when relevant discussions pop up. It’s already helped me catch early conversations and validate ideas faster. I’m giving free access for the first 10 users if you want to try it.
Website:
pulseofredditcom
I went solo and honestly wouldn't change it for my situation.
Here's my take: bringing in a co-founder specifically to fill a gap you have (like sales/marketing) can create weird dynamics. You end up with someone who owns 20-50% of something they didn't build and might not fully understand. When product decisions come up, you're now in negotiation mode rather than just building what makes sense.
What's worked better for me: treating marketing like a dev problem. You already know how to break down complex systems and figure out what works. Cold email? That's just an API with response rates you can optimise. LinkedIn? A/B test your angles. You won't be amazing at it immediately but you'll get competent enough.
The interview content idea you mentioned above is exactly right - find the version of marketing that doesn't feel like marketing to you. For me it was building in public and sharing technical insights. The audience finds you rather than you chasing them.
20 years of client relationships is actually a huge asset. Those past clients already trust you. They're your warmest leads for new products. Have you thought about reaching out to see what problems they're still dealing with?
" You end up with someone who owns 20-50% of something they didn't build and might not fully understand." I found this with my last biz partner. I built it all and they never fully "got it". I then felt I had to check everyting all the time.
"treating marketing like a dev problem" - Good point, I think thats how we ended up with another product..... I turned creating content into a engineering problem to solve.
"For me it was building in public and sharing technical insights. The audience finds you rather than you chasing them." - Any advice on that one? I am trying to do a weekly newsletter on LKN, then doing social posts there and X every 2nd day. Any areas you found were better than others?
"Have you thought about reaching out to see what problems they're still dealing with?" - Not yet, most of them would be in my linkedin, so would get the newsletter when it goes out.
Great! I’m also working on something that might help with exactly the challenge you mentioned about finding early users and monitoring conversations.
I built a Chrome extension called PulseOfReddit it tracks Reddit keywords and alerts you when relevant discussions pop up. It’s already helped me catch early conversations and validate ideas faster. I’m giving free access for the first 10 users if you want to try it.
Website:
pulseofredditcom
The interview-style content thing is interesting, turning writing into talking feels kinda like cheating in a good way. Curious if it styas fun after the first few weeks though.
Cheating is just doing it right :)
I just couldnt deal with the same AI generated content for my sites, I wanted my thoughts, my voice, my ideas, and AI just helps extract it from my head and then document it for me. + Publish it as well to socials and the websites CMS.
I get the point though, I am now trying to build the habit of doing it each week. 15 minutes each day, means I have socials and article for each product done.
The product is something I will keep adding to over the year, so the fun side of building with it will still be there.
I am going to add in different voices so its different each time, I have also added in integrations to github / linear ( among others ), so that it can ask me why I build certain feature into the other products. ( I have my ide auto create linear tickets while developing, so that I can remember what I did each week).
Trying to make the barrier for entry for me lower. Its not that its hard to use, its just that I prefer to build, than to talk about what I have built, if that makes sense.
I feel this 100%. I'm a solo dev too, and I just realized that forcing myself to be a 'marketer' was killing my love for building.
I actually just listed my latest SaaS for auction this week specifically because I didn't want to do the daily marketing grind anymore. I'm pivoting to smaller, simpler tools (extensions) where the marketing is easier.
If you can find a partner who genuinely loves sales, do it. Otherwise, the solo marketing struggle is real and can lead to burnout fast.
Love your energy and focus! You're speaking the truth!
I’m also working on something that might help with exactly the challenge you mentioned about finding early users and monitoring conversations.
I built a Chrome extension called PulseOfReddit it tracks Reddit keywords and alerts you when relevant discussions pop up. It’s already helped me catch early conversations and validate ideas faster. I’m giving free access for the first 10 users if you want to try it.
Website:
pulseofredditcom
the burnout is what I have felt in my agency trying to market it.
At least products , your ICP is alot more locked down. Making the effort alot more focused.
I am trying to also, if its appropriate, create products to help me with the marketing effort.
For instance, I hate writing content, I am not a born writer, BUT I love interviews, I can answer questions about my business or ideas for days on end.
SO We built a tool that we turned into its own product, that uses the data from your site (+ ga, gsc, reddit etc etc) to build topics, it them builds questions to ask you.
Then built a voice agent, to basically act like someone interviewing you. We then turn that transcript into content for web and socials.
This helped turn "the suck" of doing something, into something that I enjoy. (Thinking of turning that same tool into something to help with video as well)
How did you get your first customers, enough so that you were able to sell it off?