I rebuilt most of my SaaS.
A few months ago, I thought the way to build a SaaS was to keep adding features.
So I did.
A landing page editor.
More customization.
More settings.
More everything.
Eventually I realized I was spending more time building than learning whether anyone actually wanted the product.
While browsing Indie Hackers, I came across an article called "The SLC is the New MVP" by Jason Cohen:
https://longform.asmartbear.com/slc/
It completely changed how I thought about building products.
Instead of asking "What's the smallest version I can ship?", I started asking "What's the simplest version that solves one problem really well?"
So I reworked most of GetWaitly around that idea.
I removed features that weren't essential, simplified the onboarding, and focused on helping founders launch a waitlist as quickly as possible.
The product finally feels like the one I wanted to build from the beginning.
Now the challenge has changed.
Instead of asking "What feature should I build next?", I'm asking "Can I find people who will actually pay for this?"
That's what I'm focusing on now: talking to founders, writing content, and learning how to get my first paying customers.
Has anyone else changed the way they build products after reading something that completely shifted their perspective?
I like the shift in thinking. One thing I'd keep testing is whether simplifying the product also sharpened who it's for. Removing features creates value only if it makes the right customers recognize themselves more quickly.
This is a lesson a lot of founders learn the hard way. The transition from "building features" to "building a business" changes everything. Curious to see how the waitlist approach works distribution is often the hardest part after the product is ready.