Lessons from building + launching my first SaaS

Hey IH, Just went through my first product launch (GiftWeGo on PH). Thought I'd share what I learned in case it helps others.

What I'd do differently:

1. Build audience BEFORE launch - I launched with 0 followers -Momentum died within 24 hours - Lesson: Start building in public from day 1

2. Talk to users earlier - Built in isolation for 6 months - Now questioning everything - Lesson: Validate constantly, not just at launch

3. No distribution plan beyond launch day - Focused all energy on PH launch - Day 2: crickets. No plan for sustained growth - Lesson: Launch is day 1, not the finish line

4. Tech choices (what worked) - Astro is amazing for performance - MongoDB flexible for iteration - Claude API made AI implementation easy

What's next: Getting out of my bubble. Talking to actual gift shoppers. Figuring out if this is worth pursuing.

Anyone else learning expensive lessons? 😅

Product: https://giftwego.com