10 Steps to Start a Software as Service Company

Starting a software as a service company can be difficult. It requires a lot of upfront work and effort since you need resources and expertise which can become quite costly, however the payoff is often worth it. The SaaS industry’s market capitalization in 2020 is approximately $110 Billion and is expecting a growth of 14.5% in the next year. In this blog post, we will walk through 10 steps to make starting your own software easier!

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It’s important to know what you want before you start!

This will help determine your target audience and the features of your product. If, for example, I wanted to make a website builder software, it would be better suited for small business users rather than big ones, since big businesses often hire their own developers in order to create their site. However, small businesses lack the resources, and investment necessary to either hire experts on the field or outsource it. So, creating a website builder would become quite handy for startups or even individuals which have a hand for technical stuff and can follow easy instructions, so they can create a simple website for their business or personal needs.

Determine your target audience

Who is your product for? This will help you narrow down which features to provide and also helps understand how to best market the products or services they need most! If I wanted to make a website builder software, my potential customers would be small business owners, and individuals who would want to start a business journey by creating the website on their own rather than large business whose needs are greater and a simple website builder wouldn’t probably get the job done. Knowing your target customers can save you time and help you focus on the right features.

Brand your Software

Choose a business name, brand, logo, and trademark for your software. This is an important step that many founders forget about until it’s too late – make sure that these things are cohesive with the feel and message of the product. It’s always important for people to start recognizing the software with its name, logo and probably a slogan. 

Do Legal Registration

Register your company with the state or country that you’ll be operating in! You can do this online, through a lawyer, by mail – whatever is easiest for you to handle. The first step here will depend on where you’re located, so do some research on the documents that you will need in order to register your business and start right away with operating in a legal manner

Develop your Value Proposition

What is the story you’re going to tell about why people should use your software? What are the benefits of doing business with you? How can customers get started on their own without hiring anyone else? These three questions will help shape how that Value Proposition looks. It’s always a good idea to give your customers a free trial period so they can get accustomed with your software, and find out how it helps them with their business processes. A free trial could turn them into potential customers if they like and see the value in the software. 

Find Customers

If you want to launch a software development business, now’s a great time to start reaching out to potential customers and getting them on board with your idea! There are many ways of going about this task; it could be through email marketing, social media platforms like Facebook Ads or LinkedIn, or even through trade shows.

Find Advisors

It’s always helpful to have someone on your team with experience in the market and industry you’re going into who can provide invaluable expertise and guidance when needed. It may be difficult for a startup founder to find mentors willing to take them under their wing, so it’s good to find a potential advisor from the get-go. Many of the steps that a business who develops a software to put out in the market undergoes for the first time, could be made easier if you find the right people to advise you since they’ve been down the same road before. 

Find Investors

While not every startup needs money, you’ll have an easier time running your business if you can pay for things like advertising and office space without going into debt or taking out loans. It may be helpful to have investors on your team before you start to help advise and guide your company as it grows. Every part of the process can run smoother if there are funds available to use for development, marketing and hiring people with the right skills and experience to help you through your journey.

Start Planning

The earlier in the planning stage you are, the better off you’ll be with everything from figuring out an idea to getting experts on board. You may not know exactly what direction or form your startup will take, but you should at least start to do some brainstorming as soon as possible. Having every part of the process figured out and planned could save you money and time in the long run. Begin looking for an enterprise resource planning system designed to help you keep all your ducks in a row, and aware of everything going on in your business.

Assess the Competition

Before you launch a software development business, it’s essential to know what other companies are out there that might do the same thing. What products or services does your potential customer base currently use? How can you provide those customers with something they want from you (and not just something they need)? Also, an important part of creating a software is by checking what competitors have already done, and find the sweet spot they’re missing which potential customers want, and develop that very same thing so you can differentiate yourself from your competitors. 

Conclusion

SaaS startups do not have to be limited to certain industries, since the need for software expands in many business fields. In fact, there are many types of software as a service startup that would make sense for any company. The key is taking time and making sure you have the right product or services before starting your software to be successful in the long run.

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