Editing How I’d Build a SaaS Startup in 2025

[[file:How_I’d_Build_a_SaaS_Startup_in_2025.jpg|650px]]

Motivation: Why SaaS is finally Easier.
A friend recently hit me up with the classic question:
Hey David, I have this idea for a SaaS. Can I pick your brain?
We jumped on a call and ten minutes in, I had this moment of clarity:
“Man…building SaaS today is so much easier than it used to be.”
I remembered the early days- installing and configuring NGINX, debugging localhost at 1AM, reverse engineering flows, picking which NoSQL or SQL flavor is least likely to bite me three months in. 😵‍💫
Back then, building a product felt like building a rocket in a cave with spare parts and no rocket-scientist degree.

Today? You’re operating a fully stacked Starship from your browser — with copilots.
“In 2016, I built an Angular and play! Java application over couple of weeks but I spent nights fighting and debugging those OAuth flows. Today with supabase? Auth in 5 minutes … never again.”
So if you’re thinking about starting a SaaS, 2025 is the best time in history to do it. And this post is your no-fluff, founder-to-founder cheat sheet for going from idea 💡 to revenue 💰 → FAST.

🎯1. Product over Theory
“Solve pain. Make it real. Then build.”
Let’s get one thing straight: NOBODY cares about your idea.
I learned this the hard way.
Real Talk: Back in 2014, I launched a course and professor rating platform in Hong Kong called Triklo. We pivoted three times. Our brilliant idea? Psychological tests that matched students with professors based on their learning styles. We spent months building it. Turns out… nobody cared. Students didn’t want learning style matches → they wanted easy A’s and less homework. Can you blame them?
We cared way more than our users did. And that’s the lesson: solve their pain, not your fantasy.
Your job?
1. Find a pain people will pay to remove. 2. Make it go away — even if just 30%. 3. Do it in a user friendly way.
That’s it!
How? Boot up ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity and run a prompt like this:
“You are a potential user of X. Your job depends on solving [pain Y]. What frustrates you about current tools? What would be the simplest thing that would make your life easier? Be honest, practical, and blunt.”
Do this 10 times with variations.
Then:
* 		Write down the 3 core features that solve the pain by at least 30%.
* 		Make sure there’s a clear before vs. after.
* 		Keep it brutally simple. No dashboards, no taggins no 8 panels. Just a search bar and one damn button. That’s it!
MVP = Done.

🧪 2. Proof of Concept First (Not Code)
Please don’t be that person who:
* 		Buys a domain.
* 		Opens VS Code.
* 		Starts coding the login page.
❌ No.
👉 Instead: Go to loveable.dev or similar tools (Typedream, Softr, Framer, etc). Build a fake but clickable UI that simulates the real thing.
Why?
Because validation beats imagination.
You’re not here to build cool tech. You’re here to build a business. Businesses operate on economics, not code elegance.
Make it fast, make it work, and make sure someone wants it.
Talk to 5–10 potential users. Don’t explain the tool. Give them a micro problem and watch how they use your clickable prototype.
Screen record if you can. Watch it again in silence. You’ll notice friction points. Confusion. Delight moments.
That feedback loop is GOLD 💎.

🖼️ 3. User Experience Is the Product
Let’s be real, you and I are spoiled users.
Everything we use daily: Notion, Instagram, Netflix, Spotify, Apple — is polished to a shine. Even boring enterprise tools are starting to get fun.
So your MVP needs to feel good. Even if it’s janky underneath, the first click, first success, and first 10 seconds matter.
If you’re building for B2B? Doesn’t matter that much. Humans use your tool. And humans like beauty, clarity, and delight.
Pro tip: Good UX ≠ fancy design. It’s clarity + focus + no surprises.
You don’t need a designer. You need:
* 		Templates from Vercel
* 		UI inspiration from existing apps
* 		A color palette from Tailwind UI
Style like an artist. Then remix like a hacker.

🔧4. MVP Stack for Speed
Alright. Validation done. People want it. They “got it” when you showed the demo.
Time to build.

Here’s my go-to SaaS stack in 2025:
[[File:SaaS stack 2025.jpg|650px]]

Why this works:
* 		Fullstack TypeScript = same language everywhere.
* 		React + API Routes = no separate backend needed.
* 		Supabase = Auth, DB, Storage, Queues. All out-of-the-box.
* 		Zero DevOps needed to get to your first user.

🧠 5. Why Vibe Code Isn’t Enough
“Wait David… can’t I just prompt GPT or use Uizard and have it build the app for me?”
Short answer: Yes, but you’ll regret it. 😅 These tools are phenomenal for PoC and prototyping.
But once you get to:
* 		Complex logic
* 		Real-time feedback
* 		Payments
* 		Edge cases
* 		User feedback loops
You’ll realize:
Vibe code ≠ Production code.
AI-generated code often:
* 		Lacks modularity
* 		Has huge files
* 		Includes weird hacks
* 		Is brittle to change
One guy I know used Loveable + Cursor to build his entire app. Then Stripe changed something, some 3rd Party APIs too and the whole flow broke with zero logging. Don’t be that guy. He is now desparately looking for software-engineers that want to dive into that mess. And don’t get me started on hallucinations…
So sure — generate the base. But refactor like an adult developer. Or hire one.
This is especially important if you’re building something serious — like a B2B tool, financial SaaS, or anything handling sensitive data.

💸 6. Get Paying Users Early
The moment your MVP works and isn’t totally embarrassing — ship it.
Yes, your MVP will suck. It should and if it doesn’t, you waited too long.
Post it to:
* 		Reddit
* 		LinkedIn
* 		Twitter (yes, it still works)
Even better:
* 		DM the 10 people you interviewed.
* 		Offer them access!
* 		Ask them to use it and give honest feedback.
* 		Ask them to pay.
Key goal:
Your first $1 matters more than your first 100 users.
Because that $1 proves someone values your work.
From here, you’ll:
* 		Iterate based on usage.
* 		Build real testimonials.
* 		Sharpen your messaging.
At this stage, you don’t need scale yet.
TL;DR — Your SaaS Launch Cheatsheet
* 		Start with pain, not features
* 		Use AI tools to simulate customer POV
* 		Build a clickable prototype using low/no-code
* 		Get feedback (shut up and listen!)
* 		Use Vercel + Supabase to go fullstack fast
* 		Don’t get fancy with design — copy good UX
* 		Use AI to generate code but own it
* 		Get your first paying user early
Final Thoughts: Build Like a Hacker, Think Like a CEO
Tech is no longer the blocker. The real bottleneck?
Your clarity of thought. Your understanding of people. Your ability to validate.
You are not a developer building a feature. You are a founder solving a problem and changing someone’s workflow.
The best SaaS startups today move like this:
* 		Think → Simulate → Test → Learn → Iterate → Sell → Repeat
That’s it. No VC pitch decks. No stealth mode. No 12-month roadmap.
Just building. Learning. Selling.
So if you’ve got an idea — go validate it today. You have all you need now!

Read the full article here: https://minkovski-d.medium.com/how-id-build-a-saas-startup-in-2025-05f61cbdfa35