SaaS business equation
A successful SaaS business requires getting three things right
Market
Product
Distribution
Market
Market is the number of “people” who have a problem that you want to solve
Your market influences everything your SaaS business does
Including how big your business can be
Product
Product is a software asset that you build to solve the problem
Solving a meaningful problem well makes you indispensable
If your product is indespensible, you have product-market-fit
Distribution
Distribution is an engine that connects market + product
It cycles over and over (1) finding prospects in your market, and (2) convincing them to use your product
Cycling predictably and profitably is called product-distribution-fit (my name for it)
Valuation
If you get market + product + distribution aligned, you’ll gain market share
The value of your SaaS business is a function of
→ size of market
→ speed of market share gains
Iterating
Creating this alignment once is hard, and usually not good enough
Each is a moving target
Market needs change
Product competition intensifies
Distribution channels get saturated
Enduring success means constantly innovating + reinventing