From Zero to $10M ARR: The 13 step playbook & roadmap I would use today as a first-time solo founder building a new SaaS

+ breaking down Marc Andreesen's Moby Dick theory for SMBs should work with enterprise clients  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Welcome back to issue #11 of the Zero to $10M ARR newsletter. It feels the like world (of SaaS and software) took a quantum leap over the past 2 weeks. With Claude 3.5, Cursor, v0, and Replit, a reality where non-technical individuals can build and scale software products with nothing more than natural language and some product management know-how is at our doorsteps. So with today’s newsletter, I wanted to dive into a thought experiment. If I were starting from scratch as a solo founder building a new SaaS today, what would I do? The teaser? I’d do everything differently than I did 15 years ago with Groove... Without further ado. Here is what we have on the docket for today's newsletter: - My entire (and exhaustive) roadmap of the 13 steps (and 3 phases) I would take if I were a first time, solo-founder today vs what I did 15 years ago. - Breakdown of Marc Andreessen's Moby Dick theory on how startups / SMBs should approach working with enterprise clients. - A few of the most thought provoking pieces of content I saw this week. ​ Let’s dive in! How I’d Do It Today - What my strategy would be if I was a first time founder starting a new SaaS from scratch, today. 10 years ago I took my savings and went all in on Groove as a solo, non-technical founder - a massive risk, but it paid off. But the world has changed. If I were starting from scratch today. I’d do it everything differently. Here are the 13 steps (and 3 phases) I would take: Phase 1: Preliminary Phase - Acquire the tools to be a one man shop - Take 90 days, learn v0, cursor, replit, claude prompting ​ Phase 2: R&D Phase - Is it a problem that is lighting people’s hair on fire? Time constraint this phase to a week - Write a LinkedIn post about what you want to build (repeat until you get a “hit”) ​ This may seem daunting, but if you can't get a post about the idea and solution to go "mini viral" there is a strong indicator that the demand is just not there. ​ This is the best way (and fastest feedback loop) for determining an idea worth pursuing aggressively. ​ - Is the post a hit? Then write a 5 Day Email Series lead magnet about your idea and solution to collect emails - must get at least 50 signups in a week. ​ - Use Convertkit as your ESP + Carrd for landing page. ​ ​5 Day Email Series lead magnet landing page formula:​ ​ Headline: (Outcome) In 5 Days (Without {their major pain point}). ​ Big Email CTA ​ List out 3-5 “things” the person is going to learn or receive, from your seriesHow they will achieve 3 desirable outcomes ​ Tell people what they are going to receive/learn each day of your 5-Day series ​ Here's an example: [(=)​ ​ - Request a 15 minute interview or short survey at the end of the email series for every person who signs up ​ - Interview at least 25 of 50 signups ​ - Pre-sell at least 5 of these people (they give you a refundable initial payment before you build the product in exchange for their beta usage) ​ Hint: If the problem is pressing enough, they will pay ​ This is not about the money but about validating the problem ​ Phase 3: Build Phase - You’ve achieved the above, now it’s time to build, time constraint this v1 build to a week Head over to [today’s LinkedIn post]() to read about Phase 3. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments - what’s your take? Marc Andreessen’s Moby Dick theory explained The risks of relying on big-companies & enterprise clients as a startup, and how to deal with them (this is why I focus on SMBs). For those of you who don’t know Marc Andreesen - he is a legendary founder and partner at A16Z. He is perhaps the single most knowledgable person on earth at the intersection of software/startups/growth. Full article: Breakdown: ​ Favorite takeaways from the week Below are a few of the most insightful posts, stories, and takeaways I’ve seen from across the internet. I hope these capture your interest and get you thinking the same way they did for me :) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Alright, that does it for issue #11 of the Zero to $10M ARR newsletter! See you next week! Alex CEO & Founder, [Groove](=) & [Helply]()​ P.S. I’ll also be posting on LinkedIn seven days a week, 365 days a year. I’d love to hear your feedback on the new newsletter in the comments of my latest post. I read and reply to every single one. ​ Don't want to hear from us? You can [unsubscribe here](.