Ramping up a SaaS quickly with a starter kit
I can't stop myself jumping back into the game
Long time no see! After a longer break than expected, I’m getting back in the SaaS game.
You may remember than I previously tried to make an app that leveraged Etsy’s API. Given the state of that API (pretty unmaintained and hard to get approval), I nuked the idea before getting too far into it, but then everything fizzled out with the summer.
For this project, I’m looking mostly to have shipped something, so I get over the hurdle of shipping a SaaS and can try out other, more complex ideas later on.
For me, this means that:
It’ll have a few external bits of dependencies like emails and Stripe, but not built on top of another platform that time around.
It will be a product for SaaS builders, for which I have more of an audience than Etsy sellers.
I’ll go more with the pre-built tool from my starter kit instead of modify it too much.
I’m using another starter for this, this time https://makerkit.dev instead of DivJoy (referral link since I like them enough to keep plugging them!).
I tried to wrangle TypeScript into DivJoy but that was a bad idea and it slowed me too much. I was not a big TypeScript fan at first, but I now can’t live without it for refactoring.
The MakerKit starter is based on Next.js and Supabase. I didn’t really like my last Next.js experience, but I’m slowly warming up to it now that I have less TypeScript issues.
I already started doing feature work after an hour or two of poking around since I didn’t have to start from scratch and had some existing features to look at (and great documentation), so it’s a big win.
For moving fast, I do find it easier to have just one place where all code lives instead of separate projects and languages for backend and frontend. I still think separate is the way to go for a big project where you can hire for different expertise, but Next.js may just be the sweet spot to ship a solo project quickly.
Hang around for more content about building a SaaS as I dig into Makerkit some more!
Ways I can help you
Get your cozy, handmade wool socks at https://manibas.com.
For my Canadian friends preparing their garden, I have a nano business selling seeds from my garden at https://sentiersperdus.com/en. Sorry, due to various phytosanitary concerns, it’s hard to ship those outside Canada.
Also, don’t hesitate to reply to this email if you want to chat, or connect on Twitter