The SaaS Playbook, Rob Walling, 2023
The book provides a practical roadmap for bootstrapping and scaling a SaaS business, emphasizing a step-by-step approach to building sustainable revenue and market fit. Walling shares insights on customer development, pricing strategies, and creating defensible businesses through strategic positioning and smart execution.
Top 3 Learnings:
- The Stair-Step Approach—start with simple, repeatable revenue sources through organic marketing channels before moving to standalone SaaS products to achieve greater control over time and income.
- Market understanding comes from conversations, not assumptions—engaging with customers through thoughtful questions helps identify real pain points and validate demand before scaling.
- Building a moat is key to long-term success—integrations, brand strength, and high switching costs provide defensibility, while relying solely on unique features is a false security.