Founder's Guide
The Complete SaaS Development Checklist
A stage-by-stage guide to building, launching, and scaling your SaaS product—from initial validation to exit-ready. Built from 50+ real-world checklists and Reddit war stories.
192 items • 7 stages
Stage 1 / 23 items
Idea Validation
Pressure-test your idea before writing code. Most SaaS products fail because founders validated interest, not willingness to pay.
Write the problem in one sentence without buzzwords
Identify the trigger moment when pain occurs
Document the current workaround people use
Define target user narrowly (not 'everyone')
Verify this is a need-to-have, not nice-to-have
Collect 10-20 real complaints with screenshots
Rewrite complaints in user's exact words
Assess pain frequency (daily/weekly/monthly)
Identify existing spend on alternatives
Document solutions they've already tried and abandoned
Validate willingness to PAY, not just interest
Get at least one paying customer before building more
Manually deliver the outcome once
Charge before you feel ready
Ask 'What would break this for you?' after manual delivery
Define the smallest useful outcome (not features)
Create explicit 'will NOT do' list
Choose single success metric
Identify your distribution channel BEFORE building
Consider friction over free (paid trials, waitlists)
Track paying customers, not signups
Launch to customers, not other founders
Only take feature feedback from paying users