Ask HN: Finding a business partner to sell my SaaS?

> The product needs just a little more work

That's a thing I've heard many times before when 'a little' was eventually so long that the whole thing got scrapped.

Can you qualify that better ?

Maybe outlining what still needs to be done, you might really be within sight of the finish line and yet that single line might scare people off.

Nothing serious or too time consuming. More in line with "every piece of software can be made better."

Here's what's done: The data model is built, online forms to enter the data, reporting, an easy to administer setup system and accept new clients, easy integration with paypal subscription. It's a multi-tenant system, so we can have lots of companies sign up and it's fairly easy to add new customers. It can also be packaged as a "behind the firewall" system. It's also built on a flexible platform in case the clients want to add fields or modify the application to suit their needs. There's a rest-like interface for integration into existing information systems the clients may already be using. Tons of security setups for multiple groups and who which information they can view or enter. It works on mobile devices so client reps can enter data while out on the road. Lots of pharmaceutical sales people will love this capability.

What still needs to be done is setting up the brochure site to sell the product. Create a blog and start adding content to get people involved. I've bought a great domain name that will help with SEO. There's also some aesthetic stuff like gradients and moving form fields around, but this can be done with drag and drop.

It's ready now to do a demo for clients. My thought is put up a brochure site where potential customers can sign up for a webinar and we can walk them through the site and how it works. It's not very complicated really.

More work from the business side would be finding the decision makers and approaching them. Someone with a Rolodex would be very beneficial to the team.

I suspect the SaaS could sell for between $2,000 and $5,000 a month. Behind the firewall systems on the order of $50,000 + maintenance fees.

One idea is to use LinkedIn and find sales & business development people (perhaps preferably with an entrepreneurial background) in the health care device/pharmaceutical industry. Then craft a nice, persuasive email and try to pitch them your idea. You'll probably have to pay for LinkedIn's premium service though, but if you can find a good, trust-worthy partner, it might be worth it.

Part B of that idea is to look for a LinkedIn group within that industry, join it, and look around for potential business partners that way.

A second idea is to try this new service called http://founderdating.com/ , though it's only in a few cities right now and doesn't seem to be running all that often.

I'd recommend trying to get at least 3 people who are interested & willing to help, then interviewing each and checking their references.

Just my $0.02. Good luck!

I'm a "biz guy" and you caught my curiosity and I would like some more info...

What are the coming reporting changes that the industries are required to adapt to? (Links are fine) Also when is soon for the required reporting?

Have you been developing this with input from potential user/customers, aka Customer Development? How do you know many of them have no way of doing this now?

You can respond here or via email if you want. Mine is in my profile. Lots of other questions...

Where are you located? I assume that you'd want a partner that lives in your local area.

I work remotely with people on different continents, so I think they don't need to be local. Probably isn't going to be a local person because I live in a rural area with few technical/business people anyway.

I use gotomeeting / phone and skype to work remotely with people.