Is my SaaS idea viable | Hacker News Reader

Is my SaaS idea viable

7 pointsMounir-b15 comments

Hi guys,

i'm seeking your knowledge, i've arrived in a new country where i have no friends at the moment, so it's tough to brainstorm ideas.

My SAAS idea is behind setting goals and sticking to it.

As everyone know, setting goals and commiting to it is very hard if you don't have the mindset. Even if you write it down, put everything in a calendar, it require commitment.

So, to 'force' you to do so, my idea is having someone else who have goals too, and each week they schedule a meeting either in person around a coffee, or video call or simple phone call, and list goals that needs to be done for the next week(or 2 weeks or 1 month).

Each week, each person list the goals and if they've done their homeworks. if someone don't finish they will feel miserable and

So the idea is this: - Find a person in a relatively similar life position as you - Schedule a meeting with them every week (or every 2 weeks, or month) - Define a list of goals for yourself - Communicate them to your new friend (they'll do the same to you) - Write them down - Have them all done by the time you meet again - Rinse/repeat

Just the accountability aspect alone is enough to get things done.

Also, it helps to sit down for short time and actually think about what you want to accomplish short-term.

One of the biggest benefits of this exercise is establishing a stronger relationship with your new friend.

So what do you think guys?

Maybe! It doesn’t sound like a SaaS. It sounds like a community/social network.

You can build this asan MVP in an hour using google sheets and no code tools. Get them to meet on Zoom or one of the better web-based video conferencing systems. So maybe do that first and then try to pitch people to sign up for $1 and then slowly increase the price.

You need to figure out how you’ll reach people.

I think if you can create a lot of useful content around setting goals that might help. People come for the content and then might decide to upgrade to the service.

I am part of a weekly goals phone call. Where we have accountability for our goals. This is a men's personal development group and over the last year. We have not collectively, failed at our individual goals for the week. This is because, our group consequence is to drink our own piss. If 50% of the group fails at our goals.

Just having personal 'accountability' is not enough. Consequences are powerful motivators. Other consequences that have worked... $50 donations to a non-profit that the individual dislikes greatly.

I will add this personal anecdote. These goals calls have often been the only reason I got difficult things done. Like going back to the gym, eating well, consistently exercising. It is all too easy to procrastinate.

Your program could be beneficial to so many, to improve their lives. Coaching at a discounted, mass-scale would be amazing!

Thank you for your anecdotes and sharing what you've been through.

i have to think of a motivator other than drinking own piss lol $$ donations is good but if i go further, i can organise each month a draw from a list of goal achievers and send him a big chunck of cash... that would be a good motivator i think? what's your thoughs ??

of course the guy who have won get out of the list for futur prizes

Very interesting. Do you mind sharing how to become a part of this group. Asking for myself as I like the idea and would like to join.

I've seen similar things. Also aware of 'boss as a service'[0].

One funny thing I have read someone do is give a cheque to a friend. The cheque is for an organization with values against the issuer's values. The person gave instructions "If I don't X done by Y, send them the cheque".

The person reported that they have achieved their goals and got X done by Y.

- [0]: https://bossasaservice.life/

thank you, i find it way too overkill

i was thinking about going freemium, i think it has potential to be great.

It's a good idea. However there are 2 challenges you'll need to figure out in tandem which adds an additional layer of challenge: (1) as mentioned - you'll need to build a network of people to attract people (i.e., chicken & egg problem), (2) you'll need to not only do (1) but also build the tooling for people to set goals, track, schedule, etc.

you are right, as of now i am not into outreach/SEO/marketing at all, but will learn in the process

for challenge 2 i can handle it, i am a web developer and can implement all that stuff

but as you said, i need to showcase the benefit of that saas and get traction on it

thanks for the insight, appreciate it

Nice idea, I've seen similar accountability groups pop up on various platforms and it makes sense that a platform would appear to serve that need.

However this is a catch-22 kind of problem: this platform needs people, but people won't join it unless there are people using it. So, how do you intend to get your first 100 users?

thank you.

great question, i did not thinked about it yet but i can do a freemium saas,

let's say you can find users in same subject / goal as you and if you want to use its full potential you have to subscribe.

i can think of a calendar integration, maybe a video call, a reminder, a todo list with alert ( you get alert to remind you have this task to do), probably getting your partner's advancement into his goals in real time etc...

I run a mastermind group that sounds similar to your idea. You could try that, maybe make your own mastermind group. I'm thinking of making a public one that's paid though, for accountability.

I think you should offer “executive” coaching as a service - mastermind groups would be a feature for the community for networking purposes and 2nd level of empowerment. Think mastermind groups.

love the idea thanks for the tips

I like that idea. Whether or not it's viable depends a lot on user-friendliness and your ability to attract users.

thank you, i need to brainstorn it.

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