
Ask HN: The Tools we used to build a SAAS. 1100/month in 6 wks. Favorite tools? - kumarski
Friend and I built http:&#x2F;&#x2F;linktexting.com[1] in a few days and launched it 6 weeks ago. Feedback welcome. Doryphores not.<p>http:&#x2F;&#x2F;populr.me[2] - Worked quickly to mock up the concept and show it to mobile app devs to get their feedback. pwd protection too. http:&#x2F;&#x2F;efabless.populr.me&#x2F;linktexting[3] (old mockup)<p>http:&#x2F;&#x2F;linktally.com[4] - Blog post popularity. Blogpostmetrics.com (built this with my friend)<p>[http:&#x2F;&#x2F;ifttt.com-[5] ] reminders.<p>http:&#x2F;&#x2F;jetstrap.com[6] Front end bootstrap changes. i like: http:&#x2F;&#x2F;webflow.com[7]<p>Google Alerts[8] - sms app distribution content.<p>Hnsearch.com[9] needs no explanation. Hn.algolia<p>Freelancer.com[10] to find workers for scraping emails of mobile app devs to find the best apps.<p>Producthunt.com[11] to find cool tools for every aspect of my startup.<p>Untorch.com[12] - for betalisting a product.<p>KillerStartups.com[13] - $169 to get listed in a featured blog post.<p>StartupLister.com[14] - $50 bucks and we got some paid traffic from it.<p>Leadfeeder.com[15] - free.<p>Compose.io[16] - for database shtuff.<p>Heroku.com[17] -- you know what it&#x27;s for. :)<p>Hipchat[18] - for team comms.<p>Stripe[19] - gotta love it.<p>Chrrp[20] for Stripe notifications.<p>ReferralSaasquatch[21] - for Customer referral 
maximization. Designed for SAAS.<p>Medium[22] We use this for blogging and had a few very viral posts (over 2K shares and 25K visits + 60% read rate.)<p>Twilio[25]<p>SSL Certificate purchased via Godaddy.com<p>Mandrill.[26]<p>YouCanBook.me (setup kumarovski.me) and it works great in terms of minimizing email time. Just send them the link and they&#x27;ll click on an available time.<p>What tools do you use for your SAAS?
======
anigbrowl
Interesting concept, but I can already use the Google Play store to install
stuff on an Android device from my desktop, so I'm not sure what problem
you're solving here - how is this approach more efficient than a clear link to
eh apps store, or conversely, if people ignore an app store link why do you
think they'll ignore a text? For stuff I may just 'want to try out' then I
very much prefer to go through the app store for the extra bit of security, as
opposed to a download link from who-knows-where.

Obviously you've already got a bunch of subscribers - well done! - so it has
some value, but talking about monthly income after 6 weeks seems a little
premature - my initial instinct was to flag it for spam. Might be better to
phrase it as '$1100 subscriber income in 6 weeks.'

Edit: 'Concept' refers to the underlying idea rather than the current state of
the product. If you don't like pedantry then you should probably eschew it in
your own responses.

~~~
kumarski
No longer a concept.

------
acesubido
Slightly off-topic, great job launching! You did ask for feedback on your
site, just pointing out a specific copy that was bolded out:

"You are losing customers right now. Desktop viewers of your website are
leaving without downloading the app..."

Here's a friendly tip from a conversation between Amy Hoy and Nathan Barry
that can be found here -- [http://nathanbarry.com/step-by-step-landing-page-
copywriting...](http://nathanbarry.com/step-by-step-landing-page-copywriting/)

Nathan: Good. I wrote out half a dozen headlines trying to get at the core
pain.

Amy: How would you feel, though, if a stranger came up to you and said “You’re
losing hundreds of sales.”?

Nathan: Who the hell are you to tell me what’s wrong with my business…

Amy: Right, me too. Not because you’re not interested in getting extra sales,
but because it SOUNDS like you’re being attacked.

Nathan: Good point.

Amy: I tell my students to be very careful with statements that might sound
accusatory.

~~~
kumarski
Hmmm... good point. I like the example and thanks for sharing the link.

~~~
justintbassett
I wonder if something more like, "Hundreds of sales are waiting" could work?

------
justintbassett
Nice! There are a few resources in there I haven't seen before.

Mind if I do some quick copy-edit?

\- "Save yourself hours in reading through API documentation to build this
yourself." Keep the tense consistent: "reading through API documentation and
building this yourself."

\- Photoshop/GIMP the imgflip watermark out on step6.gif

-"...only charged for successfuly sent SMS..." should be "successfully"

------
palidanx
Thanks for all of the links! I was just kind of curious, what was the thought
process behind the inception of the saas product? And did you have many pivots
or was this a first stab?

To add to your list [1] briteverify.com [2] braintreepayments.com [3]
clicky.com

~~~
kumarski
first stab.

~~~
palidanx
How did you find your first customers?

~~~
kumarski
Haha. walked into a restaurant in SOMA and asked around.

------
tim_nuwin
What kind of conversion as well as impressions were you getting from those
listing sites?

| KillerStartups.com[13] - $169 to get listed in a featured blog post.
StartupLister.com[14] - $50 bucks and we got some paid traffic from it.
Leadfeeder.com[15] - free.

~~~
kumarski
Killerstartups sucks.

~~~
tim_nuwin
Heh. How many impressions did you get from startup lister if you don't mind me
asking?

~~~
kumarski
Not many, but helped our domain authority go up.

------
jtfairbank
The tools I use every day:

Loving Slack, even with the TOS hubub.

Just getting started with FrontApp but they seem great for business / shared
email accounts.

Firebase for our DB, they've been super helpful.

Github of course.

Google docs for shared docs.

KeyPassX to track all the company online accounts.

