Breaking the golden handcuffs

[EasyRider]

Hello forum,

I'm 28 years old, and I work in Silicon Valley as a software engineer. I've been doing quite well in my career, including financially, and I could probably stick to it for another 10-15 years and retire comfortably.
However, I have several reasons to start a SaaS business:
1) Hedging bets. Software engineering is a lucrative career right now, but things may change (for example if there's another dotcom bust).
2) Learning a new skillset. Entrepreneurship will force me to step outside of my comfort zone and learn about marketing, sales, etc.
3) Fun. I've always found building stuff from scratch immensely satisfying. It's much more fulfilling than adding features to an already successful product.

I have built and deployed my first service, and it has a grand total of 20 users, out of whom maybe 2-3 even use the product So, obviously, I have a lot to learn about the non-technical aspects of the game.

On this forum, I'm looking for knowledge and accountability. And I hope to be able to give back and contribute from my experience.

Cheers!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Welcome to the forum, sounds like you're operating from a position of strength. Nice to place to be.

I have built and deployed my first service, and it has a grand total of 20 users, out of whom maybe 2-3 even use the product So, obviously, I have a lot to learn about the non-technical aspects of the game.

What makes this different than available options? What's the value skew that compels users?

 

[EasyRider]

What makes this different than available options? What's the value skew that compels users?

It is designed as a lightweight alternative to cheap flight monitoring services like Scott's Cheap Flights, AirfareWatchdog, etc. The main advantage of trxFares is that instead of giving the user a vague guidance ("you can buy tickets to London for $300 for some dates, now go search for them"), it gives them direct search/booking links. Also, instead of spamming the user with all flight deals, it allows to select preferred routes and dates to monitor.
I think my problem is I haven't put enough effort into marketing the service, putting it in front of many users, and getting feedback instead of operating on assumptions.