Learn from others’ mistakes
The five pitfalls we see time and again — and how to avoid them.
After building dozens of SaaS products, we’ve seen patterns. The same mistakes keep recurring, regardless of industry or team. Here are the five biggest, and how to prevent them.
Do you recognise any?
Building too much before launch
You want everything to be perfect before anyone sees it. But perfection is the enemy of progress. Launch with 20% of your feature list — the 20% that solves 80% of the problem.
No pricing from day one
"We’ll make it paid later." But free users behave differently from paying ones. Test your pricing model as early as possible — it validates whether people truly see value in your product.
Tracking the wrong metrics
Pageviews and sign-ups are vanity metrics. Focus on activation (how many users reach the "aha moment"), retention (how many come back), and revenue.
Ignoring technical debt
Quick hacks are fine for an MVP. But if you don’t regularly clean up, you’re building on quicksand. Plan time every sprint for refactoring and tests.
Trying to do everything yourself
You’re not a designer, developer, marketer, salesperson and support agent all at once. Focus on your strength and get help for the rest — whether that’s a co-founder, freelancer, or agency.
Fail smart, learn fast
Making mistakes is part of entrepreneurship. The difference is how quickly you recognise and correct them. Start small, measure what matters, and dare to ask for help. The most successful founders aren’t those who never fail — they’re those who learn the fastest.