Bootstrap Your Saas (The Fast Way)

Last week, I created a LinkedIn post that generated some buzz (are we connected yet?) and I wanted to expand on it a bit more, because I think it’s an important way of funding a SaaS business aside from VC money.

Since the ZIRP (zero interest-rate policy) is over and money actually costs money, funding from institutional investors has become hard to come by.

Bootstrapping is making a strong comeback, and for good reason—it gives founders the absolute freedom to run their business however they want.

But make no mistake, bootstrapping is tough. However, I’ve noticed a trend among independent founders that I’ve also seen applied at my portfolio company, Pxl:

Let's take a closer look at how this works.

1. Build an MVP

Honestly, the days of throwing online a crappy landing page to get signups for a new product are over. To make a real impact, you need to build something that genuinely solves a problem for your users, already at this early stage.

Engage with your audience, listen to their needs, and make your MVP visually appealing as well as functional. Your product should speak for itself.

PS: If you are lacking the skills or team to build a compelling MVP, I suggest checking out our agency MVP.AG for compelling, fixed price MVPs, starting at €15k and delivered in as little as 8 weeks.

2. Sell lifetime deals

This is an overlooked hack that I’ve been seeing applied more and more lately.

One of the quickest ways to get your product in front of thousands of potential customers is by leveraging LTD platforms like AppSumo.

Sure, they take a significant cut—often up to 70-80% (!)—but in the early stages, it’s worth it if you have a compelling product that you can sell this way.

From previous campaigns at Pxl, I could see that they were incredibly successful. The payout to the founder from a few previous campaigns was almost half the purchase price I paid for the company.

It's important to think of this as a funding model rather than a long-term strategy. It’s a way to generate immediate cash flow and build a user base, which is crucial in the beginning.

3. Use the money to fund development

With new cash in the bank, you now have the resources to start paying yourself or hire an engineer to take your product to the next level.

Remember, it's all about reinvesting in your product. Focus on the features and improvements your new customers are asking for. And believe me, they will ask for a lot of improvements, which is a good sign!

Keep the momentum going by continuously enhancing the value your product provides and by seeking connection with your new customers.

4. Start an affiliate program

Now that you’ve got a customer base—probably a couple of thousand users at this point—it’s time to turn them into your marketing team.

By offering a generous affiliate program—think 25-40% of revenue for the first year—you incentivize your customers to spread the word.

Over time, you can gradually lower the commission, but early on, this can be a powerful tool to grow your audience organically.

We recently launched the Pxl Partner Program, where anyone who refers Pxl to new customers gets a 25% revenue share of all revenues within the first 12 months.

Honestly, that's easy money.

Congratulations 🎉

You just funded your SaaS business – on your own terms.

Now it’s about:

• continuing to listen to your customers,
• building the features they want,
• testing and iterating on pricing, and
• creating a product that you can run forever

...or sell to a Micro PE such as Waterglass (be sure to drop a message if you are interested to chat)

From my experience, this strategy works well for both B2C and B2B products, making it a flexible approach to bootstrapping your way to success.