What is a SaaS business and how you can start right now

What is a SaaS business and how you can start right now

The popularity of SaaS businesses has exploded in the recent years and that is thanks to the tech industry. In fact most of new startups are leaning towards SaaS, Software as a Service, model rather the usual model. Even high profile tech companies have switched their revenue model to SaaS not long ago. The future of business relies on a this model and it is expanding rapidly. The time where a customer paid for a lifetime of service has ended. 

So why is this model so important?

That is a question every new startup has to answer before going into business. The answer is pretty trivial. You develop a software in demand and instead of marketing it as one-time-payment-lifetime-support solution, you implement a subscription module into it. Some big companies such as Adobe have implemented this model aggressively to their platform and it is working very well. Instead of paying thousands for a software, one can subscribe and use it as long as needed. This model has many advantages. Let's take a look at some of the benefits.

  • Lower upfront cost
  • Up to date software
  • Long-term support
  • Rapid integrations and scalability
  • Cloud-based applications
  • Worldwide accessibility
  • Pay-as you go model
  • and much more

How can one make money out it?

There are many ways you can make money out of a SaaS business. The most trivial one is subscription. That is when someone pays you a recurring fee to access your software. Now you can design the subscription model however you want. For example, you can have 3 different subscription plans with each having different features and limitations. Other than subscription, you can generate revenue by offering:

  • Upsells 
  • More resources such as data and speed
  • New modules
  • Affiliate
  • Access to the API or higher API rate
  • Advertising
  • Customer service
  • Custom reporting

How can I get start with a SaaS business?

There are two routes you can take to get started with your own SaaS business. The easier and less expensive way is to use already developed software such as our Premium URL Shortener - which is a link shortener that is SaaS-ready. This direction allows you to focus on your business rather the development. You can get started rapidly and start accepting customers easily. It does not require advanced coding knowledge as everything is already prepared for you. This route allows you to save thousands of dollars that would have spend on development. The other route would be to start from scratch. You will need to put your idea out and start working on it. This is of course the most complex route and it will require a great amount of investment - both in time and money. You will need to plan everything, seek help from people and find investment. This route is definitely more rewarding in the long-term however in the short-term or when you don't have an idea yet, the first route is recommended. Either way, if you want run your own startup, this is the time to do it!