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Experiment: A New SaaS Investment Model
Let’s Rethink Early-Stage SaaS Investing
In my first startup, I thought I needed an investor. I spent most of my time trying to raise money. All I needed was something to help me pay the bills. I knew that I had a lot to learn but I had a family. I had a vision, I saw an opportunity in the market, and I made the leap.
And I ended up hitting the ground hard. I wasn’t able to find an investor. My co-founder and I were chasing two different visions. I had tried a million little things but wasn’t ever to find the traction I needed to make it sustainable. I kept going back and forth between two models: one in which I got venture capital and I was able to slow down a bit and make sure I did things right and the other in which I wasn’t able to get venture capital and I needed to bootstrap. And in the end, I failed at both.
So I ended up putting myself in a financial predicament. When the startup failed, I had been without an income for 8 months. I was able to get a little bit of help from family, but just enough to keep the utilities on and a roof over my head. And I’m grateful for that. I realize my privilege in being able to do that, at least.
Since I decided to shut down DeFiNet, I have been exploring my options. I’ve interviewed with several early-stage startups, but I keep…
