The SaaS Playbook, Rob Walling, 2023

The book provides a practical roadmap for bootstrapping and scaling a SaaS business, emphasizing a step-by-step approach to building sustainable revenue and market fit. Walling shares insights on customer development, pricing strategies, and creating defensible businesses through strategic positioning and smart execution.

Top 3 Learnings:

1. The Stair-Step Approach—start with simple, repeatable revenue sources through organic marketing channels before moving to standalone SaaS products to achieve greater control over time and income.
2. Market understanding comes from conversations, not assumptions—engaging with customers through thoughtful questions helps identify real pain points and validate demand before scaling.
3. Building a moat is key to long-term success—integrations, brand strength, and high switching costs provide defensibility, while relying solely on unique features is a false security.