Pre-Revenue

Any revenue

You have a product. Nobody has paid yet. The question is whether anyone will — and how to find out without killing what's working.

Should I charge from day one or let people use it free first?

You've built something. People are using it. The fear: charge too early and kill growth. Stay free too long and never learn if this is a business. Every day without revenue is a day without signal.

Up to 0 MRR Solo founder saas marketplace creator Medium — weeks

328

decisions

72% positive

How do I set a price when nothing comparable exists?

Your product doesn't fit neatly into an existing category. There's no obvious competitor to anchor against. You're guessing — and the wrong number either leaves money on the table or scares people away.

Up to 0 MRR Solo founder saas service Medium — weeks

326

decisions

72% positive

Should I launch with a free tier or paid-only?

Free tier means more users, more feedback, more word-of-mouth. Paid-only means every user is a real signal. The wrong choice at launch sets a pricing anchor that's hard to undo.

Up to 0 MRR Up to 2 people saas marketplace Medium — weeks

326

decisions

72% positive

Do I offer a lifetime deal to get first cash in the door?

A lifetime deal could get you 10-50 paying users in a week. But you're selling future value at a discount. If the product succeeds, those users never pay again. If it fails, you have obligations you can't fulfill.

Up to 0 MRR Solo founder saas High — days

322

decisions

72% positive

Who do I ask to be my first paying customer — and how?

You have users but no paying customers. Someone has to be first. Do you ask your most active user? A stranger? Do you email, DM, or put up a paywall? The first sale is the hardest and most important signal you'll get.

Up to 0 MRR Solo founder saas service creator marketplace High — days

331

decisions

72% positive

Stripe, Gumroad, or Lemon Squeezy — does the payment stack matter at this stage?

You need to accept payments. Stripe is flexible but requires more setup. Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy handle tax and checkout but take a bigger cut. At £0 MRR, does the 5% difference matter or is speed to first transaction what counts?

Up to 0 MRR Solo founder saas creator Low — can wait months

325

decisions

72% positive

My beta users love it but say they won't pay — is this pricing or product?

Usage is high. Feedback is positive. But when you mention paying, people go quiet or say 'maybe later.' Is the product not valuable enough? Is the price wrong? Or are these the wrong customers?

Up to 0 MRR Up to 2 people saas High — days

325

decisions

72% positive

Should I charge per seat, per usage, or flat rate?

Per-seat scales with team size but penalises collaboration. Usage-based aligns cost with value but is hard to predict. Flat rate is simple but leaves money on the table. At pre-revenue, you're choosing a pricing architecture that's hard to change later.

Up to 0 MRR Solo founder saas Medium — weeks

325

decisions

72% positive

Do I validate pricing before building or after?

You could build first and figure out pricing later. Or you could test willingness to pay before writing a line of code. Pre-selling feels like lying if the product doesn't exist. Building without validation feels like gambling.

Up to 0 MRR Solo founder saas service marketplace creator Medium — weeks

327

decisions

73% positive

Everyone says 'I'd pay for this' but nobody has — what do I actually do?

Conversations, surveys, DMs — everyone is enthusiastic. But when you share the link, silence. The gap between stated intent and actual payment is the most common pre-revenue trap. Something needs to change and it might be you, not the product.

Up to 0 MRR Solo founder saas service marketplace creator Crisis — now

332

decisions

72% positive

All situations