Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Join me as I chat with Luke Sophinos, Founder & CEO of CourseKey, as we discuss the frameworks and strategies for building a successful vertical SaaS business. Learn how to find, validate, and launch SaaS opportunities!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:51 Why Vertical SaaS?
05:46 How to pick your vertical
11:05 Understand the industry inside-out
19:11 Analyze existing solutions
22:02 Automating the ideation and validation process with AI
35:04 Go-to-market strategy is CRITICAL
40:19 The power of the wedge product
49:35 Pricing framework
1) Why Vertical SaaS?
• Market often overlooked by VCs chasing unicorns
• Opportunity to build enduring businesses with strong retention
• Still massive potential in 2024, even in "boring" industries
2) How to pick your vertical:
• Focus on industry, not idea
• Look for:
a) Large market size ($1B+)
b) Fragmented (many SMBs)
c) Mix of small, mid-market, enterprise
3) Understand the industry inside-out:
• Map end-to-end operations
• Get hands on P&Ls
• Follow the money - where are they spending?
• Identify areas still using pen & paper
4) Analyze existing solutions:
• Look for legacy providers
• Identify where they're using horizontal solutions
• Find gaps where AI/FinTech could add value
5) The power of the wedge product:
• Your "get in the door" offering
• Should be:
a) Easy to implement
b) Solves a critical problem
c) Ideally free or low-cost
• Example: Roofer․com's proposal tool
6) Go-to-market strategy is CRITICAL:
• Many industries require relationship-based sales
• Product-led growth is ideal (but rare)
• Get creative: Industry newsletters, memes, etc.
7) The payments opportunity:
• Owning the transaction can 10x your market size
• Build before/after transaction, then capture it
• Example: Toast in restaurants
8) Pricing framework:
• Understand current spend on problem you're solving
• Price based on ROI you deliver
• Aim for 20-50% of value created
9) Keys to success:
• Only build products that:
• Increase revenue
• Decrease costs
• Prevent churn
• Maintain compliance
10) Validating ideas:
• Don't just Google search
• Talk to actual businesses
• Offer to buy lunch and shadow operations
Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)
Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideas
🎯 To build your own portfolio businesses powered by community you might enjoy my membership.
You'll get my full course with all my secrets on building businesses, peer-groups to keep you accountable, business ideas every single month and more!
Spots are limited.
https://www.communityempire.co/
📬 Join my free newsletter to get weekly startup insights for free:
https://www.gregisenberg.com/
70,000+ people are already subscribed.
To improve your rankings your business on Google and using AI for SEO, sign up to
http://boringmarketing.com/
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
FIND NICK ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://x.com/lukesophinos
Luke’s Newsletter: https://www.newsletter.lukesophinos.com
Luke’s vSaaS Bible: https://verticalsaasbible.com
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:51 Why Vertical SaaS?
05:46 How to pick your vertical
11:05 Understand the industry inside-out
19:11 Analyze existing solutions
22:02 Automating the ideation and validation process with AI
35:04 Go-to-market strategy is CRITICAL
40:19 The power of the wedge product
49:35 Pricing framework
1) Why Vertical SaaS?
• Market often overlooked by VCs chasing unicorns
• Opportunity to build enduring businesses with strong retention
• Still massive potential in 2024, even in "boring" industries
2) How to pick your vertical:
• Focus on industry, not idea
• Look for:
a) Large market size ($1B+)
b) Fragmented (many SMBs)
c) Mix of small, mid-market, enterprise
3) Understand the industry inside-out:
• Map end-to-end operations
• Get hands on P&Ls
• Follow the money - where are they spending?
• Identify areas still using pen & paper
4) Analyze existing solutions:
• Look for legacy providers
• Identify where they're using horizontal solutions
• Find gaps where AI/FinTech could add value
5) The power of the wedge product:
• Your "get in the door" offering
• Should be:
a) Easy to implement
b) Solves a critical problem
c) Ideally free or low-cost
• Example: Roofer․com's proposal tool
6) Go-to-market strategy is CRITICAL:
• Many industries require relationship-based sales
• Product-led growth is ideal (but rare)
• Get creative: Industry newsletters, memes, etc.
7) The payments opportunity:
• Owning the transaction can 10x your market size
• Build before/after transaction, then capture it
• Example: Toast in restaurants
8) Pricing framework:
• Understand current spend on problem you're solving
• Price based on ROI you deliver
• Aim for 20-50% of value created
9) Keys to success:
• Only build products that:
• Increase revenue
• Decrease costs
• Prevent churn
• Maintain compliance
10) Validating ideas:
• Don't just Google search
• Talk to actual businesses
• Offer to buy lunch and shadow operations
Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)
Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideas
🎯 To build your own portfolio businesses powered by community you might enjoy my membership.
You'll get my full course with all my secrets on building businesses, peer-groups to keep you accountable, business ideas every single month and more!
Spots are limited.
https://www.communityempire.co/
📬 Join my free newsletter to get weekly startup insights for free:
https://www.gregisenberg.com/
70,000+ people are already subscribed.
To improve your rankings your business on Google and using AI for SEO, sign up to
http://boringmarketing.com/
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
FIND NICK ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://x.com/lukesophinos
Luke’s Newsletter: https://www.newsletter.lukesophinos.com
Luke’s vSaaS Bible: https://verticalsaasbible.com
Creators & Guests
What is The Startup Ideas Podcast?
Get your creative juices flowing with The Startup Ideas Podcast. Published twice a week, we bring you free startup ideas to inspire your next venture. Hosted by Greg Isenberg, CEO of Late Checkout and former advisor to Reddit and TikTok. Subscribe so you don't miss out.
For more startup ideas, we created a database of 30+ startup ideas you can take at https://gregisenberg.com/30startupideas