The Fast SaaS Validation Playbook: Launch or Kill in 30 Days

The Problem: Most SaaS Ideas Die After 6 Months of Building

You have an idea. You spend 3-6 months building. You launch. Crickets.

The market didn’t want it. Or you built the wrong features. Or you targeted the wrong audience. You wasted half a year.

Here’s the better way: Validate in 30 days. If it works, double down. If it doesn’t, kill it and move on.

The 5-Step Fast Validation Playbook

Step 1: Find a Product Already Working

Don’t start from zero. Start from proof.

Look for:

Paid ads running for 3+ months (if they’re still spending, it’s working)
SEO positions for valuable keywords (rank = revenue)
MRR screenshots on Twitter/indie hackers (proof of traction)
Active affiliate programs (they only pay out if it converts)

Where to look:

Google search ads for your target keywords
AdSpy / Facebook Ad Library for Meta ads
Ahrefs / SEMrush for competitor SEO analysis
Indie Hackers / Twitter for MRR transparency posts
ShareASale / Impact for affiliate programs in your niche

What you’re validating: The market exists. People are paying for this problem to be solved. Demand is proven.

Step 2: Build a Simple Version — Core Feature Only

Strip everything down to the one feature that solves the core problem.

Not this:

User accounts with OAuth, email verification, password reset
Dashboard with 7 different views
Integrations with 5 third-party tools
Admin panel
Team collaboration features

This:

Simple login (email + magic link is fine)
One core workflow that delivers value
Stripe checkout
Done

Time budget: 1-2 weeks max.

Use no-code or low-code if possible:

Landing page: Webflow, Framer, Carrd
Backend: Supabase, Firebase, Airtable + Zapier
Payments: Stripe Checkout (hosted pages, no custom billing logic)
Hosting: Vercel, Netlify (zero config)

The goal is functional, not polished. You’re testing demand, not winning design awards.

Step 3: Launch Ads in Week 1

Don’t wait for perfection. Launch ads the moment you have a working checkout flow.

Google Ads strategy:

Target high-intent keywords (e.g., “[competitor name] alternative”, “best [category] software”)
Start with $20-50/day budget
Send traffic to a landing page with clear value prop + pricing
Use Stripe checkout or Gumroad for payments
Track: Cost per click, conversion rate, CAC (customer acquisition cost)

Meta Ads strategy:

Create 3-5 ad variations (different hooks, angles, images)
Target lookalike audiences based on competitor pages or interest targeting
A/B test landing pages (one with free trial, one with paid upfront)
Start with $30-50/day budget
Track: CTR, landing page conversion rate, CAC

What you’re testing: Will people click? Will they convert? What’s the CAC vs. LTV (lifetime value)?

Kill criteria:

CAC > 3x monthly price → Not sustainable
<1% landing page conversion → Messaging or offer is broken
<0.5% CTR on ads → Creatives or targeting is wrong

If it’s not working after $500-1000 spend and iteration, kill it. The market spoke.

Step 4: If It Converts → Double Down

You’re getting conversions. CAC is reasonable (< 3x MRR). Time to scale.

Now invest in:

SEO (weeks 3-6):

Write 10-20 programmatic comparison pages ("[Competitor] vs [Your Product]")
Publish “Best [Category]” listicles (include yourself)
Create help docs / knowledge base (captures long-tail searches)
Build backlinks: HARO, guest posts, product roundups

Affiliates (weeks 4-8):

Join ShareASale, Impact, PartnerStack
Offer 30-50% recurring commission
Reach out to bloggers, YouTubers, newsletter writers in your niche
Provide pre-written email templates and ad creatives

Product improvements (ongoing):

Now you can add features based on actual user feedback
Build integrations users are asking for
Improve onboarding (watch session recordings via Hotjar / LogRocket)
Reduce churn (email sequences, in-app tips)

Key metric: If 10% of users stick past month 1 and CAC < LTV, you have a real business.

Step 5: If It Doesn’t Convert → Kill It Fast and Move On

Most ideas fail. That’s fine. The goal is speed to failure, not sunk cost fallacy.

If after 2-4 weeks:

Ad spend isn’t converting (CAC too high, no one buying)
Landing page visitors bounce (no one cares about the value prop)
Free trials don’t convert to paid (product doesn’t deliver enough value)

Kill it. Don’t iterate for 6 months hoping it gets better.

What you learned:

Market research (which messages resonated, which didn’t)
Ad targeting (what audiences clicked, what converted)
Pricing intel (did $29/mo work better than $99/mo?)
Speed (you validated in 30 days, not 6 months)

Take those learnings. Pick a new idea. Repeat.

The Meta-Game: Volume Over Perfection

The founders who win aren’t the ones who build the perfect product. They’re the ones who test the most ideas in the shortest time.

Traditional approach:

1 idea every 6 months → 2 validated ideas per year

Fast validation approach:

1 idea every 30 days → 12 validated ideas per year

Even if 10 fail, you find 2 that work. That’s 10x more winners than the slow approach.

Real Example: How I Used This

I tested a “code snippet manager for developers” SaaS:

Week 1:

Built a basic MVP with Supabase + Next.js (3 days)
Landing page with Framer (1 day)
Stripe checkout (1 day)
Launched Google Ads targeting “code snippet tool” and “developer productivity” ($30/day)

Week 2:

200 clicks, 2 signups, 0 paid conversions
Tried lowering price from $15/mo to $8/mo → still 0 conversions
Realized: developers don’t pay for snippet tools (they use GitHub Gists or VS Code extensions for free)

Week 3:

Killed it. Total spend: ~$300 (ads + Framer + domain)
Time invested: 1 week of evenings

What I learned:

Developers are price-sensitive for “nice to have” tools
Free alternatives are too strong in this category
I should target teams/enterprise (higher willingness to pay) or pick a different vertical

I moved on. That’s a win.

The Only Metrics That Matter in Week 1

Forget vanity metrics. Track:

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): Ad spend ÷ number of customers
Conversion rate: Visitors → paying customers
Time to first paying customer: If it’s >2 weeks, something’s broken

If CAC < 3x monthly price and conversion rate > 1%, you have signal. Double down.

If not, kill it.

Final Checklist

Found a product with proven demand (ads running, SEO rankings, MRR proof)
Built core feature only (no extra features, no polish)
Launched ads in week 1 (Google or Meta, $20-50/day)
Tracked CAC and conversion rate
If converting: invested in SEO + affiliates
If not converting: killed it and moved on

What’s your validation strategy? Are you building for months before testing, or validating fast? What’s worked for you? Let’s compare notes.