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by notlukesky 2343 days ago
The ultimate issue with all these studies is the sample bias. How did they source the independent SaaS companies (there are over 40 thousand plus, follow power laws and most are economically duds). All samples are biased but there are methods of “correcting” the bias. Historical errors are legion:

https://www.math.upenn.edu/~deturck/m170/wk4/lecture/case2.h...

By the way the key takeaway from this post is that you can make more money driving for Uber than starting an independent SaaS business. You have to be irrational to start an independent SaaS business (applicable to all startups as well).

In fact the only folk who benefit from independent SaaS are the supplier food chain. Levi’s was the main beneficiary of the gold rush. The SaaS conference organizers seem to be among the beneficiaries of the SaaS “gold rush”.
3 comments
balfirevic 2343 days ago
I hope I'm reading the report right: median peak monthly revenue seems to be larger than $10000. Almost 35% of surveyed business don't have any employees.

The only way for this not to sound pretty promising (without getting into sample bias) is if you live in Bay Area.

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notlukesky 2343 days ago
It would be great to see a breakdown of the range of earnings and not just revenue per employee. Some SaaS companies only end up working for the ad companies Google, Linkedin and Facebook. In those SaaS businesses the House always wins. This is maybe asking for too much, but I have come across too many SaaS founders who would have made more money opening a taco stand.

Maybe the best approach to start it as a side hustle and then quit your job once you have enough traction.

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barry-cotter 2343 days ago
> Levi’s was the main beneficiary of the gold rush.

For all practical purposes San Francisco didn’t exist before the Gold Rush and it was one of the biggest cities in the US after. That’s quite a bit bigger than Levi’s. If you’re going to try and make a point by referencing history learn the history or leave it out.

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srhyne 2343 days ago
You take issue with the sample bias, but then start your sentence with..

> In fact the only folk who benefit

Yes, there are many products that aim to serve other SaaS companies but that just demonstrates the maturity of the industry.

There are so many small SaaS companies serving thousands of business niches.

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