How I Built a SaaS Product Around a Niche Event: Lessons from the Great American Coin Show

Building a SaaS product from scratch is equal parts excitement and uncertainty. I took the leap with a platform tailored to niche events — specifically, the Great American Coin Show. The goal? To streamline connections between collectors, dealers, and show organizers. I bootstrapped the whole thing on a shoestring budget, using what I learned along the way to stay agile, focused, and fast. Here’s how it unfolded — no fluff, just real lessons from the trenches.

Finding the Spark: Real Problems at a Coin Show

Most SaaS ideas fail because they’re built in a bubble. Mine started on the show floor. I spent hours walking the Great American Coin Show, coffee in hand, chatting with dealers and collectors. What struck me wasn’t just the rare coins — it was the chaos behind the scenes.

Dealers juggled inventory across multiple shows using spreadsheets. Collectors missed out on rare items because listings were buried in Facebook groups. Organizers scrambled to assign booths and track attendance, all via email and sticky notes. The event was buzzing, but the tools? Stuck in 2003.

I realized: this wasn’t just a coin show. It was a relationship-driven marketplace waiting for a platform built for its rhythm. And I had a chance to build it — starting with the world of numismatics.

Testing the Waters Before Coding a Single Line

I didn’t rush into development. Instead, I borrowed from lean startup playbooks. Instead of building everything, I tested demand first. That meant:

• Talking to 20+ dealers, collectors, and show organizers — not just surveys, but real conversations.
• Putting up a simple landing page with a signup form (Webflow + ConvertKit) to see who cared.
• Using Typeform to ask about frustrations and pricing expectations.
• Sharing early Figma mockups to get reactions before any code was written.

The feedback hit hard: 142 signups. Three dealers paid for early access. That was the green light. People weren’t just interested — they were ready to pay.

Building the MVP: Less Is More

With validation in hand, I focused on the essentials. No fancy extras. Just the three biggest frustrations:

• Dealers needed to manage inventory and book appointments without drowning in emails.
• Collectors wanted early access to rare items — and to know they were buying from trusted sources.
• Organizers needed tools to assign booths and track foot traffic — not just paper maps.

So the MVP had three core parts:

• A dealer portal with inventory tagging (think “Rattler 50 cent Commemorative”) and easy appointment booking.
• A collector marketplace where users could “buy now, pick up at show” — cutting checkout lines.
• A real-time agenda builder for organizers, synced with actual show floor plans.

I launched in under eight weeks. Used a no-code prototype for early adopters, then refined based on what they actually used — not what I assumed they wanted.

The Tech Stack That Kept Us Moving Fast

As a solo founder, I needed speed and simplicity. Every dollar and hour mattered. Here’s what worked:

Backend: Node.js + Express + PostgreSQL

Node.js let me ship features quickly, thanks to a huge library of tools. Express kept API design clean and simple. For the database, PostgreSQL was a no-brainer — great with flexible data like inventory tags and event metadata.

Here’s a snippet from the inventory schema:

const inventorySchema = new mongoose.Schema({
dealerId: { type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: 'User' },
title: String,
category: { type: String, enum: ['Coin', 'Slab', 'Bullion', 'Commemorative'] },
tags: [String], // e.g., ['CAC Green', 'Rattler', 'Classic Head']
price: Number,
status: { type: String, enum: ['Available', 'Pre-Show Buy', 'Sold'] },
showPickup: { type: Boolean, default: false },
appointmentRequired: { type: Boolean, default: false }
});

Being able to tag items dynamically (like “CAC Green” or “Classic Head”) made search and discovery way more powerful.

Frontend: React + Tailwind CSS + Vite

React made it easy to build reusable components — perfect for a fast-moving solo dev. Tailwind CSS saved me from fighting with custom CSS. And Vite? Blazing fast builds meant I could test changes in near real time.

Hosting & DevOps: Vercel + Supabase + Redis

I hosted the frontend on Vercel — instant deploys, global CDN, zero hassle. Supabase handled real-time updates (like live booth availability) and user accounts. Redis kept sessions fast and cached data hot, especially during high-traffic show days.

Total cost? Under $200/month. Scaled to 10,000+ users without a hiccup.

How We Grew: A Roadmap in Tune with the Events

After launch, I didn’t set a rigid roadmap. I aligned it with the event calendar. Every show was a new test cycle.

Q1: Get the Basics Right

• Pre-show purchases with secure Stripe payments.
• Messaging between dealers and collectors, with image uploads for coin photos.
• Organizer dashboard with heatmaps showing which booths got the most foot traffic.

Q2: Build Trust and Community

• Dealer reputations with verified reviews and CAC/PCGS integration.
• Collector wishlists with alerts when a rare item hits the market.
• Mobile app (React Native) to guide users around the show floor.

Q3: Add Intelligence and Automation

• AI-powered matching — “You liked this 1838 QE? Here are similar coins.”
• Automated reminders via email and SMS for appointments.
• Sales and traffic analytics for organizers to improve future shows.

We didn’t guess what to build. We used feature flags and A/B testing (via LaunchDarkly) to test before full rollout.

Bootstrapping to Speed: Tactics That Worked

No team. No funding. No problem. I moved fast by being smart:

• Prototyped mobile flows with Adalo and modeled data in Airtable.
• Used open-source tools like react-calendar for scheduling — saved weeks of work.
• Offered free pilot access to top dealers in exchange for honest feedback and testimonials.
• Timed feature launches with major shows — “ANA Pittsburgh 2026” became a deadline, not a wish.

When dealers asked for appointment booking, I didn’t reinvent the wheel. I white-labeled Calendly and made it look native to the platform. Fast, functional, and focused on value.

What I Learned (And What You Can Use)

• Start at the event: The Great American Coin Show wasn’t just inspiration — it was my first user. I attended, listened, and learned. That shaped everything.
• Trust beats transactions: In collector circles, reputation is everything. We built in dealer verification, real-time chat, and CAC integration — not because it was easy, but because it was necessary.
• Use what’s already good: Stripe for payments. Calendly for booking. Supabase for auth. Build custom only when you have to.
• Track the right metrics: Focus on pre-show conversion, appointment fill rate, and collector return visits. Signups are nice, but they’re not the whole story.
• Constraints fuel creativity: Being bootstrapped forced me to say “no” to great ideas — and that kept the product tight.

“The best SaaS products don’t just fix problems. They become part of the culture.”

From Niche to Network: The Bigger Picture

Building a SaaS around a niche like coin collecting isn’t about flashy tech. It’s about understanding the people, the rituals, the unspoken rules. The Great American Coin Show taught me that real value comes from helping people connect better — not from adding more features.

By staying close to the event cycle, using a lean stack, and iterating with real feedback, I turned a small passion community into a working platform. Now, dealers sell more. Collectors find rarities faster. Organizers run smoother shows.

If you’re building for a niche, remember: small audiences aren’t a weakness — they’re your edge. You can go deep. You can listen better. You can build something that feels human, not just functional.

Start small. Show up. Build with the community — not just for it.

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