How I Built a SaaS Product Using a Lean Tech Stack and Fake Bins: A Founder’s Journey

Building a SaaS Product with a Lean Mindset

I started my SaaS journey with one goal: ship fast, learn faster. No VC funding. No 10-person team. Just me, my laptop, and a stubborn belief that I could build something people actually wanted.

Here’s the real talk: The first version of my product was rough. But it worked. And because I kept things lean, I could tweak it based on user feedback instead of betting the farm on a “perfect” launch.

I wasn’t trying to build the next AWS. I was building a solution for a problem I knew existed. That meant picking tools and tech that got me to a working product—fast. No overthinking. No overbuilding. This isn’t about cutting corners—it’s about being smart with your time, money, and energy.

Why the “Fake Bin” Approach Works for SaaS Founders

I stole the “fake bin” idea from a conversation with another founder who said, “Stop building everything from scratch. Use what’s already good enough.”

Too many founders get stuck in the “I’ll build it better” trap. We dream about custom auth, bespoke databases, or a microservices architecture before we’ve even talked to a single user. That’s not ambition—that’s distraction.

The fake bin is my mental shortcut for: Use what already works, so you can focus on what you’re actually good at—solving real problems.

What Goes Into the Fake Bin?

My fake bin isn’t junk. It’s a curated toolbox of proven, fast, and affordable solutions. Here’s what’s in mine:

• Open-source frameworks like Supabase, PocketBase, or Firebase—battle-tested, docs-first, free tiers that don’t vanish after 30 days

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• No-code/low-code tools like Airtable (admin panels) or Retool (internal dashboards)—because I’d rather build features than admin UIs

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• Monolithic architecture for the first 18–24 months—microservices are for when you’re scaling, not when you’re validating

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• Pre-built UI libraries like Tailwind UI, ShadCN, or Mantine—so my app doesn’t look like a 2005 Geocities site

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• Third-party APIs for auth (Supabase Auth), payments (Stripe), and email (Resend)—so I’m not debugging OAuth at 2 a.m.

This freed me to spend 90% of my time on what mattered: the thing my users actually paid for.

Case Study: How I Skipped Building a Custom Auth System

I almost did it. I had my JWT flow mapped out, roles defined, refresh tokens ready. Then I paused.

What was I doing? Building something users didn’t care about. They wanted to use my app, not log in.

So I switched to Supabase Auth. Setup? Two hours. Cost? Free for the first 10k users. Features? Email/password, social login, magic links, all out of the box.

That’s the fake bin: Use what works so you can build what matters.

Choosing the Right Tech Stack for Lean SaaS Development

I’ve seen founders spend months arguing over Next.js vs. Svelte while their idea withered. I didn’t have that luxury.

My rule: The best stack is the one that gets you to a working product, not the one with the most GitHub stars.

My Lean SaaS Stack (2024 Edition)

• Frontend: React + Vite + Tailwind CSS—fast, familiar, and looks good with minimal effort
• Backend: Next.js API routes—keeps everything in one repo, no separate server to manage

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• Database: Supabase—PostgreSQL with real-time updates, auth, and storage, all in one
• Hosting: Vercel—deploy with a git push, preview every branch, no DevOps headaches
• Payments: Stripe—Checkout and Billing handle everything, from trials to upgrades
• Email: Resend (transactions) + Beehiiv (newsletters)—simple, reliable, and priced for startups
• Monitoring: Sentry + Axiom—catch bugs early without paying enterprise prices

With this stack, I can go from idea to deployed feature in a day. No servers to babysit. No YAML files to debug.

Code Snippet: Stripe Integration in 5 Lines


// /pages/api/create-checkout-session.js
export default async (req, res) => {
const session = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({
line_items: [{ price: 'price_123', quantity: 1 }],
mode: 'subscription',
success_url: 'https://myapp.com/success',
cancel_url: 'https://myapp.com/cancel',
});
res.redirect(303, session.url);
};


Five lines. That’s all it takes to collect money. No need to build a billing system from scratch. Stripe does the heavy lifting—and handles compliance, taxes, and dunning emails.

Building a Product Roadmap That Actually Gets You to Market

Most roadmaps are wishlists. Mine is a feedback loop.

I don’t plan 18 months ahead. I plan one week at a time. And I let users tell me what to build next.

The Lean Roadmap Framework

• Month 1: Define the core problem (e.g., “Small teams waste time on manual workflows”)
• Month 2: Build a bare-bones MVP with one key feature (e.g., drag-and-drop workflow builder)
• Month 3: Get it in front of 10–20 real users—via emails, DMs, or niche forums
• Month 4: Fix what’s broken, add what’s missing (based on what they actually say)
• Month 5: Set up a waitlist with Typeform, Calendly, and Notion—no custom dev needed
• Month 6: Launch paid early access—start at $5/month, charge annual for 20% off

This isn’t a plan. It’s a conversation with your users.

How I Avoided a 6-Month “Feature Tunnel”

Early on, I spent months building a fancy analytics dashboard. Funnel charts. Retention curves. Cohorts.

Then I showed it to my first beta testers.

“This is cool,” they said. “But can we just try the core thing?”

I scrapped the dashboard. Launched the core feature two months earlier. And realized: Users don’t pay for dashboards. They pay for results.

Getting to Market Faster: The 7-Day MVP Challenge

I run this challenge with every new idea: Build a working MVP in 7 days.

No excuses. No “just one more tweak.” Just a product that delivers value—fast.

How to Run the 7-Day MVP Challenge

1. Day 1: Map the core flow (e.g., “User logs in → creates workflow → saves it”)
2. Day 2: Set up your stack (Vercel + Supabase + Stripe in under 2 hours)
3. Day 3: Build the UI with Tailwind + ShadCN—copy, paste, tweak
4. Day 4: Add the core logic (save data, trigger actions)
5. Day 5: Connect to Stripe—use Checkout, not a custom flow
6. Day 6: Invite 3–5 users, watch them use it live (Loom or screen share)
7. Day 7: Fix the top 2 bugs, set up a waitlist, ship it

I’ve done this three times. My time-tracking app? Built in 6 days. Now it has 300+ paying users.

Why This Works

The 7-day deadline forces you to:

• Kill “nice-to-have” features before they kill your timeline

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• Use off-the-shelf tools (fake bin, anyone?)

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• Focus on solving pain, not chasing perfection

“The best SaaS products aren’t built over years. They’re built in weeks, tested in days, and refined over months.”

Bootstrapping: Funding Your Growth Without VC

I’ve never raised money. My revenue started on day one. And it grew because I treated every feature, every email, every tweet as a revenue experiment.

Revenue First, Scale Later

• Charge from day one—even $1/month weeds out free users

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• Offer annual plans—60–70% of my revenue comes from yearly subs
• Run referral discounts (“Get a free month for every friend who signs up”)

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• Focus on SEO and niche communities (Reddit, Indie Hackers, Twitter)

I also use pre-sales to fund big features. I asked: “Would you pay $5/month for this?” 83 said yes. I collected $415 via Stripe—enough to build it in two weeks.

Conclusion: Build Smart, Not Big

You don’t need a war chest, a team of engineers, or a PhD in cloud architecture. You need focus, speed, and the guts to use what’s already out there.

My journey taught me this:

• Lean stacks win: Use proven tools for non-core features—don’t reinvent the wheel
• Roadmaps are feedback loops: Build what users ask for, not what you assume they need
• Speed beats polish: A rough product that works beats a perfect one that never ships
• Bootstrapping is real: Revenue funds growth—no investors required

The fake bin isn’t about faking it. It’s about focusing on what actually matters. Use what’s already good. Ship fast. Learn faster. And build something people want—before you run out of time.

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