DEV Community: dclark312

I’ve Been Trying to Build a SaaS for Years — Still No Sales, But I’m Not Giving Up

dclark312 — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 11:54:50 +0000

I’ve been chasing the dream of building a successful SaaS as a solo founder for years now. To be honest, I haven’t made a single sale yet.

But I haven’t given up either. That counts for something, right?

Where It Started

When I first got into this, I had to teach myself how to code. That alone took a while, but I eventually got good enough to build things. So I did what a lot of us do—I jumped right into building a SaaS product.

Auth? Check. Multi-tenancy? Check. Stripe integration? Check.

I launched it... and nothing happened.

No users. No traction. Just crickets.

That’s when I learned the hard truth: you can’t just build in the dark and expect people to show up. I had zero audience, no feedback loop, and no real clue about marketing or sales.

Learning to Share

Earlier this year, I decided to change that. I started a YouTube channel focused on something I know well and use daily: E2E testing with Rails and Cypress.

That got a bit of traction, and from the feedback I received, I decided to broaden the niche from just Cypress to E2E testing in general, especially for Rails developers. (There’s definitely a gap there.)

I’ve really started to enjoy creating content, and I plan to keep going. But deep down, I still want to build a SaaS.

The New SaaS Idea

Lately, I’ve been exploring all kinds of ideas in the E2E testing and DevOps space. The one I’m most excited about right now is this:

A SaaS platform that automatically optimizes E2E test parallelization in CI to cut test runtime by 30–75%.

The problem:
Manually distributing E2E tests across CI nodes is inefficient, and test suites grow over time, making things worse.

The solution:
My idea is to analyze test duration, memory/CPU usage, and group tests intelligently, optimizing how they run across CI workers. It would integrate with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins, and continuously adapt as your test suite evolves.

Basically: set it and forget it, and your CI gets faster over time.

Interested? I’m collecting early feedback and signups here: https://wonderful-souffle-fcd787.netlify.app/

Why I’m Sharing This

I know I still have a long way to go, but I want to build this in the open, not in isolation like before. So if this idea sounds interesting to you—or if you’ve struggled with long test times in CI—I’d love your thoughts.

Would you use something like this?
What features would make it a no-brainer?
Are there tools you currently use that already solve this for you?

Thanks for reading—and if you're building your own thing too, keep going. We’ll get there.

Why Cypress is a great tool

dclark312 — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 20:10:09 +0000

I started using Cypress to test applications and haven't looked back since, prior to using Cypress I had experience with Selenium. Although Selenium is a great tool as well, I definitely favor Cypress. Here are the main reasons why I prefer to write my automated tests using Cypress.

Real-time Reloads
As your making changes to the code, Cypress will automatically reload the browser and allow for faster and more efficient test case development and debugging.

Easy Setup
Cypress is fairly simply to get configured and running on your environment. It comes with a built-in electron browser so there is no need for any additional web-drivers or configuration.

Automatic Waiting
Cypress automatically waits for elements to become available and for actions to complete, making it less vulnerable to race conditions. You don't have to add explicit waits or sleep commands in your tests.

Built-in Dashboard
Cypress offers a dashboard service (Cypress Dashboard) for recording and storing test results. It allows you to view test runs, monitor CI/CD builds, and analyze test performance.

Chaining Commands
Cypress uses a fluent API that enables you to chain commands together. This makes test scripts more readable and easier to maintain.

Time-Travel Debugging
Cypress offers a time-travel feature that allows you to see what was happening in your application at any given point during the test execution. This is immensely helpful for debugging and understanding why a test failed.

Powerful Selector Engine
Cypress uses a powerful selector engine that allows you to easily select and interact with elements on the page. This engine is capable of locating elements based on various attributes, making your test scripts more robust.

Open Source and Active Development
Cypress is an open-source project with active development and continuous improvement. It keeps up with modern web development practices and browser features.

Extensive Documentation and Community:
Cypress has an active community and extensive documentation, which makes it easier to find help, learn, and troubleshoot issues.

Cross-Browser Testing
While originally focused on Chromium-based browsers, Cypress has been expanding its support for other browsers, making it more versatile for cross-browser testing.

Plugin System
Cypress has a robust plugin system that allows you to extend its capabilities and integrate it with other tools and services.

Overall, Cypress has made significant strides in the field of test automation testing. It offers a seamless and developer-friendly experience. Cypress has proven to be a valuable tool for web application testing, streamlining the testing process and improving the overall quality of web applications.

A Bit About My Background

dclark312 — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 01:23:38 +0000

My journey into web development began quite a while ago, and I can still recall my earliest learning experiences through resources like W3Schools and a site called "Dave's Site." While I'm not sure if the latter still exists, it was the first tutorial I ever followed.

Since those beginnings, I've been navigating my way through the world of web development. After completing college, I didn't immediately step into a Software Engineer role. Instead, I found myself working with a SaaS (Software as a Service) company before the SaaS industry truly took off.

This experience was somewhat advantageous, as it motivated me to continue my independent learning journey. It also served as a stepping stone before I officially launched my career as a Software Engineer. The path wasn't always straightforward, and I certainly had to put in significant effort before making headway in this field.

How can we make it easier for newcomers to contribute to open source?

dclark312 — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 01:15:51 +0000

Is it just me, or do others also find that the initial steps to contribute to open-source projects can feel quite daunting? Especially for beginners who are just starting out, the path forward can be unclear. While I might not have all the specifics, it's clear that there's a need for more effective methods to match individuals with the right projects based on their interests and skill levels.

GitHub undoubtedly serves as an excellent platform for discovering projects, and additional resources are available as well. Labels like 'beginner-friendly' and 'good first issue' provide valuable guidance. However, even with these aids, the process can still pose significant challenges, often involving understanding the project and configuring the development environment. Additionally, there's sometimes a race to be the first to comment and get assigned to an issue.

I often find myself wondering about potential tools that could be developed to make this process more efficient. For instance, envision resources that simplify project comprehension and environment setup, or mechanisms that enhance the fairness of issue allocation. The idea of such tools is indeed exciting and holds the potential to make the open-source contribution experience more accessible to a broader range of individuals.