DEV Community: Karl Esi

I'm Using ChatGPT, But I'm Not Getting Good Results. Here's What You're Missing.

Karl Esi — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 04:09:50 +0000

You open ChatGPT.

You type:

“Write me a marketing plan.”

The answer comes back.

It sounds polished.

It is also completely generic.

So you try again.

“Make it better.”

The answer gets longer.

But not necessarily better.

Then you start wondering:

“Maybe ChatGPT just isn't that good.”

That's usually not the problem.

The bigger problem is that most people are using ChatGPT as a search box when they should be using it as a work partner.

The Problem Isn't ChatGPT

ChatGPT can write.

It can analyze.

It can brainstorm.

It can summarize.

It can research.

It can help with planning, data analysis, coding, customer communication and dozens of other business tasks.

But it still needs to understand what you're actually trying to accomplish.

OpenAI's own prompting guidance emphasizes the same fundamentals: clear instructions, useful context, a defined outcome, an appropriate format and iterative refinement.

Think about the difference between these two requests.

“Write a LinkedIn post about AI.”

And:

“You are helping me market an AI course for business professionals who know AI is important but don't know how to use it at work.

Write a LinkedIn post explaining why simply using ChatGPT occasionally isn't enough.

The audience is non-technical professionals.

Make the opening challenge a common frustration.

Keep it under 180 words.

Use a practical, conversational tone.

End by showing that learning how to apply AI to real business workflows is more valuable than simply collecting AI tools.”

The second prompt isn't magic.

It simply gives ChatGPT a better assignment.

Stop Asking for Answers. Start Giving ChatGPT Jobs.

This is one of the biggest changes in how you should use AI.

Don't think:

“I'm going to ask ChatGPT something.”

Think:

“I'm going to give ChatGPT a job.”

Instead of:

“Analyze my sales.”

Try:

“You are a business analyst.

Review these sales numbers.

Identify the three biggest changes from last quarter.

Explain what could have caused each change.

Identify anything that looks unusual.

Then recommend three actions management should consider.

Separate observations from assumptions.”

Now ChatGPT has a job.

It knows:

What role it is playing.

What information it has.

What you want it to investigate.

What the output should contain.

What decisions the output needs to support.

That's a completely different interaction.

Context Is the Missing Ingredient

One of the easiest ways to get mediocre AI output is to give AI almost no information.

Imagine telling an employee:

“Write an email to the customer.”

They would immediately ask:

Which customer?

What happened?

What are we trying to accomplish?

What tone should I use?

What information can I share?

ChatGPT needs the same kind of context.

OpenAI recommends giving the model relevant background information and clearly describing the desired outcome and format.

For example:

Bad:

“Create a sales email.”

Better:

“Create a sales email for a small business owner who visited our website but didn't sign up.

Our product helps small businesses automate repetitive administrative work.

The prospect is likely concerned about cost and implementation time.

The goal is to get them to book a 15-minute demo.

Keep the email under 150 words.

Don't use hype or exaggerated claims.”

Now the AI has something to work with.

Tell It What Good Looks Like

There's another mistake people make.

They tell ChatGPT what they want without showing it what they consider good.

If you want a particular style, give it an example.

For example:

“Here are three LinkedIn posts that represent the style I want.

Analyze their tone, sentence length, structure and use of hooks.

Then write a new post using those characteristics without copying the wording.”

Examples can give the model a much clearer target. OpenAI's prompting guidance specifically recommends demonstrating desired output formats and using examples when useful.

You're no longer saying:

“Write something good.”

You're showing the AI what “good” means to you.

Don't Put Everything Into One Giant Prompt

There's another misconception about prompting.

People sometimes think the best prompt is a massive block of instructions.

It isn't.

The goal isn't to write the longest prompt.

The goal is to give ChatGPT the information it actually needs.

For complicated work, break the task into stages.

Instead of:

“Research our competitors, analyze their positioning, find gaps, create a strategy, write our website copy and create a launch campaign.”

Try:

First:

“Analyze these competitors and identify their positioning.”

Then:

“Based on that analysis, identify gaps in the market.”

Then:

“Develop three positioning options for our product.”

Then:

“Turn the strongest positioning into website messaging.”

Then:

“Create a launch campaign around that positioning.”

This creates a workflow rather than one giant request.

OpenAI similarly recommends breaking complex work into smaller, focused tasks when appropriate and refining the interaction iteratively.

Your First Answer Doesn't Have to Be the Final Answer

This might be the biggest mindset shift.

ChatGPT is conversational.

Use the conversation.

If the first answer isn't right, don't throw it away and start from scratch.

Tell it what is wrong.

“Too generic.”

“Make this more specific to small businesses.”

“Remove the buzzwords.”

“Give me three alternatives.”

“Use shorter sentences.”

“Focus more on the financial impact.”

“That's closer. Keep the structure but make the opening more provocative.”

That's how you get from an acceptable answer to something genuinely useful.

OpenAI recommends iterative refinement rather than treating prompting as a one-shot exercise.

The Real Skill Isn't Prompting

And this is where things get interesting.

You don't actually need to become obsessed with memorizing hundreds of “magic prompts.”

The more important skill is learning how to translate your work into instructions AI can execute.

A business professional should be able to look at a task and think:

What am I trying to accomplish?

What context does AI need?

What information can I give it?

What does a good result look like?

What constraints matter?

How will I evaluate the output?

What should happen next?

That's a much more valuable skill than knowing a collection of fancy prompt formulas.

This Is What Learning Business AI Actually Means

Using AI at work isn't simply:

“Open ChatGPT and ask it a question.”

It's learning how to turn everyday business problems into AI-assisted workflows.

Marketing can use AI to research customers, develop campaigns and create content.

Sales can use it to analyze prospects, prepare outreach and summarize calls.

Operations can use it to document processes and identify bottlenecks.

HR can use it to draft communications, organize information and support repetitive workflows.

Managers can use it to analyze information, prepare decisions and communicate more effectively.

The difference isn't whether they have access to ChatGPT.

They all do.

The difference is whether they know how to make it useful.

You Don't Need More AI Tools

You might think your problem is that you're missing the right AI tool.

Maybe you need another chatbot.

Another writing tool.

Another research platform.

Another prompt library.

Another AI automation platform.

But adding more tools won't necessarily solve the underlying problem.

If you don't know how to identify the right use case, provide the right context, define the desired outcome and build a repeatable workflow, you'll simply have more tools producing mediocre results.

The real advantage comes from knowing what to use AI for and how to make it work within your job.

That's What Learn Business AI Is For

Learn Business AI is built around a simple idea:

You shouldn't have to become an AI engineer to get real value from AI.

You need to understand how AI fits into the work you already do.

Instead of learning AI as a collection of disconnected tools, you learn how to apply it to real business tasks.

How to get better results from ChatGPT.

How to identify valuable AI use cases.

How to build repeatable AI workflows.

How to use AI for research, writing, analysis, marketing and operations.

How to move from experimenting with AI to actually using it productively.

Because the goal isn't to become someone who knows how to use ChatGPT.

The goal is to become someone who knows what to ask AI to do, why it matters, and how to turn the result into useful work.

If you're using ChatGPT but constantly thinking, “Why are the results so generic?”, you probably don't need another AI tool.

You need a better way to work with the tools you already have.

That's the skill Learn Business AI is designed to teach.

I Built Too Much Before Launching My SaaS. Here’s What I’d Do Differently.

Karl Esi — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:23:27 +0000

There’s a trap almost every developer-founder eventually falls into.

You have an idea.

You open your editor.

You start building.

A few days later, you have authentication.

Then a dashboard.

Then settings.

Then email notifications.

Then an admin panel.

Then analytics.

Then you realize you still haven't launched.

I've been there.

And the frustrating part is that it feels like you're making progress the entire time.

You're writing code. The app is getting bigger. The UI looks better.

But none of that answers the most important question:

Does anyone actually want this?

The problem isn't building

Building isn't the problem.

Building the wrong thing for too long is.

As developers, we're naturally drawn toward problems we know how to solve.

Need authentication? We know how to implement it.

Need a database? We know how to set one up.

Need payments? We can integrate Stripe or another provider.

Need a dashboard? Give us a weekend.

The technical problems have clear answers.

Customer demand doesn't.

That's why building can become a form of procrastination.

You're not necessarily avoiding work.

You're avoiding uncertainty.

Your first version should answer one question

Before writing code, ask:

What is the single assumption this product needs to prove?

For example:

"People will pay to automatically convert their bank statements into clean spreadsheets."

That's a much more useful hypothesis than:

"We're building an AI-powered financial document platform with dashboards, teams, analytics, integrations, billing, notifications, and an admin system."

The first can be tested quickly.

The second can take months.

And you still might discover nobody cares.

Stop building the product you eventually want

This was one of the biggest mindset shifts for me.

Your first version isn't supposed to look like the final version.

It's supposed to help you learn what the final version should become.

Look at established SaaS products today and it's easy to assume they started with dozens of features.

They didn't need to.

Those features were accumulated over time.

Customers asked for things.

Usage revealed problems.

Revenue created new requirements.

The product evolved.

As a founder, you don't need to build version 10 on day one.

You need to build version 1.

What should actually be in your MVP?

For many SaaS products, you can start with surprisingly little.

A useful first version might contain:

One core workflow
Basic authentication
A simple landing page
Payment functionality if payment is part of the hypothesis
A way for users to contact you
Basic analytics

That's it.

You probably don't need:

An advanced admin dashboard
Five user roles
Team management
Complex notification systems
Ten integrations
A sophisticated settings page
A custom design system
Twenty different dashboard widgets

Those things can come later.

Build the boring infrastructure differently

There's another problem that doesn't get discussed enough.

A lot of SaaS development isn't actually about your product.

It's infrastructure.

Authentication.

Database setup.

Payments.

Email.

API structure.

SEO.

Analytics.

Error handling.

Deployment.

Security.

These things matter, but they're rarely the reason someone buys your product.

If your competitive advantage is an automated workflow for accountants, for example, your advantage probably isn't the fact that you spent three days implementing password reset emails.

Yet developers routinely spend weeks rebuilding infrastructure that has already been solved.

That's where starter kits and boilerplates can make sense.

Instead of spending your first few weeks recreating the same SaaS foundation, you can start with the boring pieces already in place and spend your time on the part that makes your product different.

I wrote more about this problem in Why Most Founders Overbuild Their First SaaS (And How to Stop Doing It).

A better SaaS development sequence

Here's the process I'd recommend.

1. Define the problem

Don't start with:

"I'm going to build an AI SaaS."

Start with:

"Who has a painful problem that I can solve?"

Specificity matters.

2. Find the smallest useful workflow

Ask:

What is the minimum interaction that delivers the promised value?

If your product converts documents, perhaps the MVP is simply:

Upload → Process → Download.

You don't need a dashboard with 15 pages to prove that workflow works.

3. Build that workflow

Only build what is necessary.

Every feature should have a reason for existing.

If you can't explain why a feature is necessary for the initial hypothesis, postpone it.

4. Launch before you're comfortable

This is the uncomfortable part.

Your product will probably feel unfinished.

That's normal.

The first users aren't there because your software is perfect.

They're there because it solves something they care about.

5. Watch what people actually do

Don't only ask users what they want.

Watch their behavior.

Where do they stop?

What do they repeatedly do?

What do they ask for?

What confuses them?

What are they willing to pay for?

Behavior is often more useful than opinions.

6. Build based on evidence

Now you have information.

A customer repeatedly asks for CSV export?

Build it.

Nobody uses your advanced analytics dashboard?

Don't spend another week improving it.

Users keep abandoning the signup process?

Fix that before adding another feature.

That's how the product should grow.

A simple rule for deciding what to build

Whenever you're tempted to add a feature, ask three questions:

Does this help the user reach the core outcome?

Do users actually need it right now?

Do we have evidence that it matters?

If the answer is no to all three, put it on the backlog.

Not delete.

Just postpone.

A backlog is useful because it lets you capture ideas without immediately turning them into development work.

The fastest developer isn't necessarily the best developer

There's a strange obsession in startup culture with shipping quickly.

But speed isn't simply about writing code faster.

It's about reducing the amount of code you need to write.

A developer who spends two weeks building 30 features isn't necessarily moving faster than someone who spends three days building one feature that customers actually use.

The second developer may be learning much faster.

And learning is the real advantage of an early-stage startup.

What I'd avoid building early

If I were starting a new SaaS today, I'd be extremely skeptical about building these before getting users:

Complex role systems

If you're the only user, you probably don't need owner, admin, editor, manager, viewer, and guest permissions.

Start with one user type.

Advanced dashboards

A dashboard doesn't automatically make a product better.

If users only need one result, show them the result.

Multiple integrations

Build integrations when customers need them.

Don't build ten integrations because competitors have ten.

Sophisticated admin tools

You can often manage your first few customers manually.

That's okay.

Manual work is sometimes a feature of an early-stage startup.

Perfect UI

Make the product understandable and usable.

Then improve the design as you learn.

The goal isn't to build less forever

This isn't an argument against building sophisticated software.

Eventually, you'll need better infrastructure.

You'll need better analytics.

You'll need more integrations.

You'll need teams, permissions, automation, and advanced workflows.

The difference is timing.

Build complexity when complexity is justified.

Don't build it because you're afraid your product looks too small.

Your first SaaS is an experiment

This is probably the most useful mental model.

Your first SaaS isn't a monument.

It's an experiment.

You're testing assumptions.

You want to discover:

Who has the problem?
How painful is it?
What solution do they actually want?
Will they use it?
Will they pay?
What should you build next?

Every week you spend building something unrelated to those questions delays the answers.

Build the smallest thing that can teach you something

Before your next feature, ask yourself:

What will I learn if I build this?

If the answer is nothing, don't build it yet.

If the answer is "users will finally be able to complete the core workflow," build it.

If the answer is "it will make the dashboard look more complete," wait.

Your codebase doesn't need to be impressive.

Your product needs to be useful.

Build less.

Launch earlier.

Talk to users.

Then let the users tell you what deserves to be built next.

How to Diagnose and Fix a Slow WordPress Website

Karl Esi — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 10:35:02 +0000

A WordPress website can feel slow for many different reasons.

Your hosting might be overloaded. A plugin might be running expensive database queries. Images might be unnecessarily large. JavaScript could be blocking rendering. Your database might have accumulated years of unnecessary data.

The difficult part is knowing which problem is actually responsible.

Installing another caching plugin is not always the answer.

The better approach is to diagnose the bottleneck first, then fix the underlying problem.

In this guide, we'll walk through a practical process for diagnosing and improving WordPress performance.

For a more comprehensive optimization checklist covering hosting, caching, images, plugins, databases, CDNs, cron jobs, and external scripts, see the complete WordPress performance optimization guide from WP Stability.

1. Start by Measuring the Problem

Before changing anything, establish a baseline.

Run your website through a performance testing tool and record:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
First Contentful Paint (FCP)
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Time to First Byte (TTFB)
Total page size
Number of requests
JavaScript execution time

Don't focus only on the overall performance score.

A website can have a high score while still having a poor experience for real users.

The most useful question is:

Which part of the request is actually slow?

For example, a high TTFB points toward a server or backend problem, while a large LCP may point toward images, fonts, CSS, or rendering issues.

2. Check Your Hosting First

One of the most overlooked causes of WordPress performance problems is hosting.

If the server is consistently running out of CPU or memory, frontend optimization can only take you so far.

Look for symptoms such as:

high CPU usage
slow PHP execution
database queries taking too long
insufficient PHP workers
frequent resource throttling
slow response times during traffic spikes

If your site is consistently slow even when the page itself is relatively lightweight, the server may be the bottleneck.

Before spending hours optimizing CSS and JavaScript, make sure the infrastructure can actually handle the website.

3. Test With and Without Caching

Caching is one of the biggest performance improvements available to WordPress sites.

Without caching, WordPress may need to execute PHP code, query the database, load plugins, build the page, and return the result for every request.

With page caching, frequently requested pages can be served much more efficiently.

Depending on your infrastructure, you may use:

page caching
object caching
browser caching
CDN caching
server-side caching

However, stacking several optimization plugins together can create more problems than it solves.

The goal isn't to install every performance plugin you can find.

The goal is to create a predictable caching strategy.

4. Investigate Your Plugins

Plugins are one of the easiest places to start investigating.

But don't assume that the number of plugins automatically determines performance.

A website with 30 lightweight plugins can sometimes outperform a website with 10 poorly designed ones.

Look for plugins that:

make frequent database queries
load assets on every page
execute expensive background tasks
add unnecessary JavaScript
duplicate functionality
perform external API requests

Temporarily disabling plugins and testing performance can help identify whether one of them is responsible.

For more advanced debugging, tools such as Query Monitor can help reveal slow database queries, PHP errors, hooks, HTTP requests, and other bottlenecks.

5. Optimize Images

Images are often responsible for a large percentage of a page's total weight.

A common mistake is uploading a 4 MB image when the website only displays it at 800 pixels wide.

Instead:

resize images before uploading
compress them
use modern formats such as WebP where appropriate
enable lazy loading
avoid serving unnecessarily large images
use responsive image sizes

Image optimization is particularly important for pages with large hero images, galleries, product catalogs, or blog content.

6. Look at Your JavaScript

JavaScript can become a major performance problem as websites grow.

Analytics platforms, advertising scripts, chat widgets, social media embeds, heatmaps, tracking tools, sliders, page builders, and plugins can all add JavaScript.

The result can be a page that looks simple but requires the browser to execute thousands of lines of code.

Look for:

render-blocking JavaScript
unnecessary third-party scripts
scripts loaded on pages where they're not needed
excessive JavaScript execution
unused JavaScript

Don't blindly combine every JavaScript file.

Modern WordPress performance optimization is more about loading the right resources at the right time than simply reducing the number of files.

7. Reduce Third-Party Scripts

Third-party resources deserve special attention because you don't completely control their performance.

Examples include:

Google Analytics
advertising networks
chat widgets
social media embeds
external fonts
marketing platforms
video embeds

Every external request introduces another dependency.

Ask yourself:

Does this script provide enough value to justify its performance cost?

If the answer is no, remove it.

If the answer is yes, consider loading it later or only on pages where it is required.

8. Check the Database

WordPress relies heavily on its database.

As a website grows, the database can accumulate:

post revisions
spam comments
expired transients
orphaned metadata
unnecessary options
unused plugin data

A bloated database isn't automatically a disaster, but poorly optimized queries and autoloaded options can become serious problems.

If your WordPress dashboard is slow, pages take a long time to generate, or server CPU usage is unusually high, database performance is worth investigating.

Don't delete database tables blindly.

Always understand what the data belongs to and keep a reliable backup before performing cleanup.

9. Investigate WP-Cron

WordPress uses WP-Cron to run scheduled tasks.

Plugins can register their own scheduled events for things such as:

sending emails
processing orders
generating reports
cleaning data
importing content
synchronizing external services

On busy websites, poorly configured scheduled tasks can consume significant resources.

For higher-traffic sites, moving scheduled tasks from WP-Cron to a real server-level cron job can provide more predictable execution.

This is especially useful for WooCommerce and websites with many background processes.

10. Use a CDN Where It Makes Sense

A Content Delivery Network can help deliver static assets from locations closer to your visitors.

This can improve performance for geographically distributed audiences and reduce the amount of traffic your origin server needs to handle.

A CDN is particularly useful for:

images
CSS
JavaScript
fonts
downloadable assets

But a CDN won't magically fix a slow WordPress backend.

If your origin server takes three seconds to generate a page, putting a CDN in front of it doesn't necessarily solve the underlying problem.

Infrastructure optimization should therefore happen at multiple layers.

11. Don't Optimize Everything at Once

One of the biggest mistakes during WordPress performance work is changing 20 things simultaneously.

You then run another speed test and see an improvement.

But you don't know why.

A better process is:

Measure.
Identify the largest bottleneck.
Make one significant change.
Test again.
Compare the results.
Keep or revert the change.
Move to the next bottleneck.

This makes performance optimization much easier to reason about.

It also reduces the risk of breaking your website.

12. Don't Trust Performance Scores Alone

Tools such as Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights are extremely useful, but a performance score is not the website.

Look at the underlying metrics.

For example:

A page might have a reasonable overall score but a poor TTFB.

That suggests you should investigate the server, database, PHP execution, caching, or backend.

Another page might have a fast server response but a poor LCP.

That points you toward frontend rendering, images, fonts, CSS, or the largest visible element.

The metric tells you where to investigate.

A Practical WordPress Performance Workflow

When I investigate a slow WordPress website, I would generally approach it in this order:

1. Measure

Establish baseline performance.

2. Check the server

Look at CPU, memory, PHP workers, response times, and database performance.

3. Check caching

Make sure page and object caching are configured appropriately.

4. Inspect plugins

Look for expensive plugins and unnecessary functionality.

5. Optimize images

Reduce page weight and improve image delivery.

6. Inspect JavaScript and CSS

Find render-blocking and unnecessary resources.

7. Reduce third-party scripts

Remove or defer non-essential external resources.

8. Check the database

Investigate slow queries and excessive autoloaded data.

9. Review scheduled tasks

Look for expensive WP-Cron activity.

10. Re-test

Compare the results against your original baseline.

This approach is much more reliable than randomly installing optimization plugins.

When Performance Problems Need Deeper Investigation

Sometimes the problem isn't obvious from the frontend.

You may need deeper technical investigation when:

TTFB remains high despite caching
CPU usage stays consistently high
database queries are unusually slow
WooCommerce checkout is slow
admin pages take several seconds to load
traffic spikes cause the server to crash
background jobs consume excessive resources
performance suddenly deteriorates after a plugin update

At this point, you may need to inspect PHP execution, database queries, server logs, cron jobs, plugin behavior, and infrastructure configuration.

That's where WordPress performance optimization becomes more like application performance engineering than simply installing a caching plugin.

Final Takeaway

A slow WordPress website is usually a symptom of a bottleneck somewhere in the stack.

The bottleneck could be:

hosting
PHP
the database
plugins
themes
images
JavaScript
third-party services
caching
scheduled tasks
infrastructure

The key is to identify the bottleneck before trying to fix it.

Measure first.

Change one thing at a time.

Test again.

And optimize based on evidence rather than assumptions.

If you want a more comprehensive checklist covering the major areas of WordPress performance optimization, read the complete guide on WP Stability.

WP Stability focuses on keeping WordPress websites stable, secure, maintained, and performant before small problems become expensive ones.

I Built a Free Influencer Engagement Rate Calculator (Here's Why)

Karl Esi — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:24:23 +0000

When I started building Collab Tower, I noticed something interesting.

Whenever people talked about influencer marketing, the first question was almost always:

"How many followers do they have?"

But experienced marketers rarely start there.

They ask a different question:

"What's their engagement rate?"

A creator with 15,000 followers and a 7% engagement rate is often far more valuable than someone with 300,000 followers and a 0.8% engagement rate.

Follower count tells you how many people clicked "Follow."

Engagement tells you how many people actually care.

That realization led me to build a free Influencer Engagement Rate Calculator on Collab Tower. You can try it here: https://collabtower.com/tools/engagement-rate-calculator

What Does an Engagement Rate Actually Measure?

Engagement rate measures how actively a creator's audience interacts with their content.

The most common formula is:

Engagement Rate (%) =
(Likes + Comments + Shares) ÷ Followers × 100

For example:

Followers: 25,000

Likes: 1,200

Comments: 80

Shares: 35

(1200 + 80 + 35) ÷ 25000 × 100

= 5.26%

A percentage like that is much more useful than follower count alone.

Why I Built It

I kept seeing founders compare creators using only follower numbers.

That's a dangerous metric.

Two creators can have the same audience size but produce completely different results.

For example:

Creator A

• 200,000 followers

• 1,400 likes

• 18 comments

• 5 shares

Creator B

• 40,000 followers

• 2,500 likes

• 180 comments

• 90 shares

Most people would choose Creator A because the audience looks bigger.

I'd choose Creator B every time.

The audience is clearly more engaged.

That's exactly the type of comparison I wanted to make easier.

Features

The calculator currently supports:

• Instagram

• TikTok

• YouTube

Simply enter:

• Follower count

• Likes

• Comments

• Shares

The calculator instantly returns the engagement rate.

It also compares the result against benchmark ranges for different creator sizes.

For Instagram, for example:

Nano creators

5–9% is generally considered strong.

Micro creators

3–6% is healthy.

Macro creators

1.5–3% is common.

Mega creators

0.5–1.5% is often expected.

These ranges aren't rules.

They're reference points that help brands evaluate creators more consistently.

Why This Matters

Engagement rate helps answer questions like:

Is this audience actually paying attention?

Does the creator consistently generate interaction?

Are people commenting because they're interested, or just scrolling past?

Is the audience showing signs of fatigue?

No single metric tells the whole story.

But engagement is usually a much stronger indicator than follower count.

Building It

Technically, the calculator itself is fairly simple.

The interesting part wasn't the formula.

It was designing a tool that gives users useful context instead of just returning a number.

A percentage without interpretation doesn't help much.

A percentage with benchmark comparisons immediately tells you whether the creator is performing above or below expectations for their audience size.

That's the part I wanted to improve.

From Calculator to Workflow

While building this tool, I realized something else.

Calculating engagement is only the first step.

The real workflow looks something like this:

Discover a creator.
Calculate their engagement rate.
Compare them against industry benchmarks.
Decide whether they're worth contacting.
Start a partnership.

The calculator solves step two.

The rest of that workflow is exactly why I built Collab Tower (https://collabtower.com).

The engagement calculator helps you evaluate creators before reaching out. Once you've identified creators with strong engagement, Collab Tower helps startups and creators connect through intent-based matching instead of cold outreach.

Instead of manually searching through social media, collecting spreadsheets, and sending dozens of cold outreach emails, Collab Tower is designed to help startups and creators find each other through intent-based matching.

If both sides are interested, they match.

No cold outreach.

No guessing who might reply.

Just mutual interest before the conversation even starts.

What's Next?

This calculator is the first of several free tools I'm building for founders and creator marketers.

Some of the others include:

• Influencer Cost Calculator

• Campaign Budget Planner

• Hashtag Generator

The goal isn't just to build calculators.

It's to make influencer marketing more transparent and easier for smaller startups that don't have enterprise budgets.

If you're building products for creators or brands, I'd love to hear what metrics you rely on when evaluating influencer partnerships.

Maybe the next free tool should solve one of those problems.

What Is SaaS? A Technical Explanation for Developers

Karl Esi — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:45:30 +0000

If you've spent any time in tech, you've probably heard people say things like:

"I'm building a SaaS."

"That's a SaaS business."

"You should build a SaaS instead."

But ask five developers what actually makes something a SaaS, and you'll probably get five different answers.

Some will say it's software with a monthly subscription.

Others will say it's any web application.

Some will argue that platforms like Twitter, Airbnb, or Netflix are SaaS, while others disagree.

So, what is the technical definition?

Let's ignore the business buzzwords and look at SaaS from a developer's perspective.

SaaS Is a Software Delivery Model

SaaS stands for Software as a Service.

The important word isn't "software."

It's service.

Instead of installing software on your own computer or server, users access software that runs on infrastructure managed by the provider.

Think about the applications you use every day:

• GitHub

• Notion

• Slack

• Figma

• Linear

• Canva

You don't install their backend.

You open a browser, sign in, and start working.

The provider handles the servers, databases, deployments, security, backups, and updates.

You simply use the software.

That's SaaS.

A Subscription Doesn't Make Something SaaS

One of the biggest misconceptions is that SaaS means "monthly subscription."

Subscriptions are a pricing model.

SaaS is a delivery model.

You can have:

• A free SaaS.

• A paid SaaS.

• An internal SaaS used only by employees.

• A one-time purchase SaaS.

Charging monthly doesn't magically turn an application into SaaS.

Likewise, offering free access doesn't stop it from being SaaS.

The Core Building Blocks of Most SaaS Applications

Although every product is different, most SaaS applications share a surprisingly similar architecture.

Authentication

Users create accounts.

Reset passwords.

Manage profiles.

Without users, there's rarely a SaaS.

Database

Applications store information.

Projects.

Documents.

Transactions.

Files.

Preferences.

Customer data usually lives in databases such as PostgreSQL or MongoDB.

User Dashboard

Once authenticated, users interact with their own workspace.

That could be:

A CRM dashboard.

A finance dashboard.

An AI chat interface.

A project board.

An analytics page.

The dashboard is where the software delivers value.

APIs

Most SaaS applications expose or consume APIs.

Payment gateways.

AI models.

Email services.

Maps.

Storage.

Authentication providers.

Modern SaaS products are often collections of connected services.

Cloud Infrastructure

Unlike desktop software, SaaS runs on infrastructure managed by the provider.

Examples include:

AWS

Google Cloud

Azure

Render

Railway

Vercel

Users never think about where your servers are.

That's exactly the point.

Automatic Updates

Remember downloading version 2.4.7 of desktop software?

With SaaS, updates happen once.

You deploy.

Everyone gets the latest version immediately.

No installers.

No upgrade wizard.

No CDs.

Multi-Tenancy: The Feature Beginners Rarely Think About

One concept that separates SaaS from many traditional applications is multi-tenancy.

Imagine 10,000 companies use the same project management tool.

They all use the same application.

The same backend.

The same deployment.

But each company only sees its own projects and data.

The application serves multiple customers while keeping their data isolated.

That's multi-tenancy.

You don't deploy a separate application for every customer.

You build one application that securely serves many.

Is Every Website SaaS?

No.

Let's compare a few examples.

Restaurant Website

Displays menus.

Opening hours.

Contact information.

Not SaaS.

The software supports another business.

Ecommerce Store

Sells physical products.

Customers use the website to buy items.

Still not SaaS.

The software isn't the product.

Shopify

Completely different.

Merchants pay to use software that helps them build and run online stores.

The software itself is the product.

That's SaaS.

GitHub

Developers collaborate using repositories, issues, pull requests, and CI/CD.

Again, the software is the product.

SaaS.

What About AI Applications?

Many AI startups today are SaaS.

Chatbots.

Resume analyzers.

Writing assistants.

Code generators.

Image editors.

The AI model isn't the SaaS.

The application built around it is.

OpenAI provides models.

A startup that builds an AI customer support platform using those models is building SaaS.

You Don't Need to Build the Next Salesforce

Many developers think SaaS has to be massive.

It doesn't.

A SaaS can be:

An invoice generator.

A habit tracker.

A project management tool.

A bank statement converter.

An ATS resume analyzer.

A social media scheduler.

A booking platform.

A CRM.

If users log in, perform work, and rely on software you host and maintain, you're building SaaS.

The idea can be simple.

Execution matters far more than complexity.

The Pattern Behind Nearly Every SaaS

After building several SaaS products, you start noticing something interesting.

Whether you're building an AI writing assistant, a habit tracker, an analytics dashboard, or a CRM, the foundation rarely changes.

Most SaaS applications need:

• Authentication

• A database

• User dashboards

• Payments

• Email notifications

• File uploads

• Deployment

• Analytics

Only the business logic changes.

Everything else is infrastructure.

When I started building SaaS products, I kept rebuilding the same authentication flows, payment integrations, database models, deployment pipelines, and dashboards from scratch.

It was repetitive.

That's exactly why I created Zero to SaaS.

Instead of starting every project with an empty repository, I wanted a practical blueprint that covers the parts almost every SaaS needs. Authentication, database setup, Stripe billing, deployment, and the other foundations that consume most of your time before you even start building your unique feature.

The goal isn't to teach you how to build another clone.

It's to help you spend less time rebuilding infrastructure and more time solving real problems for users.

Once those foundations are in place, building your actual product becomes significantly faster.

Where Most Developers Get Stuck

Many developers can build features.

Far fewer know how to turn those features into a production-ready SaaS.

Questions like these usually slow projects down:

How should users authenticate?

How do I structure my database?

Where should I host everything?

How do subscriptions work?

How do I protect routes?

How do I send transactional emails?

How do I deploy updates safely?

These aren't difficult individually.

They're just problems every SaaS founder solves repeatedly.

Having a repeatable process is often the difference between shipping in weeks instead of months.

Final Thoughts

SaaS isn't defined by subscriptions.

It isn't defined by AI.

And it isn't defined by how many users you have.

It's defined by how software is delivered.

If users access your application over the internet while you manage the infrastructure, updates, security, and data behind the scenes, you're building SaaS.

Everything else—pricing, design, marketing, and growth—is layered on top of that foundation.

Understanding this changes how you approach software development.

You stop thinking about building isolated features.

You start thinking about building systems that people can rely on every day.

And once you've built that foundation once, you can reuse it for your next SaaS—and the one after that.

Paddle Next.js Starter Kit Alternative: A Faster SaaS Boilerplate

Karl Esi — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:59:00 +0000

If you've been searching for a Paddle Next.js starter kit, you've probably realized something.

Most boilerplates solve the same problem differently.

They give you authentication.

They add a database.

They include a dashboard.

Some integrate Paddle.

Others use Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, or Polar.

But the biggest question isn't which payment provider they use.

It's whether the starter kit helps you launch your SaaS faster.

In this article, we'll look at what a Paddle-based Next.js starter kit should include and why you may want an alternative depending on your stack and business.

Why Developers Choose Paddle

Paddle has become a popular payment platform for SaaS businesses, especially those selling globally.

Instead of integrating multiple services for tax collection, invoicing, and subscriptions, Paddle handles much of the merchant-of-record complexity.

For many founders, that means spending less time dealing with international tax compliance and more time building their product.

If your customers are spread across multiple countries, that's a compelling advantage.

What a Modern Next.js Starter Kit Should Include

Payment processing is only one piece of a SaaS application.

A production-ready starter kit should also provide:

Authentication
User dashboards
Protected routes
Database integration
Email authentication
SEO foundations
Analytics
File uploads
Blog support
Responsive UI components
Deployment configuration

Without these pieces, you'll still spend days wiring together common infrastructure before building your product.

When a Paddle Starter Kit Makes Sense

A Paddle-first boilerplate is a great choice if:

You're already committed to Paddle.
You primarily sell subscriptions.
You want merchant-of-record features built into your payment workflow.
You don't expect to switch payment providers.

In these cases, using a dedicated Paddle starter can reduce implementation time.

When You Might Want an Alternative

Not every SaaS business uses Paddle.

Some founders choose:

Stripe
Lemon Squeezy
Polar
Paystack
Razorpay

Sometimes the decision depends on:

Customer location.
Supported countries.
Available payment methods.
Existing infrastructure.
Local regulations.

If your preferred payment provider isn't Paddle, a more flexible starter kit may save you significant migration work later.

What Makes SassyPack Different

Instead of focusing on a single payment provider, SassyPack is designed around the parts every SaaS application needs regardless of how you accept payments.

It includes:

Next.js App Router
Authentication
Protected routes
Dashboard
Blog
SEO optimization
Analytics
Responsive UI
Clean project structure

The payment layer can be adapted to your preferred provider rather than forcing a specific billing platform.

That flexibility is especially useful if you're building products for different markets or expect your payment requirements to evolve.

Choosing the Right Starter Kit

Before buying any boilerplate, ask yourself a few questions.

How quickly do you want to launch?

If your goal is validating an MVP in a weekend, look for a starter that minimizes setup.

Which payment provider do you actually need?

Don't choose a boilerplate because everyone else is using it.

Choose one that matches your customers and business model.

Will you build multiple SaaS products?

If the answer is yes, investing in a reusable starter kit usually pays for itself after a few projects.

How opinionated is the architecture?

Some starter kits make many decisions for you.

Others provide a lightweight foundation you can customize.

Think about how much flexibility you'll want six months from now.

Starter Kit Features Worth Prioritizing

When comparing options, these features usually matter more than the payment integration itself.

Secure authentication
Clean code structure
Documentation
SEO support
Dashboard components
Email workflows
API architecture
Deployment guides
Performance
Long-term maintenance

A starter kit should help you build your product—not become another product you have to maintain.

Final Thoughts

A Paddle Next.js starter kit is a solid option if Paddle is central to your business.

But if your priority is launching SaaS products quickly while keeping your payment options flexible, an alternative may be the better long-term choice.

The best boilerplate isn't necessarily the one with the most features.

It's the one that removes the most friction from your workflow.

Whether you choose a Paddle-specific solution or a more flexible alternative like SassyPack, the goal remains the same:

Spend less time configuring infrastructure.

Spend more time building something customers will pay for.

15 Best Next.js Starter Kits & Boilerplates for 2026 (Free & Premium)

Karl Esi — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 19:45:47 +0000

Every Next.js project starts the same way.

You create a new app.

Then spend the next few days setting up authentication, payments, email, databases, dashboards, SEO, analytics, and deployment.

Only after all of that do you start building the feature people will actually pay for.

That's exactly why starter kits exist.

A good Next.js starter kit can save days—or even weeks—of repetitive setup work by shipping common SaaS infrastructure out of the box. In 2026, the ecosystem has grown significantly, with options ranging from minimal open-source templates to production-ready commercial boilerplates.

In this guide, we'll compare 15 of the best Next.js starter kits and boilerplates available today.

What Makes a Good Next.js Starter Kit?

Before looking at individual options, here's what I consider essential.

A modern starter kit should include:

• Authentication

• Database integration

• Payments

• Dashboard UI

• Email support

• TypeScript

• Tailwind CSS

• SEO defaults

• Deployment configuration

• Documentation

Everything else is a bonus.

The goal is simple:

Spend less time configuring infrastructure and more time building your product.

1. SassyPack

Best for: Indie hackers, SaaS founders, and developers who want to launch quickly.

SassyPack includes many of the features developers repeatedly rebuild:

• Authentication

• Payments

• Dashboard

• Blog

• Analytics

• SEO

• Protected routes

• Responsive UI

Instead of wiring these together yourself, you can begin building your actual SaaS immediately.

2. ShipFast

Best for: Solo founders shipping MVPs.

ShipFast became popular because it focuses on helping founders launch quickly instead of building everything from scratch.

If your priority is validating an idea fast, it's one of the strongest commercial options.

3. MakerKit

Best for: Multi-tenant SaaS applications.

MakerKit includes advanced features like organizations, permissions, billing, and team management.

It's more opinionated than many alternatives, but excellent for B2B SaaS products.

4. Supastarter

Best for: Developers building with Supabase.

Supastarter provides a polished foundation around modern authentication, database management, payments, and developer tooling.

It's a popular choice if Supabase is already part of your stack.

5. T3 Stack

Best for: Developers who prefer open source.

The T3 Stack combines:

Next.js
TypeScript
Prisma
tRPC
Tailwind CSS

It's one of the most respected free starting points in the Next.js community.

6. create-t3-turbo

Best for: Web and mobile projects.

If you're planning to build both a web application and an Expo mobile app, create-t3-turbo provides an excellent monorepo foundation.

7. Refine

Best for: Internal tools and admin panels.

Refine focuses on CRUD applications and dashboards.

It integrates well with multiple backend providers and significantly speeds up admin interface development.

8. Next.js Boilerplate (ixartz)

Best for: Free production-ready projects.

This open-source starter emphasizes developer experience with TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, testing, CI, and SEO already configured.

9. Shipped.club

Best for: SaaS founders.

Shipped.club provides authentication, billing, database setup, and deployment tooling designed to reduce the time between idea and launch.

10. Divjoy

Best for: Rapid MVP generation.

Divjoy generates complete React and Next.js applications based on your selections, making it attractive for developers who want a customized starting point.

11. Next.js Boilerplate Max

Best for: Developers wanting a mature commercial template.

This project has evolved through multiple Next.js releases and includes many production-ready features developers commonly need. Community discussions continue to recommend it as a maintained option.

12. LaunchKit

Best for: AI-powered SaaS products.

LaunchKit focuses on helping developers launch modern SaaS applications with AI-ready workflows and current Next.js conventions.

13. TheFrontKit

Best for: Accessibility-focused SaaS applications.

TheFrontKit emphasizes production readiness, accessibility, and modern development practices for founders shipping customer-facing software.

14. Turbostarter

Best for: Developers who prefer modular architecture.

Turbostarter has gained attention in the community as a flexible foundation for projects that don't want unnecessary complexity.

15. Next.js Starter Core

Best for: Developers who want a clean foundation.

If you don't need authentication or payments immediately, a minimal starter with TypeScript, App Router, Docker, and modern tooling can be a better long-term choice than an overly complex boilerplate.

Free vs Premium Starter Kits

Free starter kits are excellent when:

You're learning Next.js.
You enjoy configuring your own stack.
Your requirements are unique.

Premium starter kits are usually worth considering when:

You're building client projects.
You launch multiple SaaS products every year.
Your time is more valuable than setup work.
You want to focus on product development instead of infrastructure.

The right choice depends on how often you'll reuse the investment.

Should You Even Use a Starter Kit?

Some developers argue that AI can generate most boilerplate code today.

Others argue that starter kits are more valuable than ever because they provide tested architecture, integrations, and conventions instead of isolated code snippets. Community discussions reflect both viewpoints, with many developers reusing proven foundations while others prefer minimal templates or AI-assisted builds.

The answer depends on your goals.

If you're building one hobby project, starting from scratch can be a great learning experience.

If you're launching products regularly, rebuilding authentication, billing, emails, and dashboards every time is rarely the best use of your time.

Final Thoughts

There's no single "best" Next.js starter kit.

The best one is the one that fits your workflow.

If you're building an enterprise SaaS, you'll probably want features like multi-tenancy and team management.

If you're shipping an MVP over a weekend, simplicity matters far more.

Take a few minutes to compare the features you actually need before committing to a boilerplate. A good foundation can save you weeks of repetitive work, but the wrong one can add unnecessary complexity.

Which Next.js starter kit are you using in 2026? I'd love to hear your experience in the comments.

Why Sending the Same Resume to Every Job Doesn't Work (And What to Do Instead)

Karl Esi — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:23:58 +0000

If you've applied to dozens of jobs and barely received any interviews, you're not alone.

One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make isn't a lack of experience.

It's assuming that one resume should work for every opportunity.

The reality is that employers don't hire for "software engineers" or "marketing managers."

They hire for this software engineer.

This project manager.

This data analyst.

Every job posting describes a slightly different version of the role.

If your resume doesn't reflect that, you're making it harder for both recruiters and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to recognize your fit.

Let's look at why.

What an ATS Actually Does

An Applicant Tracking System is software that helps employers organize and filter applications.

Contrary to popular belief, most ATS platforms don't simply reject resumes because they aren't "ATS-friendly."

Instead, they organize applications, extract information, and help recruiters search for candidates using skills, keywords, experience, certifications, and job titles.

Imagine a hiring manager searching for candidates with:

Kubernetes
CI/CD
Docker
Microservices

If your resume demonstrates those skills but never actually mentions them, your application becomes much harder to find.

The issue isn't always your qualifications.

Sometimes it's how you've described them.

Every Job Description Is Different

Here's an example.

Job A

React
TypeScript
Next.js
Tailwind CSS

Job B

Angular
Azure
C#
SQL Server

Both positions might have the title "Frontend Developer."

Yet they require completely different skills.

Submitting the exact same resume to both jobs ignores what each employer is actually looking for.

Why Generic Resumes Underperform

Many resumes contain phrases like:

Responsible for software development.
Worked with cross-functional teams.
Assisted with project delivery.
Helped improve system performance.

These statements aren't wrong.

They're just too generic.

Recruiters want evidence.

Instead of:

Responsible for software development.

Write something like:

Built a React dashboard used by over 5,000 users, reducing manual reporting time by 40%.

Specific achievements communicate value far better than responsibilities.

The Resume Tailoring Workflow

Instead of this:

Find a job.
Update the company name.
Submit.

Try this:

Read the job description carefully.
Highlight repeated skills and requirements.
Compare those requirements with your resume.
Add relevant experience you already have.
Rewrite weak bullet points with measurable results.
Remove irrelevant information.
Review before submitting.

The goal isn't to rewrite your entire resume every time.

It's to make sure your strongest experience matches the role you're applying for.

Keywords Matter—But Honesty Matters More

A common misconception is that applicants should stuff resumes with keywords.

Don't.

If you haven't worked with Kubernetes, don't add Kubernetes.

Instead, ask yourself:

Did I use a similar technology?
Did I describe it clearly?
Did I forget to mention a relevant skill I genuinely have?

Resume optimization isn't about gaming the system.

It's about accurately presenting your experience.

Small Improvements Add Up

Before applying, check whether your resume answers these questions.

Does it clearly match this role?
Are my strongest achievements easy to find?
Have I mentioned the important skills I genuinely have?
Are my bullet points focused on impact instead of responsibilities?
Have I removed information that isn't relevant?

You don't need a perfect resume.

You need one that's relevant.

A Faster Way to Compare Your Resume

Manually comparing every resume to every job description can take a surprising amount of time.

That's why I built Hireva.

Instead of guessing, you can:

Upload your resume.
Paste the job description.
Get an ATS compatibility score.
Discover missing keywords.
Identify your biggest gaps.
Receive focused suggestions before you apply.

The goal isn't to guarantee interviews.

No tool can honestly promise that.

The goal is to help you submit a stronger application that's aligned with the role you're targeting.

A few minutes of tailoring before clicking Apply can make a much bigger difference than sending the same resume to another fifty companies.

Have you ever tailored your resume for a specific role? Did it improve your response rate? I'd love to hear what worked for you in the comments.

Best ATS Resume Checkers in 2026

Karl Esi — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:04:03 +0000

Landing interviews has become increasingly competitive.

Today, your resume is usually evaluated by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before a recruiter ever reads it. If your resume doesn't match the job description, lacks important keywords, or contains formatting issues, it may never reach a human.

That's why ATS resume checkers have become an essential part of the modern job search.

In this article, we'll compare ten of the most popular ATS resume checkers available in 2026 and explain who each one is best suited for.

1. Hireva

Best for: Job seekers who want simple, job-specific ATS analysis.

Hireva focuses on one workflow:

Upload your resume, paste the job description, and instantly receive an ATS compatibility score.

Instead of overwhelming users with dozens of unrelated features, Hireva highlights:

ATS match score
Missing keywords
Keyword coverage
Resume gaps
Rewrite suggestions
Resume improvements based on a specific job description

If you're tailoring every application individually, Hireva keeps the process straightforward.

Pros

Simple workflow
Fast reports
Missing keyword detection
ATS match score
Built specifically for tailoring resumes

Cons

Doesn't include resume templates
Focused on resume optimization rather than application tracking

Best for

Anyone applying to competitive jobs who customizes every application.

Website: https://hireva.collabtower.com

2. Jobscan

Best for: Power users.

Jobscan has been one of the best-known ATS optimization platforms for years.

It compares your resume against specific job descriptions and provides detailed keyword analysis, formatting suggestions, and ATS recommendations. It also includes LinkedIn optimization and job search tools.

Pros

Detailed reports
Strong keyword analysis
ATS-specific recommendations

Cons

Higher pricing than many competitors
Limited free scans

3. Teal

Best for: Managing an entire job search.

Teal combines:

Resume builder
Job tracker
ATS keyword matching
AI writing assistance

If you're applying to dozens of jobs simultaneously, Teal offers an all-in-one workflow rather than only ATS checking.

Pros

Excellent job tracker
Resume management
Good keyword suggestions

Cons

More features than some users need

4. Resume Worded

Best for: Resume writing feedback.

Resume Worded focuses on improving resume quality rather than only ATS optimization.

It provides:

Resume score
LinkedIn profile review
Bullet point improvements
Writing suggestions

It's particularly useful if your resume needs stronger wording. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Pros

Excellent writing advice
LinkedIn review
Resume scoring

Cons

Premium features require a subscription

5. Rezi

Best for: ATS-first resume creation.

Rezi combines a resume builder with continuous ATS scoring while you write.

It focuses heavily on keyword optimization and ATS compatibility throughout the editing process. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Pros

Live ATS scoring
AI suggestions
Resume builder included

Cons

Best experience requires creating your resume inside Rezi

6. SkillSyncer

Best for: Keyword matching.

SkillSyncer specializes in comparing resumes against job descriptions to identify missing keywords and improve alignment.

Its reports are easy to understand and ideal for people who primarily want keyword analysis. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

Pros

Easy reports
Good keyword matching

Cons

Interface feels dated compared to newer competitors

7. Enhancv

Best for: Beautiful resumes with ATS guidance.

Enhancv is primarily a resume builder that also includes ATS recommendations and content suggestions.

If presentation matters alongside ATS compatibility, it's a strong option. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

Pros

Attractive templates
Resume builder
ATS tips

Cons

Less focused on job-description matching

8. Kickresume

Best for: Resume creation and ATS checking.

Kickresume combines AI resume writing, templates, cover letters, and ATS checking into one platform.

The company recently published extensive testing of ATS resume checkers, reflecting its emphasis on resume optimization. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

Pros

Excellent templates
Cover letter builder
AI assistance

Cons

ATS optimization isn't the only focus

9. Resume.io

Best for: Quick resume creation.

Resume.io is known for making resume building fast and accessible.

While its ATS compatibility is solid, its main strength is helping users quickly generate professional resumes.

Pros

Easy to use
Modern templates
Fast setup

Cons

Less detailed ATS analysis

10. Resumake

Best for: Free resume creation.

Resumake is a lightweight open-source resume builder that lets users create simple ATS-friendly resumes without subscriptions.

It's ideal for people who want clean formatting rather than advanced optimization.

Pros

Free
Simple
ATS-friendly formatting

Cons

No keyword matching
No ATS scoring
No job description comparison

Which ATS Resume Checker Should You Choose?

The best choice depends on what you actually need.

If you want...	Choose
Fast ATS resume analysis	Hireva
Deep ATS reports	Jobscan
Resume + job tracking	Teal
Better resume writing	Resume Worded
ATS-first resume builder	Rezi
Keyword matching	SkillSyncer
Design-focused resumes	Enhancv
Templates + ATS	Kickresume
Quick resume builder	Resume.io
Free resume builder	Resumake

Final Thoughts

No ATS resume checker can guarantee interviews.

However, the right tool can dramatically improve your chances by identifying missing keywords, formatting problems, and gaps between your resume and the job description.

If your goal is to tailor every application before clicking "Apply," Hireva is built specifically for that workflow. Instead of guessing whether your resume matches the role, you receive a clear ATS score, missing keywords, and practical suggestions to improve your application before it reaches a recruiter.

Try Hireva: https://hireva.collabtower.com

How a Solo Founder Launched a SaaS in 12 Days Using Nexora

Karl Esi — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:49:31 +0000

The Problem

Building a SaaS product sounds straightforward until you start from a blank repository.

That was the situation David found himself in.

He had already validated his idea through customer interviews and a landing page. The problem wasn't the idea. The problem was everything around it.

Before he could launch, he needed:

Authentication
User accounts
Stripe billing
Dashboard pages
Analytics
SEO pages
Documentation
Deployment

None of these features were his actual product.

Yet they represented weeks of work.

The Challenge

David estimated that building the foundation alone would take 4 to 6 weeks.

Every day spent configuring authentication or debugging billing was a day not spent building features customers would pay for.

He needed a faster path.

The Solution

Instead of starting from scratch, David adopted Nexora.

The starter kit already included:

Next.js architecture
Authentication
Stripe subscriptions
User dashboards
SEO-ready pages
Analytics integration
Documentation structure

Within the first hour, he had the project running locally.

Within the first day, he had Stripe connected.

Within the first week, he was building product-specific functionality.

Week One

The focus shifted away from infrastructure.

Instead of building authentication flows, David customized existing screens.

Instead of researching Stripe webhooks, he adjusted pricing plans.

Instead of creating marketing pages, he rewrote copy for his target audience.

By the end of the week:

User registration worked
Billing worked
Dashboard access worked
Landing pages were live

Week Two

With the foundation already complete, all development effort went toward customer-facing features.

The product evolved rapidly because every sprint was focused on differentiation rather than setup.

Users could:

Create accounts
Subscribe
Access the dashboard
Use the core product immediately

Most importantly, customers could pay.

Results

SaaS Launched in 12 Days

What was initially estimated as a multi-month project became a launch-ready product in less than two weeks.

Faster Revenue

Because Stripe billing was already integrated, the first paying customer arrived during the launch month.

Reduced Technical Debt

Instead of assembling random tutorials and code snippets, David started from a structured architecture.

More Time for Product Development

The majority of development time was spent building customer value instead of rebuilding common SaaS infrastructure.

What Made the Biggest Difference?

The most valuable feature wasn't authentication.

It wasn't billing.

It wasn't analytics.

It was removing decision fatigue.

Instead of asking:

Which auth library should I use?
How should billing work?
What should my dashboard look like?

David could focus on:

What problem am I solving?
What feature should I build next?
How do I acquire customers?

Key Takeaways

If you're building a SaaS product today:

Customers pay for your product, not your authentication setup.
Shipping sooner creates learning sooner.
Revenue beats perfect architecture.
A solid foundation can save weeks of development time.
The fastest founders focus on differentiation, not boilerplate.

About Nexora

Nexora is a production-ready Next.js SaaS starter kit that includes authentication, Stripe billing, analytics, dashboards, SEO pages, documentation, and launch-ready infrastructure.

Built for founders who want to spend their time building products instead of rebuilding the same SaaS foundation.

Start here:

https://nexora.collabtower.com

7 Alternatives to Building SaaS Backlogs That Never Get Finished

Karl Esi — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:53:00 +0000

Most SaaS ideas don’t fail because of bad ideas.

They fail because the execution gets stuck in an endless setup loop.

You start with energy, then slowly get buried in:
auth systems, billing, dashboards, SEO, analytics, and infrastructure decisions.

By the time the “real product” should begin, momentum is already gone.

Here are 7 practical alternatives to building SaaS in a way that never gets finished.

1. Nexora (start with a working SaaS foundation)

Instead of rebuilding everything, Nexora gives you a production-ready base so you can focus on actual features.

Includes:

Authentication system
Stripe billing
User dashboards
SEO pages
Blog + docs structure
Clean Next.js architecture

🔗 https://nexora.collabtower.com/

👉 Best for founders who want to ship instead of setup.

2. Build-from-scratch Next.js projects

The most common approach.

You get:

Full control
Flexible architecture

But you also get:

Weeks of setup
Repeated boilerplate work
High chance of burnout before launch

3. SaaS boilerplates (minimal versions)

Lightweight starter kits with:

Auth
Basic UI
Simple Stripe setup

But usually missing:

Real dashboards
SEO systems
Production-level structure

4. Supabase-first builds

Backend-focused setups.

You get:

Database
Auth
APIs

But still need to build:

Billing
UI system
Marketing pages
SaaS structure

5. Low-code SaaS tools

Fast visual builders.

Pros:

Quick UI creation
No heavy coding

Cons:

Limited flexibility
Hard to scale complex SaaS logic
Platform dependency

6. AI-generated starter apps

AI tools can scaffold SaaS apps instantly.

Pros:

Fast starting point

Cons:

Inconsistent structure
Requires cleanup
Not production-ready out of the box

7. Tutorial-based SaaS builds

Many developers still learn SaaS by following tutorials step-by-step.

Pros:

Educational

Cons:

Slow
Fragmented
Hard to turn into real production apps

Final takeaway

Most SaaS workflows fail before launch because they repeat the same mistake:

They start from zero every single time.

That creates unnecessary setup fatigue and delays the real work: building something people actually pay for.

The better approach

Start from a system that already includes the foundation.

Nexora is designed for exactly that:
a production-ready Next.js SaaS starter with auth, billing, dashboards, SEO, and structure already built.

🔗 https://nexora.collabtower.com/

So you can skip setup and focus on shipping.

Closing thought

The goal is not to write more boilerplate faster.

The goal is to stop writing it at all.

7 Things Every SaaS Starter Kit Should Include (But Most Don’t)

Karl Esi — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 15:49:00 +0000

Most SaaS starter kits promise speed, but only a few actually help you ship a real product.

A lot of them look good on the surface, but once you try to launch, you still end up rebuilding the same core systems anyway.

If you are serious about shipping a SaaS, here are the 7 things your starter kit should actually include.

1. Authentication that is production-ready

A real SaaS cannot start without auth.

But many starter kits give you:

Partial setups
Broken or incomplete flows
Missing session handling

What you actually need:

Login and signup flows
Secure session management
Protected routes
User persistence

2. Stripe billing that works end-to-end

This is where most kits fail.

You need more than a checkout button.

A proper SaaS setup includes:

Subscription handling
Webhooks
Customer portal
Plan management

Without this, you cannot charge users reliably.

3. A real user dashboard

Not a placeholder.

A working dashboard should include:

Account overview
Settings
Subscription status
Navigation structure

This is where users actually interact with your product.

4. SEO-ready marketing pages

If users cannot find you, they cannot buy from you.

A proper kit includes:

Landing pages
Metadata setup
Blog foundation
Indexable pages

5. Clean and scalable architecture

Most kits break when you scale them.

You need:

Modular structure
Clear separation of concerns
Maintainable folder design

If it is hard to extend, it slows you down later.

6. Analytics from day one

You cannot improve what you cannot measure.

A good starter kit includes:

Event tracking
User behavior insights
Product analytics

Without this, you are guessing.

7. A system that removes setup fatigue

This is the most important one.

Most founders do not quit because of coding difficulty.

They quit because they keep rebuilding the same foundation.

Every SaaS starts to feel identical:

Auth again
Stripe again
Dashboard again

A good starter kit removes that repetition.

Why this matters

The gap between idea and first working product is where most SaaS ideas die.

The longer setup takes, the higher the chance you never launch.

Where Nexora fits in

Nexora is built to solve exactly this problem.

It provides a Next.js SaaS foundation with:

Authentication
Stripe billing
Dashboards
SEO pages
Blog structure
Clean production-ready architecture

🔗 https://nexora.collabtower.com/

So instead of rebuilding the same systems every time, you start directly from a working SaaS base.

Final thought

A SaaS starter kit should not feel like another tutorial.

It should feel like:

“I can start building real features immediately.”

If it does not do that, it is just more setup disguised as productivity.