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Hammer Nexon
Hammer Nexon

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I Built a SaaS in 30 Days — Here's What I Learned

#startup #saas #indiehacker #webdev

Thirty days ago, I had an idea. Today, ScripTube (scriptube.me) is live, serving real users, and generating organic traffic.

Here's the unfiltered story — what worked, what didn't, and what I'd do differently.

Day 1-3: The Idea

I was doing content research and needed the transcript from a YouTube video. The built-in YouTube transcript feature is buried three clicks deep, the formatting is terrible, and copying large chunks of text is painful.

I Googled for tools. Some existed but were bloated with features I didn't need, covered in ads, or required sign-ups for basic functionality.

I thought: "I could build a better version of this in a weekend."

(Spoiler: it took a bit longer than a weekend.)

Day 4-7: The MVP

I chose Next.js because I wanted a single codebase for frontend and backend (API routes). Deployed on Vercel for zero-config hosting.

The MVP was aggressively simple:

  • One input field for the YouTube URL
  • One button: "Get Transcript"
  • One output area showing the text

No user accounts. No payment. No analytics. Just the core function.

Time spent: ~15 hours over 4 days (evenings and weekend).

Lesson: Your MVP should do one thing well. Every feature you add before launch is a feature you might need to throw away.

Day 8-14: Testing and Polish

I shared the MVP with friends and a few online communities. Feedback came fast:

  • "Can you add timestamps?"
  • "The output formatting is hard to read."
  • "Can I download it as a text file?"
  • "What about videos without English captions?"

I implemented timestamps and download functionality. Improved the formatting. Added basic error messages for videos without available transcripts.

What I resisted building: User accounts, saved transcripts, API access, browser extensions. All good ideas — for later.

Lesson: Listen to feedback, but filter aggressively. Users will ask for everything. Build only what multiple people ask for.

Day 15-20: SEO and Content

This is where I made my biggest mistake — starting too late.

SEO takes months to compound. I should have been writing content from day 1, not day 15. I wrote:

  • A blog post about YouTube transcript use cases
  • A "how it works" page targeting technical keywords
  • An FAQ page targeting long-tail questions

I also started answering questions on Quora and Reddit — genuinely helping people, mentioning ScripTube where relevant.

Lesson: Content marketing starts on day 1, not after launch.

Day 21-25: Launch

I "launched" on:

  • Twitter/X (build-in-public thread)
  • Reddit (r/SideProject, r/InternetIsBeautiful)
  • Indie Hackers
  • Hacker News (didn't gain traction, which is normal)

Results: a few hundred visitors on launch day, a spike for a few days, then back to baseline.

Lesson: Launches are a spike, not a strategy. The visitors who find you through search next month matter more than launch day traffic.

Day 26-30: Iteration

Based on real usage data, I:

  • Improved error handling (many edge cases I hadn't considered)
  • Added rate limiting (someone tried to hit the API 1000 times in a minute)
  • Optimized page speed
  • Started tracking what users actually do (most just want plain text, not timestamps)

What I'd Do Differently

  1. Start writing content from day 1. While building, I should have been publishing articles about YouTube transcripts, content repurposing, and the build process itself.

  2. Talk to potential users before building. I assumed my problem was universal. It was — but I would have learned about use cases I never considered (accessibility, language learning, AI training data).

  3. Set up analytics immediately. I flew blind for the first two weeks. Even basic analytics would have informed decisions earlier.

  4. Ship faster, polish later. I spent too long on CSS before anyone was using the product. Nobody cares about your gradient buttons when the core function works.

The Numbers (Honest)

I'm not going to share fake revenue screenshots. Here's the real picture after 30 days:

  • Users: Steady organic growth, mostly from search and social
  • Revenue: $0 (still free while I figure out what to charge for)
  • Cost: ~$20/month (Vercel Pro + Upstash Redis)
  • Time invested: ~80 hours total

Is it a "success"? By internet standards, no. By my standards — I built something useful that people actually use. That's enough for now.

Technical Decisions I'm Glad I Made

  • Next.js on Vercel: Zero-config deployment, API routes, great DX.
  • No database initially: Just a stateless API. Added complexity only when needed.
  • Upstash Redis for rate limiting: Serverless-friendly, pay-per-use, simple SDK.
  • No auth system: Most users need a transcript once. Don't make them create an account for that.

What's Next

  • Exploring a paid tier for power users (bulk extraction, API access)
  • More content and SEO investment
  • Browser extension
  • Integrations (Notion, Google Docs)

If you're thinking about building a SaaS — just start. The learning curve from shipping to real users is steeper and more valuable than anything you'll learn from tutorials.

Try ScripTube → scriptube.me

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