Gabriel

Building Sagius: chat with 230+ philosophers; 6,600+ quotes in 5 languages. Also building Zolvi, an AI survey builder. Sharing what I learn.

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

I’m Gabriel, an indie builder in Karlsruhe. I’m building Sagius, a way to talk through real questions with philosophers, and Zolvi, an AI-assisted survey builder. I’ll share what I learn about finding users, improving products, and the work that doesn’t go to plan.
Sagius: https://t.co/rU8zcL7KU7

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@SSShken from my side - all business related decisions are based on data - and it's interesting to observe the user behavior hardly stays the same - so, to answer your question: "no, it's a constant quest"

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

Unpopular opinion: most founders don't need more features. They need more distribution.

If you can't say who you sell to and how you'll reach them, the next feature won't save you.

#microsaas

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

5 metrics I'd track from day 1 of any SaaS 🧵

1. Activation rate: % of signups who reach the "aha" moment. If it's low, nothing else matters.

2. Week-4 retention. Growth on top of a leaky bucket is just expensive churn.

3. Time to first value. Every extra minute between signup and value costs you users.

4. Net revenue retention. Above 100% means existing customers grow revenue for you.

5. CAC payback in months. If it's longer than your runway, you're scaling a problem.

Which one are you ignoring right now? #SaaS

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

Profitable $20k MRR bootstrapped business, or a fast-growing startup burning cash.

Which one would you rather own today?

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@xgautamsingh eheheheh

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

Hot take: "stealth mode" is usually fear dressed up as strategy.

Your idea isn't worth stealing. Execution is your only moat, and it only gets better with feedback.

Build in the open.

#startups #buildinpublic

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

A pre-seed pitch isn't won on the TAM slide.

It's won on proof that you learn faster than anyone else: what you believed 3 months ago, what the data told you, and what you changed.

Show the iteration, not just the vision.

#preseed

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

How many paying customers did you have when you finally quit your day job?

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@ray_kovalev keep it up and good luck!

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

Most startups don't die from competition.

They die from building for 9 months before talking to a single customer.

#buildinpublic #indiehackers

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

How to validate a SaaS idea in 7 days without writing code 🧵

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

Founders: what's the one thing you'd tell yourself on day 1 of your first startup?

I'll start: ship the ugly version. Nobody remembers v1.

#startups #founders

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

Pricing lesson most indie hackers learn too late:

If nobody ever pushes back on your price, it's too low.

A few "that's expensive" replies mean you're finally charging for the value. Zero pushback means money left on the table.

#indiehackers #SaaS

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@j3rah_ that's cool ! 25 years having fun and adding value to people! keep it up!

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

There are definitely easier ways to make a living than bootstrapping SaaS apps. What is the real, unfiltered reason you chose the indie hacker path? #buildinpublic #indiehackers

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@safiulhasan Indeed - some users started using features that were replaced by others later - where they stick to it!

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@shikheronline Great point!

Never ask permission to do the right things!

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@ATown_Jonesy Interesting approach! Never thought about it! Thanks for sharing!

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

Pricing is always the hardest thing to get right. What's the biggest pricing mistake you made early on with your app, and how did you eventually fix it? #buildinpublic #indiehackers

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@casparbuilds cool - I like the name of your company Baumeister! All the best -

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@daisyineurope @X What are you building Daisy? share your apps below so we can try them out. All the best in "La Bella Italia"

[Gabriel @gabrielbuilds_]

@casparbuilds cool - drop the links below so people can try it out!