u/Careless_Heat907

I'm building a due diligence service for first-time SaaS buyers.

To figure out what buyers actually care about, I'm doing 5 free audits.

What you get:
- 20-30 min call reviewing the deal
- 1-page summary of red/yellow/green flags
- "What could go wrong" analysis
- Free (worth $500 after this month)

What I need:
- You're actively evaluating a deal ($10K-$100K range)
- You're willing to share deal details (I'll sign NDA if needed)
- You give me feedback on what's useful

What I'll check:
- Is the revenue real? (Stripe export analysis)
- Customer concentration (are you buying 1 customer + 99 noise?)
- Traffic sources (one viral post ≠ business)
- Tech risks (Chrome extension about to break? API changing?)

If interested, DM me with:
- Deal size
- Main concern
- Timeline

First 5 people. After that, I'm charging $500 for this

A friend asked me to review a SaaS deal he was about to buy for $45K.

Listing said:
- $14,000 MRR
- 200 paying customers
- "Steady growth for 18 months"

I asked for Stripe export. Here's what I found:

Reality:
- $4,200 actual MRR (70% inflation)
- 43 active subscriptions (157 were cancelled/churned)
- Growth was from one Reddit post 6 months ago, now declining
- Top 2 customers = 61% of revenue

He almost wired $45K for a business worth maybe $15K.

What I learned:

1. Never trust screenshots (anyone can Photoshop)
2. "Customers" ≠ paying customers (could be free trials, churned users)
3. Ask what changed in last 90 days (sudden spike before sale = red flag)
4. Customer concentration is a silent killer

If you're buying a SaaS, these 3 questions catch 90% of BS:

1. "Can I see your Stripe dashboard export for last 12 months?"
2. "What % of revenue comes from your top 3 customers?"
3. "What changed in your business in the last 90 days?"

Anyone else almost got burned on a SaaS deal? What did you catch?

Context:

I'm not a full-time dev. I'm a founder who almost got scammed buying a SaaS last year. That frustration turned into DueDiligenceHQ.

The Product:

A $500 pre-purchase audit for micro-SaaS deals. You upload seller data, I verify the numbers, you get a report in 48 hours.

Think of it as: "hiring a mechanic before buying a used car" but for online businesses.

What Went Well:

- Supabase made backend stupid easy

- Creem payments integrated in 1 day

- Sample reports look professional (screenshot below)

- Admin dashboard works smoothly

What's Still Rough:

- No custom domain yet (localhost:8000 vibes)

- Testimonials are placeholder (haven't launched yet)

- Only 1 pricing tier (keeping it simple for now)

- No code audit feature (V2 goal)

What I'm Struggling With:

1. Pricing: Is $500 too cheap? Too expensive?

2. Marketing: Where do SaaS buyers actually hang out?

3. Trust: How do I get the first 10 customers when I have zero reviews?

Why I'm Posting This:

I want honest feedback before I buy the domain and go live. If you've bought a small SaaS ($10K-$200K range), would this have helped you?

https://preview.redd.it/hhfbvjzoyfyg1.png?width=1774&format=png&auto=webp&s=77960a3a2a3de8ffb9cdea64b3ee1e03cc824b3f

Happy to answer questions about the build process, tech choices, or mistakes I made along the way.

I'm building DueDiligenceHQ a tool that audits micro SaaS deals before people buy them. Think: "Carfax for online businesses."

60 days in, here's what I learned:

✅ What Worked:

1. Solving my own problem = instant product clarity

I almost lost $50K on a fake revenue SaaS. Now I'm building the tool I wish existed.

Lesson: If you're your own customer, you skip months of user research.

2. Supabase made me look like a real developer

I'm not a backend expert, but Supabase Edge Functions + RLS policies handled everything.

Lesson: Pick tools that hide complexity. Your users don't care about your tech stack.

3. Fixed pricing > tiered pricing (for V1)

I planned 3 tiers ($500/$1500/$2000). Killed it. Now just $500.

Lesson: Fewer choices = faster decisions.

4. Sample reports sold the product before I had customers

I built a realistic demo report showing "seller claimed $20K MRR, we verified $2K."

Lesson: Show the outcome, not the process.

5. Admin dashboard = product confidence

Even with zero customers, having a polished review queue made ME believe this was real.

Lesson: Build internal tools early. They force you to think through workflows.

❌ What Broke:

1. I spent 2 weeks on a logo nobody cares about

Zero customers have asked about branding. They want reports.

Lesson: Ugly + working > pretty + broken.

2. I built features before validating the core problem

Added "traffic source breakdown" before anyone asked for it.

Lesson: Launch with 3 features max. Add after people pay.

3. No testimonials = trust problem I can't solve with code

Even with a great product, convincing the first buyer is brutal.

Lesson: Find beta users BEFORE launch, not after.

Where I Am Now:

- Product: ✅ Done

- Customers: 0

- Domain: Buying this week

- Biggest challenge: Getting first 5 customers without social proof

My Ask:

If you've bought (or sold) a micro-SaaS, what would make YOU trust a $500 DD report?

https://preview.redd.it/1ew7xsiif1yg1.png?width=1774&format=png&auto=webp&s=76ea4d6236c3b32f4819ac60cb951ea38b0680fa