SaaS •Entrepreneurship

My Apps Failed Until I Discovered This Playbook ($35K/month apps)

Starter Story • • 14 min • #114
My Apps Failed Until I Discovered This Playbook ($35K/month apps)

Loïc Berthelot has co-founded 3 success SaaS apps using the same playbook. This video breaks down what that playbook is and how he used to to grow his apps to over $35K MRR each.

Summary

  • Loick

    • Built three successful SaaS companies in the e-commerce industry using the same playbook.
    • Launched more than 10 SaaS companies, with most failing except three that worked.
    • Reached at least $35,000 MRR within the first month of activity for each successful SaaS.
    • Bootstrapped all of the successful companies.
    • Spent the first 5 years of his professional life building a SaaS that no one used.
    • Made many bad decisions during that period and ended up with zero customers and zero MRR.
    • Changed direction after an e-commerce owner came to him with a problem that other people also had.
    • Moved from a builder mindset to a problem-solver mindset.
    • Left his CEO position at MineA to focus entirely on scaling Drop Magic.

  • Products

    • Built Infuspy to help e-commerce businesses find the best influencers on Instagram and Snapchat to promote products.
    • Grew Infuspy to $20,000 MRR in 2 months, though it is no longer operating.
    • Built MineA to help dropshippers and e-commerce businesses find products and detect market opportunities.
    • Grew MineA to a peak of $750,000 MRR within 2 years.
    • Built Drop Magic to help beginners create online stores with AI.
    • Grew Drop Magic to more than $45,000 MRR within the first 4 months.

  • Validation Playbook

    • Started with a newsletter to validate initial traction.
    • Built a no-code app to validate product-market fit.
    • Built a real app only after validating enough demand to scale.
    • Chose the simplest path with as little risk as possible.

  • Creator-Led Growth Strategy

    • Believes many entrepreneurs focus too much on product and not enough on distribution.
    • Works with YouTube creators as promoters or co-founders.
    • Pays promoters with cash or affiliate revenue.
    • Pays creator co-founders with equity.
    • Worked with more than 500 YouTube creators for MineA and Drop Magic.
    • Focuses on YouTube because it produces more predictable outcomes than viral short-form content.
    • Values long-form YouTube because creators have time to show how they use the app.
    • Benefits from YouTube videos continuing to convert years after publication.
    • Repurposes long-form YouTube content into short-form clips and ads.
    • Says more than 60% of new customers come from YouTube.

  • Creator Selection And Deal Process

    • Finds creators by searching YouTube keywords, studying videos, and reviewing competitor creator partnerships.
    • Looks for an engagement rate above 10%, measured as views divided by followers.
    • Looks for at least 100 comments per video.
    • Checks whether a creator has worked with a brand at least three times, because repeat deals suggest profitability.
    • Uses a seven-email outreach campaign with different marketing angles.
    • Also contacts creators on Instagram and Twitter.
    • Typically structures deals with a fixed fee plus commission.
    • Lowers the initial offer by 30%.
    • Offers two packages with different risk profiles:
      • Higher upfront cost with lower commission.
      • Lower upfront cost with higher commission.
    • Starts with one test video and checks whether the audience responds and the campaign breaks even after a month.
    • Moves into a package of three or four videos when the first test works.

  • Creator Co-Founder Strategy

    • Uses creator co-founders to reduce distribution risk during the early stage.
    • Knew that Batistan, Drop Magic’s co-founder, could help secure $10,000 MRR through his audience.
    • Uses early creator distribution to create enough revenue to expand into other creators and ads.
    • Values creator co-founders as power users who provide product insights and direction.
    • Values creator co-founders because they sell the product, explain features, and relay feedback from their communities.
    • Uses creator co-founders to iterate quickly on scripts, funnels, pricing, and marketing angles.
    • Replicates what works with other creators after learning the economics and marketing system.

  • Tech Stack And Costs

    • Uses Supabase for the database.
    • Uses Next.js and Vercel for front end and hosting.
    • Uses Sentry for debugging.
    • Uses Trigger.dev for large compute jobs.
    • Uses Cursor and Claude Code to develop the product.
    • Uses Nanobanana to generate images with AI.
    • Uses Gemini and OpenAI for copywriting.
    • Uses Blime to detect the best creators and opportunities.
    • Uses creator tracking and payment tools.
    • Uses a CRM and Loops for email marketing.
    • Pays about $100 per month for server and compute.
    • Pays about $1,500 per month for AI because Drop Magic offers five AI images to every free user.
    • Says MineA had about 80% margins at its sweet spot.
    • Expects Drop Magic’s sweet spot to be around 70% to 80% margins after its testing phase.

  • Lessons And Advice

    • Advises founders not to get emotionally attached to a project.
    • Uses simple deadlines and milestones as the source of truth for whether to continue.
    • Says emotional attachment to a logo, project, or team wasted years of his time.
    • Believes founders need to drop their ego and pivot when necessary.
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