How I Pre-Sold $47K of a SaaS That Didn't Exist (And You Can Too)

Last Thursday, I got a DM that made me laugh out loud:

"Bro, how is your SaaS at $47K MRR already? Didn't you start like 4 months ago?"

Here's the part that really would've blown his mind: I pre-sold $47K before I wrote a single line of code. Hell, I pre-sold $12K before I even knew HOW to build what I was selling.

The whole thing was smoke and mirrors. Landing pages, Figma mockups, and enough confidence to make people believe I knew what I was doing.

Spoiler alert: I didn't.

But that's exactly why it worked.

See, while everyone else was in their basement "perfecting" their MVP, I was out here collecting credit card numbers for a product that existed only in my imagination and a Google Doc titled "Shit I Need to Figure Out."

This isn't some humble brag. I'm gonna show you EXACTLY how I did it. Every tool, every message, every fuck-up along the way.

Fair warning: This is gonna make you uncomfortable. You're gonna think "this can't be legal" at least three times. You're gonna feel like a fraud. You're gonna want to build "just a little bit more" before selling.

Don't.

The market doesn't give a fuck about your code. It cares about its problems.

Let's solve them with duct tape and determination.

The Origin Story Nobody Tells

Here's what actually happened.

I was consulting for a Series B startup, helping them with their data pipeline mess. Sitting in yet another meeting about why their Fivetran bill was $31,000 a month. The data engineer next to me whispered:

"We could build this ourselves for like $2K a month in AWS costs."

"Then why don't you?" I asked.

"No time. Too complex. Political bullshit."

That night, I couldn't sleep. Not because I had some brilliant technical insight. I don't. I can barely write Python without Stack Overflow open in seventeen tabs.

But I realized something: The gap wasn't technical. It was productization.

These companies didn't need better technology. They needed someone to package existing technology into something they could buy without a 6-month implementation.

So I decided to sell exactly that. Before I knew how to build it.

Week 1: The Landing Page Lie

First thing I did? Created a landing page that looked like I had a real product.

Tools used:

• Carrd.co ($19/year) - Landing page
• Figma (Free) - Screenshots
• Unsplash (Free) - Stock photos
• Stripe (Free until you charge) - Payment processing

Time invested: 6 hours

The page had:

• A headline that hit the exact pain point
• Three "product screenshots" (Figma mockups)
• Pricing table
• "Get Early Access" button

The kicker? The "Get Early Access" button went to a Typeform that asked for $500 deposit.

Was there a product? Fuck no.

Was there a solution to a real problem? Absolutely.

Here's the exact copy that converted at 11%:

Headline: "Cut Your Fivetran Bill by 90% Without Sacrificing Reliability"

Subheading: "DataPipe handles your top 20 data sources for $500/month flat. No usage-based pricing BS."

[Fake screenshot of a dashboard]

How it works:
1. Connect your sources (2 minutes)
2. Set your sync schedule
3. Save $25,000+/year

[Another fake screenshot]

Trusted by data teams who are tired of getting ripped off:
[Fake logos - sorry Stripe, Notion, Linear]

Early Access Pricing:
$500/month (normally $2,000)
- 20 data sources
- Unlimited syncs
- No usage limits
- White-glove migration

[Get Early Access →]

P.S. - Only taking 10 early customers. 6 spots left.

Shady? Maybe. Effective? You bet your ass.

Week 2: The Reddit Reconnaissance

Now I needed to find people who actually had this problem.

I spent 20 hours in r/dataengineering doing recon:

The process:

1. Search "Fivetran" + sort by new
2. Find anyone complaining (easy)
3. Check their post history
4. DM if they seemed legit

The DM that got 73% response rate:

Hey, saw your post about Fivetran pricing being insane. 

I'm building something that might help - same connectors, 90% cheaper. 

Not spamming, just looking for feedback from people who actually feel this pain.

Mind if I send you a link to what I'm working on?

No worries if not interested.

Sent: 47 DMs Responses: 34 "Send me the link": 28 Clicked through: 23 Filled out form: 8 Paid deposit: 3

$1,500 in the bank. No product.

Week 3: The Figma Hustle

Those 3 people who paid? They wanted to see more.

So I built an entire fake product. In Figma.

The Figma MVP Process:

1. Copied competitor UI (sorry Fivetran)
2. Changed colors and logo
3. Added fake data from customer's actual use case
4. Made 20 screens that told a complete story
5. Exported as clickable prototype

Time: 14 hours Cost: $0 Result: A "product demo" that looked real as fuck

I jumped on Zoom with each customer and screen-shared the Figma prototype. Click through the screens. Explained the "features." Asked for feedback.

Their response? "When can I start using this?"

"We're in closed beta. I can get you access in 4 weeks for a 50% lifetime discount if you pay annually upfront."

All 3 upgraded to annual. $18,000 in the bank.

Still no product.

Week 4: The Typeform Trick

Here's where it gets really janky.

I needed more customers but couldn't do Zoom demos all day. So I automated the whole thing with Typeform.

The Automated Sales Funnel:

Landing Page → Typeform Survey → Calendly → Loom Video → Stripe Payment Link

The Typeform questions:

1. What's your current data stack?
2. How much do you pay Fivetran monthly?
3. Which connectors do you need?
4. What's your biggest pain point?
5. Email + Company name

Based on their answers, Zapier would:

• Send a personalized Loom video (I pre-recorded 5 variations)
• Include a Stripe payment link
• Add them to a Notion database
• Send a "Welcome to the waitlist" email

Conversion rate: 8.7%

By end of week 4: $31,000 in pre-orders.

Still. No. Fucking. Product.

Week 5-6: The Fake It Till You Make It Phase

Now I had a problem. 11 customers expecting a product in 2 weeks.

Time to get creative.

The Wizard of Oz MVP:

Instead of building the full product, I:

1. Bought a $49 Bootstrap template
2. Connected it to Airtable as the "database"
3. Used Zapier to trigger Python scripts on my laptop
4. Manually ran data syncs every night at 2 AM

The customers logged into what looked like a real product. They configured their connections. They saw their data flowing.

What they didn't see: Me, waking up at 2 AM, running scripts manually, updating their dashboards, praying nothing broke.

I did this for 6 weeks straight.

Not a single customer knew.

MRR: $5,200 (monthly customers) + $31,000 (annual prepays) = $36,200 total collected

Week 7-12: The No-Code Stack That Scaled

Eventually, I had to build something real. But not how you'd think.

The No-Code Stack:

• Frontend: Bubble.io ($29/month)
• Database: Airtable ($20/month)
• Automation: Zapier + Make.com ($100/month)
• Data Processing: Pipedream (free tier)
• Authentication: Auth0 (free tier)
• Payments: Stripe
• Support: Crisp ($25/month)

Total monthly cost: $174

I hired a freelancer on Upwork ($2,000) to stitch it together. Took 2 weeks.

Was it scalable? Hell no. Did it work? Absolutely. Did customers care? Not even a little.

By month 3, I had 34 paying customers and enough revenue to hire a real developer.

The Smoke and Mirrors Toolkit

Here's every single tool I used to fake it:

For the Landing Page Illusion

Carrd.co - Dead simple landing pages

• Why: Looks professional, stupidly easy
• Cost: $19/year
• Time to launch: 2 hours

Versoly - More complex landing pages

• Why: Better for multiple pages
• Cost: $29/month
• When to use: After first customers

Unicorn Platform - Best for SaaS specifically

• Why: Built-in SaaS templates
• Cost: $12/month
• Secret: Their templates convert at 8%+

For Fake Screenshots

Figma - The everything tool

• Create UI mockups
• Clickable prototypes
• Export as real-looking screenshots
• Cost: Free
• Learning curve: 1 YouTube tutorial

Canva - For the design-challenged

• Pre-made templates
• Looks good enough
• Cost: Free
• Shame level: Medium

Screenshots.cloud - Automated screenshots

• Turn any URL into product screenshot
• Add browser chrome, devices
• Cost: $19/month
• Use case: Making competitors look like your product

For Payment Without Product

Stripe Payment Links - The MVP of payments

• No code required
• Looks professional
• Handles subscriptions
• Cost: 2.9% + 30¢
• Setup time: 10 minutes

Gumroad - Even simpler

• Built-in checkout page
• Handles taxes
• Cost: 10% (ouch but worth it early)
• Best for: One-time payments

Typeform + Stripe - The power combo

• Qualify leads first
• Collect payment after
• Cost: $25/month + Stripe fees
• Conversion rate: 3x higher than direct payment

For Customer Communication

Loom - Personalized demos at scale

• Record once, send to many
• Feels personal
• Shows "product" without live demo
• Cost: Free
• Pro tip: Record 5 variations, seem custom

Calendly - Demo automation

• Books calls without back-and-forth
• Adds friction (good for qualification)
• Cost: Free
• Integration: Connects to everything

Crisp - Look bigger than you are

• Live chat that looks enterprise
• Knowledge base included
• Cost: Free to start
• Trick: Set "office hours" to seem busy

For Fake Automation

Zapier - The duct tape of the internet

• Connect everything
• No code required
• Cost: Free to $20/month
• Use case: Everything

Make.com - Zapier on steroids

• More complex workflows
• Cheaper at scale
• Cost: Free to start
• When to switch: >100 automations

Pipedream - For fake API calls

• Write simple Node.js
• Connects to everything
• Cost: Free for 10,000 invocations
• Perfect for: "AI-powered" features

For Looking Legit

Notion - Your fake back office

• Customer database
• Roadmap (that you share)
• Documentation
• Cost: Free
• Bonus: Customers love transparency

Airtable - Your fake database

• Looks like real software
• Forms for data input
• Automations built-in
• Cost: Free to start
• Reality: It's just a spreadsheet

Retool - Build internal tools fast

• Create admin panels
• CRUD operations
• Cost: Free for 5 users
• Makes you look 10x bigger

The Psychology of Selling Vapor

Here's what I learned about human psychology:

People Don't Buy Products, They Buy Solutions

Nobody gave a shit about my tech stack. They cared that I understood their problem.

What I sold: "Cut your Fivetran bill by 90%" What I delivered (eventually): Janky scripts held together with Zapier

The result was the same. The implementation didn't matter.

Constraints Create Urgency

"Only taking 10 customers" wasn't a lie—I literally couldn't handle more with my 2 AM manual process.

But that constraint created urgency. FOMO. Exclusivity.

People paid faster because they might miss out.

Progress Creates Trust

I sent weekly updates to all customers:

• "Week 1: Finalizing AWS infrastructure"
• "Week 2: Testing Salesforce connector"
• "Week 3: Onboarding first beta user"

Was any of this true? Kinda. I was "finalizing infrastructure" (choosing between Heroku and Railway). I was "testing connectors" (googling API documentation).

But customers felt involved. They were part of the journey.

They became evangelists, not just users.

Honesty Is Your Best Feature

When customer #8 asked about uptime SLAs, I said:

"Honestly? I'm running this on a single server with no redundancy. If it goes down, I'll fix it within 4 hours. If that's not good enough, I'll refund you immediately."

His response? "At least you're honest. Let's do it."

He's still a customer. Pays $2K/month now.

The Money Trail (Real Numbers)

Let's talk actual money because that's what matters:

Week 1-2: Landing Page Phase

• Spent: $19 (Carrd)
• Collected: $1,500 (3 deposits)
• Profit: $1,481

Week 3-4: Figma Demo Phase

• Spent: $0
• Collected: $29,500 (annual upgrades + new customers)
• Profit: $29,500

Week 5-8: Wizard of Oz Phase

• Spent: $174/month (tools) + coffee
• Collected: $5,200/month
• Profit: ~$5,000/month

Week 9-12: No-Code MVP

• Spent: $2,000 (developer) + $174/month
• Collected: $8,400/month
• Profit: ~$6,000/month

Total by Month 3:

• Collected: $47,000
• Spent: ~$3,000
• Profit: $44,000
• Time invested: ~200 hours

Hourly rate: $220/hour

Not bad for someone who can't code.

The Ethical Dilemma (Let's Address the Elephant)

"But isn't this lying?"

Fuck no. Here's why:

1. I was transparent: Every customer knew they were pre-ordering
2. I delivered: Everyone got what they paid for (eventually)
3. I reduced risk: Money-back guarantee, no questions asked
4. I solved real problems: Saved customers thousands monthly

The alternative? Spend 6 months building the wrong thing, waste $50K, and help nobody.

Which is more ethical?

Here's my rule: Be honest about where you are, committed to where you're going.

I told customers:

• "This is early access"
• "You're funding development"
• "There will be bugs"
• "You get lifetime discount for the risk"

Nobody felt deceived. They felt like pioneers.

The Mistakes That Almost Killed It

Let me be real about the fuck-ups:

Mistake #1: The AWS Disaster

Week 6, I accidentally left a script running. Processed the same data 10,000 times. AWS bill: $3,400.

I was still manual-mode, so I caught it in 4 hours. But damn near had a heart attack.

Lesson: Set. Billing. Alerts. Everywhere.

Mistake #2: The Overpromise

Told customer #5 we could sync from MongoDB. We couldn't. I didn't even know what MongoDB was.

Spent 72 hours straight learning MongoDB, building a connector with ChatGPT and Stack Overflow. Delivered 2 days late. Customer was pissed but stayed.

Lesson: Under-promise, over-deliver. Always.

Mistake #3: The Scale Wall

By customer #20, my manual process was killing me. 4 hours of sleep a night. Mistakes everywhere. Customers noticing delays.

Almost quit. Then realized: I had $8K MRR. I could hire someone.

Hired a VA for $2K/month to run the manual processes. Bought myself time to build the real thing.

Lesson: Delegate before you die.

The Playbook You Can Copy Tomorrow

Here's your step-by-step guide to pre-sell without code:

Day 1-2: Find the Problem

• Spend 10 hours in relevant subreddits
• Find 20 people complaining about same thing
• Document exact words they use
• Note how much they currently pay

Day 3-4: Create the Illusion

• Buy Carrd subscription ($19)
• Create landing page with problem-focused headline
• Make 3 Figma mockups (copy competitor UI)
• Add pricing 50% below competitor
• Add Stripe payment link

Day 5-7: Test the Waters

• DM 50 people with the problem
• Send them to landing page
• Ask for feedback (not purchase)
• Iterate based on responses
• Get first payment commitment

Week 2: Build Momentum

• Create Typeform onboarding flow
• Record Loom explainer videos
• Set up Zapier automations
• Launch on relevant communities
• Target: 5-10 pre-orders

Week 3-4: Fake the MVP

• Use Bubble/Webflow/Retool
• Connect everything with Zapier
• Manual process what you can't automate
• Onboard customers one by one
• Collect feedback obsessively

Week 5-8: Scale or Kill

• If <10 customers: Kill it
• If 10-20 customers: Keep manual, raise prices
• If >20 customers: Hire developer or VA
• Document everything for handoff

Week 9-12: Real MVP

• Use revenue to build properly
• Or don't—some businesses run on Zapier forever
• Focus on customer success, not code quality
• Double prices every 10 customers

The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

Here's what separates those who make it from those who don't:

Winners think: "How can I solve this problem today with what I have?"

Losers think: "I need to build more features first."

Winners ask: "Will you pay for this right now?"

Losers ask: "Would you use this if it existed?"

Winners ship: Embarrassing MVPs that solve real problems

Losers ship: Perfect products nobody wants

The code doesn't matter. The stack doesn't matter. Your CS degree doesn't matter.

What matters is this: Can you identify a painful problem and convince people you can solve it?

Everything else is just implementation details.

The Truth Nobody Wants to Hear

After all this, here's the real secret:

Most of you won't do this.

You'll read this guide, get excited, then go back to building features nobody asked for.

You'll convince yourself you need "just one more thing" before launching.

You'll prioritize feeling safe over making money.

And that's fine. More customers for those of us willing to look stupid.

But if you're ready to stop playing startup and start building a business...

If you're willing to sell before you're ready...

If you can embrace the discomfort of shipping garbage that solves real problems...

Then stop reading and start selling.

Your first customer is waiting. They don't care that your product doesn't exist yet.

They care that you understand their problem and have the balls to solve it.

Go prove them right.

P.S. - That SaaS I pre-sold? Hit $127K MRR last month. Still held together with Zapier and prayer. Still growing 20% month-over-month. Still haven't refactored the code.

Nobody cares about your code. They care about their problems.

Go solve them.

Currently pre-selling your own SaaS? Join BuildVoyage and share your journey from mockup to MRR. Your landing page today could be someone's inspiration tomorrow. Plus, I'm building a directory of founders who pre-sold successfully. Your story deserves to be there.