Should You Go All In on a Side Project?

David Hart is a former agency owner and co-founder of the SaaS company, ScreenCloud which someone offered to buy for nearly $200m last year. He is also an investor, advisor, and NED for various early-stage SaaS businesses, and is currently writing a book about the transition from agency to SaaS owner. 

Episode highlights: Go All In on a Side Project?

• What is ScreenCloud, and how did the transition happen to this “side project”?
• What are the big differences between an agency and a SaaS company?
• How VC backing is different in regards to growth vs. margins
• What we can learn from Elon Musk about running multiple companies
• Is there a moment that is the decision point on whether to go all in on that side project?
• What are the three core seats for their SaaS company?

Lightning Round with David Hart

• Best advice: Don’t rely on your gut, especially with products. Speak to clients.
• Habit that contributes to success: Paranoia, really looking at the numbers
• Recommended tool: Notion
• Recommended book: The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick

Connect with David Hart, plus resources

• Website: screencloud.com 
• Website: davidhart.io

Quotes from David Hart’s episode

• “If we want this to be anything good, we’ve got to stop treating it as a side project.”
• “We’d be able to pay our mortgage off, then work for these guys for three years. It was a bit of a shock, to be honest.”
• “97% of them told us to get lost.”
• “I love the side project as an incubator, but at some point, you have to make a decision.”
• “As soon as the biggest clients start screaming, you drop everything.”

Takeaways from David Hart’s episode

• If it’s not growing, it’s dying
• If you’re happy with how it’s going with a side project, it’s okay to just sell it to a few clients to combat the peaks and troughs.
• Figure out roles for the transition and the new company

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