8
Feeling Stuck- 1.5 months after launch and I already feel like my Dev team is a money pit. (Go Figure) I saw this coming but wanted to move on my idea no matter what! So now what?
r/SaaS
7/21/2025
Content Summary
A non-technical founder launched an iOS/Android app with a dev team on a $7,500/month retainer (70 hours). After 1.5 months, a major feature is missing, and retainer time is being used to fix launch issues. No analytics dashboards exist. The team pushes V2 features instead of completing MVP. The founder feels stuck, considers alternatives like Fiverr or project managers, and seeks advice. Comments emphasize the need for technical co-founders, better contracts, and AI tools to manage development.
Opinion Analysis
Mainstream Opinions:
- Non-technical founders require technical co-founders to avoid exploitation (u/Darktriadsood, u/dogweather, u/Buddy_Useful)
- $107/hour rate is reasonable for US teams but service quality is the core issue (u/Ibuildwebstuff, u/BreakingGood, u/MsonC118)
- Inadequate contracts caused scope misunderstandings (u/tdifen)
Conflicting Views:
- Pricing Debate: Some argue $7.5k is cheap for a team (u/NoMagicMike35) while others call it overpriced for poor delivery (u/deepwaterpaladin)
- Technical Barrier: u/polongus claims non-technical founders shouldn't build software, countered by AI-empowerment advocates (u/petebytes)
Key Debates:
- Agency vs In-House: Transition to dedicated remote engineers vs fixing agency relationship
- Solution Prioritization: Immediate analytics/bug fixes vs new features
- Validation Timing: Pre-development validation (u/MsonC118) vs post-launch iteration
SAAS TOOLS
| SaaS | URL | Category | Features/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjust | adjust.com | Mobile Analytics | App attribution, analytics, fraud prevention |
| Claude Code | anthropic.com | AI Code Assistant | Code analysis, bug fixing, code generation |
| Google Analytics | analytics.google.com | Web Analytics | User tracking, engagement metrics, conversion tracking |
USER NEEDS
Pain Points:
- Non-technical founder being taken advantage of by dev team
- Missing major project component at launch
- No analytics/dashboards to track user behavior
- Dev team prioritizing future features (V2) over completing MVP
- High retainer cost without expected value delivery
- Lack of trust in current team and uncertainty about next steps
Problems to Solve:
- How to manage development as a non-technical founder
- How to complete missing features and implement analytics
- How to transition from current team without losing progress
- How to validate product idea and focus on user needs
Potential Solutions:
- Hire technical co-founder or engineering manager
- Use milestone-based contracts for future development
- Leverage AI tools (ChatGPT/Claude) for technical understanding
- Conduct independent technical audit of project
- Prioritize user validation and MVP feature completion
GROWTH FACTORS
Effective Strategies:
- Validating ideas before full development
- Hiring technical co-founder for development oversight
- Using milestone-based contracts for accountability
Marketing & Acquisition:
- Word-of-mouth user acquisition
- TikTok/Instagram organic marketing
- Recommendation to allocate 2x marketing budget vs development
Monetization & Product:
- $107/hour rate debated (low for US teams vs poor quality service)
- Focus on MVP completion before feature expansion
- Need for product-market validation before scaling
User Engagement:
- Critical need for analytics dashboards (drop-off, engagement)
- Implementing tools like Adjust/Google Analytics
- Free user acquisition strategy for initial traction (95 users)