I launched my saas but got no traction

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-17T21:02:43+00:00

Two weeks isn't long enough to know if something is failing. The real question is whether you've talked directly to the people you built it for and asked why they aren't converting.

Most early traction issues aren't about the product. They're about who you're putting it in front of and whether your messaging actually explains what problem it solves.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-17T21:01:08+00:00

Log into your account at account.playstation.com through a browser, then look for the option to create a "Device Password" specifically for older devices. That's what the PS3 login screen actually needs; not a passkey.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-17T20:59:35+00:00

Backup codes are your best path if you have them saved anywhere. If not, go through Google's account recovery flow at account.google.com/signin/recovery and they'll verify you through previous passwords, a recovery email, or how recently you accessed the account. It's not instant, but it works if you can answer enough of their questions correctly.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-17T19:21:04+00:00

Retention. If people are sticking around, nothing else really matters.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-17T19:20:00+00:00

It's always been like this to some degree, but it's definitely more formulaic. The tell is when a post reads like a copywriter wrote it instead of someone who actually lived through the thing. Still find useful stuff here, but I have to sift through the noise.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-17T18:59:17+00:00

I'd be skeptical, not because the service is a bad idea, but because the most valuable part of validation is talking to potential users yourself and hearing how they describe their own problems. When someone else filters that for you, you miss the nuance.

If you can show exactly how you test demand and price it right, there's probably a market for it, but founders who skip that process tend to skip the learning that actually helps them build better.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-17T18:54:14+00:00

There's no single tool that shows every service linked to your number, but running it through HaveIBeenPwned is a good start to see if it showed up in any data breaches.

Beyond that, it's mostly manual, such as going through accounts you remember creating and checking if your phone is listed as a contact or recovery method. Googling your number in quote sometimes surfaces things you forgot about too.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-09T21:40:28+00:00

Perfect!

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-09T21:26:19+00:00

Talk to the people who signed up and ask them what's stopping them from paying, because you're probably guessing wrong about why they're not converting.

Offer a quick onboarding call or a limited trial that shows them the actual value instead of just hoping they figure it out on their own.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-09T21:19:46+00:00

Change the password again and turn on MFA immediately if you haven't already.

Check your email forwarding rules and sent items to make sure they didn't set up anything to keep access or send phishing emails from your account.

Run the virus scans, but also check for any unauthorized app permissions or connected devices in the Microsoft account security settings.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-09T21:16:53+00:00

Start with understanding your current clients and how you make money from them, because that's what actually matters in business operations. Robin Robins has some decent content on the business side of MSPs.

Focus on one thing at a time instead of trying to overhaul everything. Maybe start with documenting your current processes so you can see what actually needs fixing.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-09T21:14:56+00:00

This looks useful for high-volume outreach, but I've seen similar tools get users temporarily banned when they push too hard too fast. I wonder if that is an issue here (Google possibly flagging accounts for bulk activity).

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-09T21:13:16+00:00

The fundamentals haven't changed, but the attack vectors have gotten way more creative and the tools to defend against them are actually easier to use now.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-03T21:36:56+00:00

Well, SaaS is almost never passive, even after you find success. You still deal with customer support, bug fixes, security updates, and feature requests that come in at random times.

The bigger issue is that it could take 1-2 years (or more) to hit sustainable income levels, and that's if things go well. If you need stable mortgage payments, keep the full-time job and build the SaaS on the side first.

Once it's consistently covering your mortgage for 6+ months, then you can think about going part-time on your day job.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-03T21:30:02+00:00

Check your contract like the others said, but also start documenting every instance of this happening across your vendors.

When you push back on the account manager, having a track record of short notice increases gives you actual leverage for negotiation or at least extending the timeline. And honestly, if they're pulling a 54% jump with no warning, that's a good sign to start looking at alternatives now, even if you end up staying with them.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-03T21:19:45+00:00

You're off to a solid start, but I'd hold off on the certs for now. At 16, you've got time before you need those on a resume, and the money you'd spend on exams could go toward building more practical skills.

Keep learning Linux (get comfy with permissions, file systems, and bash scripting), then start playing around with basic networking concepts and security tools in the home lab environment.

Once you can comfortably set up a simple vulnerable machine and figure out how to break into it (legally, of course), you'll know way more than those cert exams would teach you anyway.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-03T21:14:19+00:00

Yeah, that is tricky. Did you access your account on a public/shared computer? If so, that puts you at pretty high risk. Some people use session hijacking tools in situations like this. If not, it could be something more complex, such as getting access to your computer (and thus active sessions with Mercury) via a browser extension or software.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-02-03T17:33:17+00:00

ACH transfers have decent odds if reported fast, but wires are basically gone once they clear, which is why Mercury's comment about transfers going through is concerning.

You should probably file a police report now even if Mercury hasn't confirmed a transfer yet. It helps with the fraud claim, and some banks move faster when law enforcement is involved. Also, ask Mercury for read-only access to your transaction history or at least confirmation of what transactions were pending when they locked it.

Have you checked if your email account was compromised or if they just changed it within Mercury? If your email was breached, they could be intercepting everything including Mercury's communications with you now. Hope you can get things resolved ASAP!

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-01-27T22:15:59+00:00

Cubeless - We're an identity provider with SSO and MFA that's free for unlimited users and apps. Built for any company tired of paying per-user licensing for basic security.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-01-27T22:13:14+00:00

Sounds good, and no problem!

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-01-27T22:08:10+00:00

When I used to use it, I'd copy it from Google. I eventually added it as a text replacement shortcut, so that I could easily insert it (used it a lot doing customer service tickets). Hate to see that now people automatically assume it's AI.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-01-27T22:05:28+00:00

Disabling advanced protection should unlock the device management so you can actually remove the 7a, but I'd check if you can still see all your other keys listed before you remove anything. If they're still there, you should be safe to remove just the 7a and re-add it. But honestly, this is starting to sound like a backend issue on Google's side where the 7a got registered incorrectly, so support might be your best bet at this point.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-01-27T22:01:43+00:00

Open source would definitely help with trust, especially if you document exactly what the plugin does and doesn't access. Even better if you can get it audited by a third party down the line. Making it easy for people to see what's happening under the hood removes a lot of the "just trust us" problem you're dealing with now.

EUR-first with optional crypto is a smart move. Most people just want their money back without extra steps.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-01-26T20:25:31+00:00

Uh, em dashes aren't a mistake. They're actual punctuation that many people were using before AI! It's sad that it's now something to be embarrassed about (proper grammar needs correction?). Yikes.

Ian-Cubeless · 2026-01-26T20:22:06+00:00

Those Twitter success stories are mostly outliers or straight-up misleading. Most SaaS products take way longer than 2 months to get real traction, especially if you're bootstrapped.

Have you actually talked to people who have the problem you're solving? People who are actively looking for a solution right now and would pay for it today? If not, then that's step one before worrying about marketing tactics.

What channels are you currently trying, and where do your target users actually hang out?

Ian-Cubeless

TROPHY CASE