E-commerce SaaS Opportunities

Shaan shares his strategy of investing in and building e-commerce SaaS tools by identifying pain points while running his own e-commerce store. The approach involves creating solutions for problems encountered firsthand in running an e-commerce business.

Key Points:

• Investment Strategy:

  • Use personal e-commerce experience to identify valuable tools
  • Invest in solutions you use and understand as a store owner
  • Examples invested in:
    • Triple Whale: Mobile analytics dashboard
    • Numeral: Sales tax solution
    • Final Loop: Bookkeeping and accounting
    • Postscript: SMS marketing

• Success Metrics:

  • Triple Whale investment: $75k at $5M valuation
  • Current value: Up 40x (approximately $3M)
  • Multiple successful investments across different e-commerce tools

• Key Success Factors:

  • Being an active e-commerce operator provides insight into valuable tools
  • Network access to introduce tools to other store owners
  • Ability to spot valuable solutions early through firsthand experience

• Strategy Benefits:

  • Less time intensive than running an e-commerce store
  • Higher returns possible through strategic investments
  • Natural advantage in evaluating tools as an active user