Failed Software Startup: 10 Products Before PMF

Jeb Banner built almost a dozen products that went nowhere over 12 years. His failed software startup streak broke only when he separated product from his agency and found product-market fit targeting nonprofits. Learn why a failed software startup inside an agency never survives, how Boardable achieved product-market fit by targeting nonprofit boards, and what hidden conversion signals a data scientist uncovered. Jeb is the CEO of Boardable, a board management platform. After 10 failed software startup attempts as part of his agency to SaaS journey, Boardable reached 7-figure ARR with 2,000 customers in 40 countries. 🔑 Key Lessons 📉 A failed software startup inside an agency can't compete for attention: Jeb built 10 products over 12 years - the pattern broke when Boardable became a separate entity. 🎯 Target acute pain to prevent another failed software startup: Nonprofits with 50 board members and one admin felt pain far more than for-profits, enabling product-market fit. 🛠️ Build for complexity, then sell simplicity: Solving nonprofit complexity first created an advantage when expanding - a finding product-market fit lesson. 🤝 Recognize when product-led growth breaks down: Boardable's PLG stalled in the agency to SaaS transition because the user was not the buyer. 🧠 Data science finds hidden conversion signals no failed software startup expects: Deleting an agenda item in a trial predicted conversion better than any firmographic data. Chapters Introduction What Boardable does Business size, revenue, and funding How a client request sparked the idea Why nonprofits for finding product-market fit Building the MVP Using Capterra for growth Product-led growth to sales transition Lead scoring with a data scientist The agenda deletion conversion signal The failed software startup pattern over 12 years Separating product from agency to SaaS Why Boardable finally achieved product-market fit Competitive landscape Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/312 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email