Coding Isn't Enough To Build A SaaS Product Anymore

Summary

The speaker reflects on the evolution of SAS product development over the past three years, noting the significant impact of AI on software engineering. They predict AI will further revolutionize the field, making coding easier and shifting the challenge to marketing and distribution. The speaker emphasizes the importance of becoming multidisciplinary, particularly in marketing, as the technical aspects of building SAS products become more accessible through AI advancements.

Takeaways

• 🛠️ The speaker has been developing a SAS product for 3 years, with the last 1.5 years influenced by the rise of AI like GitHub Copilot.
• 🌟 AI is revolutionizing software engineering, making it significantly easier to develop software.
• 🤔 Initially a skeptic, the speaker was impressed by the advancements in AI coding capabilities, particularly with models like OpenAI's Codex.
• 💡 Software engineering is likely to be one of the first fields heavily disrupted by AI due to the alignment of AI developers' pain points with those of software engineers.
• 📈 The cost of building software has plummeted, with the potential to scale an app to millions of users within a week.
• 🚀 Pre-AI, building the technical components of a SAS product was time-consuming; now, AI simplifies this process.
• 🔄 The new challenge for SAS products is marketing and distribution, not the technical development.
• 🗣️ AI may eventually enable building entire applications through conversation, but marketing remains a human domain.
• 🎓 The speaker is transitioning from a pure developer role to acquiring skills in design, marketing, and product development.
• 🌐 Multidisciplinary skills will differentiate developers in the future as AI takes over routine software engineering tasks.
• 📈 For those building SAS products, focusing on learning marketing skills will be crucial as AI continues to advance.

Q & A

How long has the speaker been building their SAS product?

The speaker has been building their SAS product for over 3 years.

What significant change in software engineering occurred during the development of the speaker's SAS product?

During the development, AI and tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor IDE, and OpenAI models became prominent, significantly changing software engineering.

Why does the speaker believe software engineering will be one of the first fields to be disrupted by AI?

The speaker believes software engineering will be disrupted because the developers creating AI models understand the pain points of their own field, leading to rapid progress in AI-related software development.

What has been the trend in the cost of building software over the past decade according to the speaker?

The speaker mentions that software has become extremely cheap to build, with the ability to scale to millions of users within a short time frame.

What was considered the hardest part of building a SAS product before the advent of AI?

Before AI, the technical components of building a SAS product were considered the most challenging, especially for first-time builders.

What does the speaker predict will be the biggest challenge in building SAS products with the advancement of AI?

The speaker predicts that marketing and distribution will be the biggest challenge, as AI makes the building of software easier.

How does the speaker think AI will change the role of a software engineer?

The speaker believes that AI will take over some of the easier software engineering tasks, leading to a more multidisciplinary role for software engineers in the future.

What advice does the speaker give to software engineers looking to build their own SAS products?

The speaker advises software engineers to learn more about marketing, as it will be a key differentiator in building and developing products in the future.

What skills is the speaker trying to develop beyond being a pure developer?

The speaker is trying to develop skills in areas such as design, marketing, and product awareness to become more multidisciplinary.

What does the speaker think will be one of the last things AI figures out in the context of SAS products?

The speaker believes that AI will likely be one of the last to figure out marketing for SAS products.

What does the speaker suggest will be the role of a software developer in the future?

The speaker suggests that the role will evolve to be more multidisciplinary, with a focus on areas beyond just coding.