# Start with a spreadsheet, not a SaaS

- Category: product
- Author: Raul (https://indie.md/people/raul/)
- Source: https://indie.md/journeys/raul-calm-companies/
- Canonical URL: https://indie.md/advice/product-start-simple/

Raul's entire business started as a personal spreadsheet shared with friends. He didn't buy a domain, set up payments, or write a line of code until real people asked him to keep going. A spreadsheet forces you to do the work manually, which teaches you what the actual product is. If your idea can't survive as a spreadsheet first, it probably won't survive as a SaaS either.