From Idea to MVP: The Fastest Way to Build a SaaS Using a Next.js Starter Kit

Building a SaaS is tough. You have an idea, maybe even a solid plan. But getting from idea to MVP? That’s where things get tricky.

Most devs spend months setting up authentication, payments, and marketing pages. Before they even validate demand, they burn time on boilerplate.

That’s why I built FastStartup.dev. It’s a Next.js starter kit that handles the boring parts so you can launch faster.

Why Speed Matters in SaaS

Ideas are worthless if they don’t ship. The faster you launch, the sooner you get real feedback.

Most successful SaaS products pivot multiple times. The sooner you validate your idea, the less time and money you waste.

You don’t need a perfect product. You need something people will pay for. That’s why an MVP should be the fastest way to test your idea, not a never-ending dev project.

The Hardest Parts of Building an MVP

Building a SaaS from scratch means solving the same problems every time:

• User authentication
• Payments & subscriptions
• Landing pages & SEO
• Email onboarding
• Handling database & API setup
• Deploying and scaling

If you’ve built SaaS before, you know how tedious these are. And if it’s your first time, these are harder than you expect.

Most devs underestimate how much work goes into everything except the core product. That’s where they get stuck.

How FastStartup.dev Makes It Easier

FastStartup.dev is a Next.js starter kit built for subscription-based SaaS. It gives you:

• Pre-built user authentication (next-auth)
• Stripe payments & subscriptions
• Marketing pages with SEO optimization
• Tailwind UI components
• Email onboarding flows
• Database & API setup
• Automatic deployment with Vercel

Instead of spending weeks setting up auth, payments, and pages, you can launch in days.

The Fastest Way to Validate Your Idea

The goal of an MVP is not to build the perfect product.

It’s to find out if people will pay for it.

Here’s how to do that fast:

1. Start With a Landing Page

Before writing a single line of backend code, build a landing page.

Explain the problem. Show how your SaaS solves it. Add a signup form.

If no one signs up, your idea isn’t the problem—the messaging is.

2. Collect Emails Before Building

If people are willing to give you their email, they might be willing to pay.

A pre-launch email list lets you validate demand before investing in dev time.

3. Build Only What’s Needed

Your MVP should be the simplest version of your SaaS that people will pay for.

If you’re building an analytics tool, don’t add dashboards, reports, and custom views.

Start with one page that solves one core problem.

4. Get Users, Not Just Traffic

Lots of founders focus on getting traffic when they should focus on getting users.

Visitors don’t matter unless they convert into paying customers.

Make sure your landing page has a clear CTA: sign up, book a demo, or start a free trial.

Preparing for a Beta Launch

Your MVP doesn’t need to be polished. It just needs to work well enough to get feedback.

Before launching, test these:

• Can users sign up and log in?
• Does Stripe process payments correctly?
• Can users complete the core action of your SaaS?

Expect things to break. That’s fine. The goal of beta is to find and fix issues fast.

Learning from Users

Your first users are the most valuable. Talk to them as much as possible.

• Ask why they signed up.
• Find out what confused them.
• Watch how they use your product.
• Listen to complaints.

Early feedback shapes your roadmap more than any feature list you planned.

Scaling Beyond MVP

Once you get paying users, you can improve onboarding, optimize conversions, and add features.

Most founders try to scale too early. Don’t worry about performance, automation, or fancy UI.

Focus on getting users and keeping them happy.

Ready to Build Your SaaS MVP?

If you want to skip the boring setup and launch fast, check out FastStartup.dev.

It gives you everything you need to validate your idea quickly without spending months on boilerplate.

Because the faster you launch, the sooner you succeed.