Why I Still Code as a SaaS Founder (7 reasons)

Most SaaS founders stop coding once they raise money or hire their first developer. I went the opposite direction.

After 20 years in software, building agencies, and working with countless developers, I still write every line of my MVP code myself. My team thinks I'm crazy. My competitors think I'm wasting time.

They're wrong.

#1 It's easy for me

Here's something most non-technical founders don't understand: coding is actually relaxing when you're good at it.

Elon Musk's assistant gives him engineering tasks at the start of each day just to clear his mind before tackling harder problems. When you've been coding for two decades, writing functions is like meditation.

Last week I was stressed about a pricing decision for StatsAware. Instead of overthinking it, I spent 2 hours implementing user activity tracking. By the time I finished, the pricing solution was obvious.

Your developer might need 3 days to understand your vision, write code, and iterate. I can prototype the core idea in an afternoon because there's no communication overhead between my brain and my keyboard.

#2 I can prototype without back-and-forth

Every non-technical founder knows this pain: you explain a feature, the developer builds it, and it's 80% what you wanted. Then you spend days in Slack trying to explain the missing 20%.

When I code the MVP myself, I can iterate in real-time. If a button feels wrong, I move it. If the user flow has friction, I fix it immediately.

I use tools like v0.dev to speed up the frontend work, but the business logic? That's all me. No Figma. No requirements docs. No "let me check with the developer."

The result: StatsAware's core feature took me 6 days to build. My previous co-founder spent 3 months explaining a simpler feature to developers and still wasn't happy with it.

#3 It's cheaper (and the math is brutal)

Let's do the math on my €100/hour consulting rate.

If I outsource an MVP:

• My time specifying requirements: 20 hours = €2,000
• Developer time building it: 80 hours = €4,000 (at €50/hour)
• My time reviewing and requesting changes: 15 hours = €1,500
• Total: €7,500

If I build it myself:

• My time coding: 60 hours = €6,000
• Total: €6,000

But here's what that math misses: when I code it myself, I don't just save €1,500. I save weeks of calendar time and eliminate the risk of miscommunication.

More importantly, I can work weekends and late nights when inspiration strikes. Try getting that from a contractor.

#4 Vibe coding makes it easy

I used to be a Ruby purist who wrote perfect object-oriented code. Now I "vibe code" with AI assistance and ship 3x faster.

My vibe coding principles:

1. Have a senior developer review my code
2. Write comprehensive tests
3. Set up proper CI/CD
4. Design solid database models
5. Keep the UI simple

With these guardrails, I can use AI to handle boilerplate while I focus on business logic. Last month, I built StatsAware's entire authentication system in 4 hours using Claude and Cursor.

The purists hate it, but my bank account doesn't care about code purity.

#5 My mentor told me to

The smartest business advice often sounds counterintuitive.

My mentor runs 3 successful SaaS products. When I told him I was hiring developers for my MVP, he said: "Don't. Build the first version yourself."

His reasoning: "Every feature you don't personally understand will become a technical debt nightmare later. Code the foundation, then delegate the expansion."

He was right. The one time I outsourced an MVP (my agency crawler project), I never really understood how it worked. When customers requested changes, I was helpless.

#6 I work weekends. My developers don't.

This isn't about exploitation—it's about obsession.

Last Saturday at 11 PM, I had an insight about how to fix StatsAware's timezone handling. I coded for 3 hours and solved a problem that had been bugging me for weeks.

Try calling your developer at 11 PM with a "quick fix." Good luck with that.

When you're building something you believe in, inspiration doesn't follow business hours. Being able to act on those moments of clarity is worth more than any hourly rate calculation.

My team has great work-life balance. But during the MVP phase, I need someone with my level of commitment working on the core product. That someone is me.

#7 You can't outsource obsession

The dirty secret of software development: most code is written by people who don't deeply care about the outcome.

When I hire a developer, they're thinking about clean code and best practices. I'm thinking about whether this feature will convince a prospect to buy.

When they see a slow query, they optimize the database. When I see a slow query, I ask: "Is this feature even necessary?"

This isn't about developer skill—I've worked with brilliant programmers. It's about skin in the game. Nobody will care about your product as much as you do.

Once StatsAware reaches product-market fit and I understand every component, then I'll delegate. But during those crucial early decisions that determine if your startup lives or dies? I want my hands on the keyboard.

Currently building StatsAware - team visibility without surveillance. Follow my journey as I code, launch, and scale from zero to revenue.