https://ThomasShips.com/blog Co-founded a software agency (40+ people). Left. Now building SaaS solo and sharing the real numbers, failures included. en Fri, 13 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ThomasShips.com/blog/chatgpt-traffic-wrong-users https://ThomasShips.com/blog/chatgpt-traffic-wrong-users My last SaaS ranked #1 in ChatGPT for its niche query. It brought half of all signups and almost no buyers. What AI search traffic looks like in real numbers, and what I would check now. Fri, 13 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT chatgpttrafficsaasbuild-in-public https://ThomasShips.com/blog/checkout-16-people-1-paid https://ThomasShips.com/blog/checkout-16-people-1-paid One person filled my checkout form 11 times in one day and never paid. A step-by-step look at where buyers dropped off in my last SaaS, and why I still do not know what stopped them. Fri, 20 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT checkoutconversionsaasbuild-in-public https://ThomasShips.com/blog/customer-interviews-solo-founder-saas https://ThomasShips.com/blog/customer-interviews-solo-founder-saas About 2,100 emails, three free trials and zero interviews. What I tried to talk to my SaaS users, why nobody answered, and what I do differently now. Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT customer-interviewssaasbuild-in-public https://ThomasShips.com/blog/engagement-not-willingness-to-pay https://ThomasShips.com/blog/engagement-not-willingness-to-pay Sessions of 1 to 3 hours, 0 paying customers for 10 weeks. Why high engagement on a free plan fooled me, with retention numbers from my last SaaS. Fri, 27 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT retentionpricingsaasbuild-in-public https://ThomasShips.com/blog/friction-log-find-startup-idea https://ThomasShips.com/blog/friction-log-find-startup-idea I am not building anything for 60 days. I log every annoyance instead and read the list on day 60. How my friction log works, with real entries. Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT friction-logstartup-ideasbuild-in-public https://ThomasShips.com/blog/intro-week-first-posts https://ThomasShips.com/blog/intro-week-first-posts The first posts of the build-in-public challenge: intro, traffic quality, and why engagement does not pay. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT build-in-publicsaas https://ThomasShips.com/blog/saas-post-mortem-411-signups-1-customer https://ThomasShips.com/blog/saas-post-mortem-411-signups-1-customer Full numbers from my failed SaaS: 2,202 visitors, 411 signups, 1 paying customer. Where users came from, where they dropped off, and what I got wrong. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT saaspost-mortembuild-in-public https://ThomasShips.com/blog/week-2-x-posts https://ThomasShips.com/blog/week-2-x-posts Drafts on friction logs, pricing walls, checkout drop-off, and what 2,100 emails taught me. Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT build-in-publicsaaspricing