In the world of SaaS and subscription businesses, Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is king. It represents the predictable, ongoing revenue you earn each month from paying customers – a crucial metric for forecasting growth and planning operations. In fact, as Stripe explains: “MRR measures the predictable, recurring revenue generated from customers on a monthly basis,” enabling companies to “forecast future revenue, identify growth trends and make strategic decisions” (stripe.com). Simply put: if you have 100 customers each paying $100 per month, your MRR is $10,000 (stripe.com).

However, building that first chunk of MRR is famously tough. Getting even a single customer to sign up and stick around can feel like an insurmountable hurdle. As veteran startup founder Jason Cohen once quipped, “It’s one of the hardest steps in a startup, getting that first [customer] to part with their money over your barely-minimally viable product” (blog.asmartbear.com). Similarly, growth advisor Hans Baumhardt emphasizes that “starting something is easy, the first 10 paying customers are tough” – selling to cold prospects and proving product-market fit is often the real challenge (medium.com).

Why is the “first MRR” so elusive, and why does everything seem to get easier once you have some momentum? In this guide we’ll dive deeply into:

• Why that first dollar (or dollar of MRR) is the hardest to get – the trust, market, and product obstacles in early days.

• Strategies and tactics to earn your initial recurring revenue – from pre-selling and marketplaces, to outreach and pricing.

• Real-world examples and advice on how entrepreneurs cleared the first MRR hurdle.

• Why growth accelerates after initial traction – and how compounding recurring revenue and proven processes make scaling smoother.

• Actionable steps and best practices to keep growing MRR efficiently once you’ve passed that early barrier.

Enjoy this comprehensive deep dive into early SaaS revenue growth. By the end, you’ll understand why the first bit of MRR is so hard – and exactly what to do about it.

What Is MRR and Why Does It Matter?

Before we dive in, let’s be clear on what Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) means. MRR is simply the sum of your subscription revenue every month. It’s different from one-time sales or variable fees: it only counts predictable, expected revenue from ongoing subscriptions or contracts. For example, selling a $100 subscription to 5 customers generates $500 MRR each month (and $6,000 Annual Recurring Revenue, or ARR, if customers stay a year).

• Why MRR is important: Recurring revenue is the lifeblood of subscription businesses. It smooths cash flow, makes forecasting easier, and signals product-market fit. As one expert notes, MRR not only tracks current performance, it “helps [companies] forecast future revenue, identify growth trends and make strategic decisions” (stripe.com). Investors and managers watch MRR closely because it shows growth momentum.

• How to calculate MRR: In practice, you multiply each customer’s monthly subscription fee by the number of customers. For example, 50 customers paying an average of $49.99 per month yields 50 × $49.99 = $2,499.50 MRR. In code, calculating MRR can be this simple:

  Example: calculating MRR in Python

  subscriptions = [ {'name': 'Basic Plan', 'monthly_price': 19.99}, {'name': 'Pro Plan', 'monthly_price': 49.99}, {'name': 'Starter Plan','monthly_price': 29.99}, ] mrr = sum(plan['monthly_price'] for plan in subscriptions) print(f"Monthly Recurring Revenue: ${mrr:.2f}") # e.g., $99.97

This basic code shows how summing up active subscriptions gives your MRR. In practice you might compute this in a database or via your billing platform (Stripe, Chargebee, etc.). For example, if using Stripe, you could fetch all active subscriptions and sum their plans’ amounts (not forgetting to convert cents to dollars):

import stripe stripe.api_key = 'sk_test_...'

subscriptions = stripe.Subscription.list(status='active', expand=['data.plan']) mrr = 0.0 for sub in subscriptions.auto_paging_iter(): # Sum each active subscription’s price (Stripe amounts are in cents) mrr += sub.plan.amount / 100.0 print(f"Current MRR: ${mrr:.2f}")

This way, your MRR is always up-to-date in code and can feed into dashboards or alerts.

• Types of MRR: It’s also useful to track new MRR (from new customers), expansion MRR (from upsells), and churn/contraction MRR (lost when customers cancel or downgrade) (stripe.com). But for starters, focus on that headline number.

In summary, MRR is about recurring monthly income and forms the foundation of growth for SaaS and subscription startups (stripe.com) (stripe.com). Now let’s see why getting that first slice of MRR is notoriously hard.

Why Earning Your First MRR is So Hard

Intuitively, we know the first sale is rarely easy. Multiple factors conspire to make “the first paying customer” stage the toughest:

• Lack of trust and proof: When you're brand-new, customers have no reason to trust you or your product. You have no reviews, case studies, or credibility yet. Potential users worry: Is this startup legit? Is the product finished enough? Will they still be around next month? Convincing someone to commit money (even a small subscription) requires overcoming that trust barrier. As Jason Cohen bluntly put it, the founder’s task is to get “the first [customer] to part with their money” over a product that is still “barely-minimally viable” (blog.asmartbear.com).

• Product-market fit is unproven: Early on you’re still refining your product. You might need multiple iterations before you really solve the customer’s problem. Until you hit the right product-market fit, each customer acquisition feels like an educated guess. If the product doesn’t solve the right pain point, those first few users may churn immediately, making the effort feel wasted.

• No organic traction or channel: In the early days, you often have zero inbound traffic or audience. No blog visits, social followers, or SEO rankings. Even if people want your solution in theory, they may not know it exists. All discovery relies on manual effort (e.g. founder outreach, cold emails, paid ads) which is slow and uncertain at first.

• High customer acquisition cost (CAC): Without any track record, you may have to spend a lot on marketing or sales just to get a few leads. That means each initial attempt costs more in time and money, squeezing your runway and morale.

• Founder skills gap: Most founders start as product-builders, not seasoned salespeople. Pushing the product to total strangers is a new skill. As Hans Baumhardt argues, the founder (or a commercial cofounder) must hustle to get those first customers — you can’t simply rely on advertising or waiting for traffic (medium.com) (medium.com).

• Fear of failure: Surprisingly, psychological factors count. When stats are zero, each rejection feels like a major setback. Some founders may sabotage early sales efforts out of fear or perfectionism (“the product isn’t perfect yet”). But you must stare down that fear — real validation only comes from actual sales (www.zibly.ai) (blog.asmartbear.com).

Here are some common hurdles listed:

• No social proof: Customers often wait to see that “other companies like me have used this.” Early startups must provide that evidence first.

• Pricing uncertainty: Without feedback, it’s easy to misprice. As one founder discovered, launching on Product Hunt with 593 visitors but $29 pricing yielded 0 sales (baremetrics.com). He realized he’d priced too high and had to iterate on pricing/value before landing a sale weeks later.

• Feature gaps: Your MVP may lack certain features that early adopters really want. Adjusting mid-course is unavoidable—and time-consuming.

Importantly, sales at this stage often require a founder-led approach. You may need to personally contact potential customers, give demos, and answer every question. As Baumhardt notes, once you have just a handful of customers (say 10), then you can start formalizing a repeatable process – but getting those first 10 paying customers is predominately on the founder (medium.com).

“OK finding a valuable need and creating fantastic product isn’t easy, but having validated with friends, family and free offers, starting the commercial journey can be the hardest step,” writes Hans Baumhardt (medium.com). In other words, the proof comes when strangers with wallets show interest.

In practice, this means upfront hustle. One strategy is to pre-sell or take early commitments before building the full product (www.zibly.ai) (we’ll discuss tactics shortly). Another is to leverage existing demand sources (marketplaces, communities, etc.) so you’re not starting completely off-grid. Regardless, expect the first MRR to be a grind. But there’s a silver lining – once you push past this phase, everything gets a bit easier, thanks to compounding effects and infrastructure. We’ll see why in a bit.

Tactics to Get Your First Paying Customers (First MRR)

If earning that initial revenue is so hard, where should you focus? Here are proven strategies and actionable steps to break through the early barrier and start accumulating MRR:

1. Pre-Sell or Validate First – “Revenue-first launch” strategy. Don’t build blindly; secure commitments or small deposits from real clients as early as possible. This tests willingness to pay, which is the truest validation. As Ash Maurya famously said, “There is no business in your business model without revenue.” (www.zibly.ai). You can apply lean tactics:

• Create a one-pager or landing page targeting your ideal customer with a clear value proposition. Describe the problem and solution, and include a call-to-action like “Pre-order now” or “Join early access”. - Talk to potential customers (via LinkedIn, industry forums, email) and ask them to commit. Frame it as an exclusive pilot or “founder’s deal.” Courses like Zibly’s pre-sell guide recommend discovery calls and even invoicing before full build (www.zibly.ai) (www.zibly.ai). - Offer steep launch discounts or lifetime deals to incentivize early sign-ups. People love bargains and feeling part of an “exclusive” early group. - Example: Buffer famously pre-sold $445 million of Tesla Model 3 reservations early on. In SaaS, companies like Hotjar and RunGoblin have collected early payments to validate demand.

Key point: If customers will pay you money before your product is complete, you know you have something of real value (www.zibly.ai). This also funds development.

1. Leverage Marketplaces and Built-in Traffic – Don’t build your own audience from scratch; tap into platforms where users already congregate. For example, launching on a marketplace (Shopify App Store, Atlassian Marketplace, Chrome Web Store, etc.) can give instant visibility. These ecosystems have millions of users exploring solutions. Some tips:

• Shopify App Store (e-commerce apps): For Shopify, one developer notes: “the best traffic will end up coming from the Shopify App Store and the Shopify ecosystem,” far outweighing any marketing efforts (www.zibly.ai). Indeed, launching a free or low-cost Shopify app can yield organic installs if you nail the app listing (keywords, screenshots, etc.). - Atlassian Marketplace (Jira/Confluence): Similar story: apps like draw.io generate $10M+ ARR on Atlassian’s marketplace (www.zibly.ai). Write apps that extend popular tools (Jira, Confluence) and you immediately have 10+ million active users‘ ecosystem (www.zibly.ai) to tap into. - Chrome Web Store (extensions): The Chrome Web Store has 3+ billion users and relatively few extensions (200k). One developer states that the Web Store can “effortlessly provide amazing organic traffic,” a rare “build it and they will come” scenario (www.zibly.ai).

How to take advantage: Optimize your listing. Use relevant keywords in titles/descriptions (e.g. “Jira automation”, “Shopify upsell”, etc.), compelling screenshots, demo videos, and clear pricing info (www.zibly.ai) (www.zibly.ai). Offer a free tier or trial to attract installs, then convert those users (see below). Participate in the platform’s community (forums, Slack/Discord groups) to share your solution. This “marketplace distribution” lets you borrow trust: users know the app comes via a reputable source.

Pro Tip: As Zibly’s guide notes, launching on a marketplace is like opening a store in a busy mall: you tap existing foot traffic (www.zibly.ai). Monk Upsell, a Shopify app, hit $1,000 MRR in 6 months with zero ad spend by focusing solely on the App Store and user referrals (www.zibly.ai).

1. Before Inbound, Founder Outreach – Inbound channels (SEO, blogging, ads) usually don’t pay off until you have some momentum. Early on, the founder must hustle directly. That means:

• Personal networking: Reach out to friends, family, ex-colleagues, or anyone in your network who might know potential customers. Baumhardt advises asking your network for specific introductions (“Do you know anyone who would benefit from X?”) rather than generic posts (medium.com). Even non-obvious contacts (like your doctor or hairdresser) might have a referral. - Cold outreach: Identify early adopters in your niche (people who already show interest in your problem area). Use tools or LinkedIn/Sales Navigator to compile a list of prospects. Craft short, personalized messages to pitch a quick demo or trial. As one marketer quips: be prepared to be a hustler – more outreach means more “luck” (medium.com). - Community engagement: Join relevant forums, Slack groups, Reddit communities, etc. Provide value (answer questions, share insights) and plant seeds about your solution. Even without directly pitching, this raises awareness. - Example: A developer named Stefan Vetter launched two products (web analytics and email marketing tools) and used his existing newsletter (3,000+ subs) plus Product Hunt to get early traction (baremetrics.com) (baremetrics.com). He also did “soft launches” to iteratively improve the offer. The key takeaway: use every channel you have now rather than waiting for content marketing to kick in.

1. Offer Freemium or Trials to Build Momentum – To attract the first users, provide a free or very cheap entry-plan that leads into a paid upgrade. Common tactics:

• Free tier: Give users enough functionality for free (e.g. up to X users, Y usage limit). This builds installs and collect email leads. Once they hit the limit, upsell them to paid plans. (Zibly’s Shopify guide notes typical freemium success: “free up to X units, paid beyond that” structure (www.zibly.ai).) - Free trials: Offer a 30-day trial (credit-card optional) with all features unlocked. Support them during the trial to reach the “aha moment” quickly. Industry stats show ~80% of trial users never convert, so strong hand-holding is key. - Example: That Agile Docs app (Jira planning) gave new users a 30-day trial and grew to ~$50K ARR in 1.5 years purely through steady organic traffic (www.zibly.ai). Starting free then monetizing helped spark initial adoption. - Conversion focus: Once users are on board, remind them (via in-app messages or email) when they hit limits and nudge upgrades. Clean, frictionless upgrade flows (e.g. one-click checkout) boost conversion.

1. Refine Pricing and Packaging – You will likely iterate on pricing based on feedback. Early customers are price-sensitive and will tell you when a price is too high or features are missing.

• Talk to first prospects about price: Ask “would you pay $X/month for Y?” Get a yes/no. - Be willing to adjust: In one case, a founder realized his $29/mo plan was too high to get anyone on Product Hunt (baremetrics.com). He retooled features and pricing and landed his first sale after a few weeks. - Use benchmarks: Compare with competitors. Are you offering more value? Price accordingly, but consider a discount for first users to thank them for feedback. - Offer short-term promotions: Launch specials (e.g. founding member pricing) can tip fence-sitters. Just be clear that it’s a limited opportunity. - Trial without credit card: Removing payment friction until after value is proven.

1. Get Feedback, Iterate Quickly – Use every interaction for learning. For the first users (or even inquiries), ask why they signed up or why they passed. Use that data to:

• Fix missing features or bugs. - Clarify messaging on your website. - Improve onboarding so users get value fast (driving retention). - Example: Stefan Vetter converted several free trials to paid after talking to users and adding needed landing page content (baremetrics.com) (baremetrics.com).

1. Leverage Publicity and Partnerships – Document your journey or leverage PR to attract attention.

• Share your progress: Bootstrappers often “build in public” (tweets, blog posts, newsletters) to attract an audience. For example, Stefan’s public revenue dashboard and openness drew interest (baremetrics.com). - Run an affiliate or partner program: Even at $1K MRR stage, think about giving a referral bonus to anyone who brings a paying user. Monk Upsell (Shopify) gives 25% lifetime commission to affiliates, fueling word-of-mouth growth (baremetrics.com). This costs you nothing upfront and only pays when you earn, making it low-risk. - Guest posts/interviews: Write articles or appear on podcasts in your niche. This raises your profile and drives some inbound leads.

1. Stay Capital-Efficient with a Runway – Getting first customers often takes longer and costs more than expected. Keep expenses low early (e.g., DIY everything, use free tools). If you need outside cash to bridge the gap (e.g. $1-2k MRR milestone), consider small raises or client pre-payment to avoid burnout.

By combing these tactics – validating before full build, leveraging existing channels, founder outreach, and rapid iteration – you stack the odds of breaking the $0 barrier. Many bootstrapped founders report that hitting even $1,000 MRR feels like a big milestone, after which growth becomes noticeably smoother. For example, the Monk Upsell app needed 6 months to reach $12K ARR (≈$1K MRR) with no ads (www.zibly.ai), but that provided proof-of-concept to accelerate from there.

Real-World Examples of Breaking the First MRR Barrier

To illustrate these ideas, let’s look at a few stories from the tech trenches:

• Friendly Analytics – Stefan Vetter launched this privacy-focused web analytics tool on Product Hunt and his agency’s newsletter. On day one, 593 visitors showed up – but got 0 sales (baremetrics.com) (baremetrics.com). Stefan quickly diagnosed why: his pricing was too high and his MVP lacked some clarity. After 21 days of tweaking (adjusted pricing, improved landing page, more outreach), he landed his first paying customer (baremetrics.com). By iterating again (launching a second product and using affiliate strategies), Friendly hit $1,000 MRR in 94 days (baremetrics.com) (baremetrics.com). Key lessons: listen to early feedback on price/value, and use your existing audience (newsletters, etc.) to bootstrap initial traction.

• Monk Upsell (Shopify App) – This single-developer case study shows the power of marketplaces. By solving a common merchant need (upselling), providing lightning-fast support, and optimizing his Shopify listing, Monk Upsell scaled to $12K ARR ($1K MRR) in 6 months without spending anything on ads (www.zibly.ai). The founder attributes success to letting “App Store search traffic and user referrals” drive installs. He also later added a partner/affiliate program to boost growth. This underscores that with a low CAC channel, even one person can reach meaningful recurring revenue.

• Agile Docs (Jira App) – A small team built an app to roll up story points in Jira and launched on Atlassian Marketplace. By focusing on one pain point and relying on the default 30-day trials, they grew to ~$50K ARR in 1.5 years (www.zibly.ai). Growth was steady, organic traffic – no expensive marketing needed. Eventually the product was acquired, proving even modest early ARR can create value. This example highlights tapping a niche (Jira power users), and using freemium/trials to convert.

• Pre-Sell Successes – While not yet MRR, consider the concept of pre-selling. Zibly’s blog points out famous cases: Tesla took $445M of reservation deposits for Model 3, Pebble raised $10M via Kickstarter pre-sales, and even Zappos started by pre-selling shoes from stores (www.zibly.ai). In SaaS, similar approaches work: for instance, before writing a single line of code, you could run a Kickstarter or an AngelList deal to gauge interest. Every early SaaS founder who pre-sells or takes deposits reduces that “zero MRR” risk.

Each story varies, but common patterns emerge: leverage existing platforms, interact personally with each early customer, iterate on value, and use low-cost distribution before investing heavily in marketing. Don’t expect a “big bang” launch – success often comes as a series of small wins and adjustments.

Why Growth Gets Easier After the First MRR

The really good news is that, in most SaaS businesses, growth is not linear. The law of compounding and the effects of having a successful product means that each dollar of MRR after the first is typically easier to acquire (in relative terms) than the very first one.

Consider these reasons why scaling becomes easier once you have some recurring revenue:

• Proven Product-Market Fit (PMF): The fact that customers are already paying is evidence that you’ve got something valuable. You know your offer works in practice. That credibility makes it easier to convert new prospects; you can say “X companies are already using us” or share screenshots and data that simply prove demand. Psychologically, new customers trust products that others already trust.

• Lower Relative CAC: Once you’ve landed a handful of customers, you have case studies, testimonials, and even referrals. This means you can often use paid ads, PR, and SEO more effectively. Moreover, certain organic channels (e.g. content marketing, social proof) kick in only after you have something to promote. For example, having satisfied customers means you can publish case studies and get word-of-mouth leads. Founder outreach (as before) becomes easier when you can point to a success story. Overall, the cost to acquire each new dollar of MRR tends to decrease once you’ve solved that first tough bit.

• Recurring Revenue Momentum: By definition, recurring revenue compounds. Each new subscription simply adds to the base and so the absolute growth each month rises. For example, growing by 20% each month from $100 MRR yields +$20 in month two, but an extra +$200 when at $1000 MRR. With a healthy retention rate, the growth engine feels easier as the base gets larger – until saturation or scaling limits arrive (usually far down the road, e.g. millions ARR).

• Better Resources: A little MRR buys a little runway. Even modest revenue can fund small marketing experiments or help hire just one part-time marketer or developer. That extra manpower accelerates growth, forming a virtuous cycle. As one analysis notes, once a SaaS hits around $10M ARR, firms have “a self-generating stream of new leads and new business” thanks to a full team and brand (www.saastr.com). Smaller startups won’t get that far immediately, but the concept scales: after the first WA, second bits of revenue and the people working on them make growth smoother.

• The “Flywheel” Kicks In: Many founders describe an almost magical point where things start moving without frantic effort. Simon Høiberg, a serial SaaS entrepreneur, puts it well: “the flywheel doesn't really kick in until after $10K MRR. Up until that point, it's hard work.” (www.linkedin.com) In other words, once you get to that stage (whether $10K or another milestone), inbound marketing (SEO, referrals, content) and general brand awareness start to yield steady leads. Before then, nearly every sale is effort-driven; after that, momentum begins helping you.

• Focus on Retention and Upsell: With initial sales in, you also learn about churn and customer success. Over time, you’ll improve onboarding, reduce churn, and create upsell opportunities (increasing expansion MRR). This means each new dollar spent on marketing actually drives larger compounded returns, since you’re not only adding new customers but also growing existing ones.

In practice, founders say it this way: “It feels like the first steps are a vertical climb. Once you reach the plateau, walking across it is almost flat.” You still need to work (and growth may never be “easy”), but the marginal effort per new subscriber tends to drop. For example, if you’ve already built a blog and known podcast, each new piece of content reaches an audience; first content piece had essentially zero audience. Or if one affiliate blog wrote about your SaaS, future partnerships become easier.

As Lemkin at SaaStr puts it: once a SaaS company nears ~$10M ARR, it “has a brand, a fully baked team, [and] a robust product,” and by then growth is “just the power of compounding SaaS revenue” (www.saastr.com). Obviously we’re talking smaller numbers, but the principle persists at every stage: overcoming the first revenue hurdle gives you both the proof and the tools to scale.

Actionable Tips and Best Practices

Let’s distill some of the above into concrete advice. These points can guide you from $0 to meaningful MRR, and accelerate growth afterward:

• Validate first, build second: Always tie product to revenue. Get early commitments through presales or pilot projects (www.zibly.ai). If nobody will pay, pivot or refine before sinking months into build.

• Focus on one channel at a time: Trying to do everything (ads, content, cold email) at $0 MRR is spread too thin. Instead, pick one primary strategy (say, founder outreach) and give it your best until it yields some results, then layer another.

• Hustle hard in the beginning: As a founder, expect to spend a lot of time on direct sales/offers. This may be unfamiliar, but it’s necessary. Calling/emailing prospects, demoing your MVP—do it personally. The data you gain is invaluable.

• Use data to iterate: Track your key metrics (MRR, number of trials, conversion rates). If one tactic or feature isn’t converting free users to paid, fix or scrap it. For example, monitor how many trial users convert each month. If only 10% convert, rethink onboarding or pricing.

• Demonstrate social proof: As soon as you have any paying customers (even one), showcase them. Add customer logos/testimonials to your site, get them to do short case studies, ask for referrals. Highlight features or results (saved time, increased revenue) so prospects see the tangible benefit.

• Invest in the next tier channels: Once $1K MRR is stable, consider paid marketing (ads) or content marketing more seriously. At that point, you have budget and evidence that marketing cost is justifiable.

• Watch churn closely: Early cancellations sting, but they show what’s broken. Aim to reduce churn quickly: improve support, fix bugs, add missing features that cause drop-offs. Reducing churn effectively means more of each month’s MRR carries over, making growth easier.

• Build for referrals: Make it easy for customers to tell others. Referral links, shareable reports, or a built-in “powered by” footer can quietly spread word-of-mouth. One strategy Simon Høiberg recommends is building virality into the product from day 1 (e.g. free “powered by” links) so your user base self-promotes (www.linkedin.com).

• Stay lean but think big: You may be bargain shopping on tech (AWS free tiers, freelancers, automations), but have a vision for scale. As you cross each revenue milestone, re-evaluate how to invest it (maybe upgrade hosting, hire a teammate, or beef up customer support).

• Celebrate milestones: Reaching each new MRR level (e.g. first $100, $1K, etc.) is psychologically huge. It reaffirms that your strategy works. Use those wins to motivate yourself and your (small) team. And it builds internal momentum: each milestone makes you that much more confident to go after the next.

• Document and learn: Write down what you try and what works. Good postmortems on early experiments will save time later. If you launch a Facebook ad campaign that fails, note why. If a partnership yields customers, nurture it. This knowledge is core to scaling efficiently.

Monitoring and Code Examples for MRR

As your MRR grows, it’s important to measure and automate tracking. Here are a few quick tips and code examples:

• MRR Calculation: We already showed a Python snippet to sum prices. In a real startup, maintain an MRR dashboard. If you use a subscription billing system (Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly), most have APIs to fetch active subscriptions/events. For instance, the earlier Stripe code can be run nightly as a cron job to update an internal dashboard.

• Churn and Expansion Metrics: Consider also tracking churn: e.g., if 10 customers cancel (of 100), you lost $X of MRR (Churn MRR). Similarly, track upgrades. You can do this with code or database queries. For example, a simple Python snippet to calculate net new MRR might be:

  Given new_mrr (from new sales and upsells) and lost_mrr (from churn and downgrades)

  mrr_start = 5000.0 # starting last month's MRR new_mrr = 800.0 lost_mrr = 200.0 mrr_end = mrr_start + new_mrr - lost_mrr print(f"Previous MRR: ${mrr_start}, New MRR: +${new_mrr}, Lost MRR: -${lost_mrr}") print(f"Ending MRR: ${mrr_end}") # This becomes new MRR base

• Automated Alerts: Set alerts/notifications for milestones. For example, a Slack notification when MRR increases by 10% month-to-month can build excitement and ensure the team (even if it’s just you) notices.

• Forecasting Model: Once you have stable numbers for churn and growth rates, build a simple projection (even in Google Sheets) to predict when “it gets easier” – i.e. when expected revenue growth outpaces churn. SaaStr suggests modeling compounding growth to find when scale (e.g. $10M ARR) becomes feasible (www.saastr.com). For early-stage, you might do a smaller version: “At 20% MoM growth, we’ll reach $10K MRR in X months from $1K base.” This can be motivating and guide resource planning.

Conclusion

The path from $0 to sustainable SaaS revenue is famously rocky. The first dollars of MRR test every aspect of your business: product value, marketing channel, pricing, and—even readiness to sell. It’s normal for this stage to feel like pushing uphill. As we’ve seen, even experienced founders struggle to break through initial inertia (blog.asmartbear.com) (medium.com), and many strategies (pre-selling, using existing marketplaces, founder outreach) are dedicated just to this hurdle.

But here’s the good news: once you break through that ceiling — once your first customers say “yes” — all the hard work starts to pay off. You gain credibility, learn exactly what your market wants, and unlock distribution and compounding effects that newcomers don’t have. From that point on, growth becomes faster and more predictable. As Simon Høiberg notes, after roughly $10K MRR the growth “flywheel” starts turning (www.linkedin.com), leveraging every previous effort.

Actionably: Focus ruthlessly on those first sales. See each trial or demo as a mountain to climb, but remember that each customer you win makes the next ones easier. Use data from the first customers to build a repeatable engine. Set the right expectations (this phase will be hard) but remain optimistic: many of the smartest SaaS entrepreneurs look back and see those early struggles as the time when their business truly got built.

In the end, startups are about momentum. Earning that first MRR is the seed of momentum; once planted, your progress starts to compound. Keep iterating on product and process, celebrate each small win, and before long those first few dollars a month will blossom into a thriving  recurring revenue business. You now know why the first bit of MRR is hardest — and exactly what to do to break through it and accelerate growth thereafter (blog.asmartbear.com) (www.zibly.ai).

Happy selling, and may your MRR mountain become a steady ascent!