Is SaaS a good business to start?

01 THE ANALYSIS

The highest-scoring ideas share a structural trait: they de-risk software development before committing to it. The Agency-to-SaaS Hybrid model (berg score 79/100) and the Service Business → SaaS Funnel approach (berg score 58/100) both use a service phase to generate real revenue — ARR ranges of $200K–$6M and $60K–$2.5M respectively — while building the product knowledge that pure SaaS founders pay years to acquire. The tradeoff is discipline: both ideas explicitly flag the risk of getting stuck in services and never making the product transition.

Vertical specificity is the other consistent signal. Machine Shop Vertical SaaS (berg 71/100, BUILD) targets a fragmented, paper-heavy industry with no dominant cloud player and projects $300K–$2.5M ARR. Vertical SaaS with Embedded Payments (berg 74/100, BUILD) layers payments processing on top of any vertical SaaS, projecting $800K–$10M ARR — the single widest ceiling in the dataset. Both require meaningful upfront investment: $50K and $150K respectively, with 800–1,500 hours of initial time. Compare that to the SKIP verdict: SaaS Unbundling via AI Cloning needs only $2K and 60 hours, but sits in a 74-competitor saturated market and earned a 26/100 berg score. Low barrier to build, low barrier for everyone else too.

The one contrarian note worth flagging: the AI Agent Builder for SMBs also scored 26/100 despite a MAYBE verdict, because a 97-competitor market is brutal even when timing is good. Across all 8 ideas, automation potential scores range from 6/10 to 8/10, which means operational leverage is real — but it doesn't substitute for distribution. The ideas that work give you a reason customers already trust you before you ask them to subscribe.

02 THE RECEIPTS — EVERY ANALYZED TAKE

• Service Business → SaaS FunnelMAYBE · BERG 58 · ARR $60K–$2.5M · 68 COMPETITORS

  Start a service agency in a specific niche to learn customer problems firsthand, then productize the solution into a SaaS or physical product sold to the same customer base.

  FROM GREG'S VIDEO: 50 REALIZATIONS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

• AI Agent Services for Small Service FirmsBUILD · BERG 74 · ARR $60K–$300K · 12 COMPETITORS

  Sell AI-powered process automation services (document chasing, month-end cleanup, draft prep) directly to small bookkeeping or accounting firms as a productized service — using it as a beachhead to learn the industry and identify acquisition targets.

  FROM GREG'S VIDEO: $5T OPPORTUNITY: AI ROLL UPS

• SaaS Unbundling via AI CloningSKIP · BERG 26 · ARR $36K–$360K · 74 COMPETITORS

  Use AI to reverse-engineer expensive SaaS tools (like Ahrefs or HubSpot) and build cheaper, niche-specific clones powered by public APIs.

  FROM GREG'S VIDEO: HE MAKES $750 A DAY 'VIBE CODING' APPS (USING REPLIT, CHATGPT, UPWORK)

• Machine Shop Vertical SaaSBUILD · BERG 71 · ARR $300K–$2.5M · 57 COMPETITORS

  All-in-one or wedge software platform built specifically for machine shops, starting with a high-pain workflow tool and expanding into a full operations suite.

  FROM GREG'S VIDEO: HOW TO BUILD A $1M+ VERTICAL SAAS BUSINESS (STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE)

• Agency-to-SaaS Hybrid (Done-For-You + Software)BUILD · BERG 79 · ARR $200K–$6M · 67 COMPETITORS

  Run a productized service agency that uses proprietary software to deliver results, then sell the software as a standalone SaaS to clients who want the DIY tier.

  FROM GREG'S VIDEO: HOW TO MAKE MONEY AS A CREATOR | NATHAN BARRY (CONVERTKIT)

• AI Agent Builder for SMBsMAYBE · BERG 26 · ARR $120K–$6M · 97 COMPETITORS

  A productized service or SaaS platform that helps small business owners spin up custom AI agents to automate repetitive tasks like customer support, scheduling, research, and content creation.

  FROM GREG'S VIDEO: INSIDE THE $50 TRILLION AI GOLD RUSH | EPISODE 1

• Agency-to-SaaS Reverse Engineer ToolMAYBE · BERG 48 · ARR $120K–$900K · 15 COMPETITORS

  An AI-powered tool that takes any service business niche, reverse-engineers its workflow, and outputs a blueprint and prototype for a $500–$5,000/month SaaS replacement.

  FROM GREG'S VIDEO: GPT-6 ASTRA: HOW I’D MAKE MONEY WITH IT

• Vertical SaaS with Embedded PaymentsBUILD · BERG 74 · ARR $800K–$10M · 76 COMPETITORS

  A vertical SaaS business for any fragmented industry that embeds payments processing to transform a modest software ARR into a massive fintech revenue stream.

  FROM GREG'S VIDEO: HOW TO BUILD A $1M+ VERTICAL SAAS BUSINESS (STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE)

03 QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK

Is it better to start a SaaS from scratch or through an agency first?

The data favors the agency-first path. Both the Service Business → SaaS Funnel (MAYBE, berg 58/100) and the Agency-to-SaaS Hybrid (BUILD, berg 79/100) use service revenue and customer access to validate the product before it has to stand alone. The pure product-first approach only clears a BUILD verdict when paired with an existing niche audience or deep vertical expertise — as seen with Machine Shop Vertical SaaS.

How much does it cost to start a SaaS business based on these ideas?

Initial investment across the 8 analyzed ideas ranges from $2,000 to $150,000, with time commitments of 60 to 1,500 hours. The cheapest entry points (SaaS Unbundling via AI Cloning at $2K) earned the lowest scores; the highest-ceiling ideas (Vertical SaaS with Embedded Payments at $150K) require the most capital. The middle ground — Agency-to-SaaS Hybrid at $30K and 300 hours — earned the highest berg score of 79/100.

What kind of SaaS should I avoid building?

The clearest SKIP in the dataset is SaaS Unbundling via AI Cloning (berg 26/100), which targets a 74-competitor saturated market by reverse-engineering tools like Ahrefs or HubSpot. The verdict reasoning is direct: if you have no existing audience in the target niche, customer acquisition costs will kill the business before it reaches profitability. Broad, horizontal AI agent platforms face a similar problem — 97 competitors in that category earned only a MAYBE despite favorable timing.