Everyone Wants to Build a Unicorn. Most of Them Will Fail. Here's a Better Way
Everyone knows the SaaS dream.
The hockey-stick growth chart. The relentless chase for MRR. The press release announcing your nine-figure valuation.
But hardly anyone talks about the reality.
Or more specifically — the graveyard of brilliant products that burned out chasing a dream they were never built for.
The hustle-culture narrative tells you there are only two outcomes: become a unicorn or die.
And honestly? That's a terrible way to build.
There’s a third path. A smarter path.
One where you don’t need venture capital, a massive team, or a decade of your life.
This isn’t some get-rich-quick scheme.
It’s a reminder that some of the best businesses aren't built to scale to the moon.
They’re built to sell.
If you’d rather bank $50,000 in a year than chase a billion for a decade, keep reading.
Here's the playbook for building something small, valuable, and strategically built to be acquired.
Your Product Is Worth More Than Its Revenue
You know that little side project making $127 a month?
Someone might pay you $15,000 for it. Tomorrow.
Sounds crazy, right?
Not if you stop thinking about revenue and start thinking about assets.
In the world of micro-acquisitions, buyers aren't just looking at your profit and loss. They're looking for strategic value.
They're buying a head start. And they will pay a premium for it.
This isn't an anomaly. It's the whole game.
A buyer sees a project with low revenue and doesn't see a failure.
They see a foundation.
They see a clean codebase they don't have to build.
They see a small, loyal user base they don't have to find.
They see a blog post that ranks #1 on Google for a niche keyword — a customer-attracting machine that would take them a year to build themselves.
That’s what they’re buying.
Here's your actionable: Look at your project. Forget the MRR for a minute.
What's the real asset you're building?
If you don't know, your buyer won't either.
Stop Coding. Start Marketing. (Yes, In That Order.)
What’s the biggest mistake most founders make?
They build a product. Then they try to figure out how to market it.
That’s backwards. And it’s fatal.
To build something an acquirer wants, marketing isn't something you do after.
It’s something you do while. From day one.
No fancy agencies.
No ad budget.
No growth-hacking nonsense.
Just a simple, integrated system where every step of building is also a step of selling.
Before you write a single line of code, start a blog. Write about the problem you're solving. If no one reads it, you just saved yourself six months of coding something nobody wants. If they do? You're building domain authority before the product even exists.
Then, build a free tool.
A simple, genuinely useful thing that solves one tiny part of your customer's problem. A video summarizer. A code formatter. Whatever.
This becomes your lead magnet that doesn't feel slimy. It builds trust. It gets shared. And it brings qualified users right to your digital doorstep.
Finally, take every piece of content you create and slice it up. A blog post becomes a LinkedIn thread. The thread becomes a short video. The video becomes a few social media posts.
Stop creating more. Start distributing better.
Want to apply this? Before your next coding sprint, plan one piece of content.
That's your most important feature this week.
Build in Public. It's Your Best Sales Pitch.
You know what screams "amateur"?
Stealth mode.
Hiding your idea like it’s a national secret is a rookie move.
The pros build in public. They make transparency their marketing weapon.
Sharing your journey—the wins, the bugs, the first paying customer, the painful lessons—isn't just storytelling.
It’s a sophisticated sales strategy.
Why?
Because it de-risks the whole deal for a potential buyer.
They can see your work ethic. They see you can attract users. They see the community responding.
It's like an open house for your business, 24/7.
You’re not just showing them an idea; you're showing them execution. And execution is what people actually buy.
Your next buyer isn't some faceless suit you'll meet in a boardroom.
He's probably following you on LinkedIn right now, watching you build.
That post about hitting $100 MRR? That's not a vanity metric.
It's a "for sale" sign to the right people.
Tip for you: Share one small thing this week. A bug you fixed. A piece of user feedback.
Show your work.
It's the easiest due diligence you'll ever pass.
Get Your House in Order Before the Offer Arrives
Building a sellable asset is one thing.
Actually being ready to sell it? That’s another.
You don't want an offer to land in your inbox, only to realize your entire operation is held together with digital duct tape.
Acquirers want a clean handoff. A playbook, not a puzzle.
First, make it easy for them to take over the money. If your payment system only works in your country, you've just shrunk your pool of buyers by 99%. Use a global platform. It shows you’re thinking ahead.
Next, document everything.
Your code. Your marketing workflow. How you handle a support ticket.
The goal is to hand over a well-oiled machine, not a project that only works when you're at the controls. A good README file is worth more than a fancy pitch deck.
And finally, automate. Use tools to schedule posts, answer basic questions, and handle repetitive tasks. This doesn't just make you more efficient. It proves your business isn't just a full-time job you're trying to sell.
Want a real takeaway? Spend one hour this weekend documenting one key process.
Your future self—and your future buyer—will thank you.
Conclusion
Building a unicorn is a lottery ticket.
But building a valuable, sellable asset?
That's a strategy — and it works.
Maybe we all need a little less hustle-porn, and a little more strategic building.
What’s one asset you could start building today?