I launched a Micro-SAAS over the weekend: The Results after 1 week Online

Last week, I had an epiphany after struggling at the tail end of 2024 to submit my annual returns for my South African-registered business. About a year ago, the South African CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission) introduced changes to their beneficial ownership requirements, now requiring the submission of documents confirming the ownership of the company.

I spent nearly 30 minutes navigating the CIPC website, trying to figure out how to complete this step, only to find the process frustratingly unclear. It made me realize how much easier things would be if the CIPC provided a comprehensive guide on their website to help business owners navigate these new requirements.

I later turned to YouTube and found a few helpful videos along with some shared templates. It took me another day or so to gather all the necessary documents in the correct signed format for submission.

As I worked through the process, I thought, this is a great example of how quickly you can turn an idea into something tangible and get it into customers’ hands within just a few days. Admittedly, this was a relatively simple idea that took about six hours to build—roughly 10 hours total when factoring in the time spent setting up a Facebook page and running ads on Facebook and Google.

I wanted to create something simple yet highly effective to help users tackle a particularly tricky part of submitting their beneficial ownership documents to the CIPC: figuring out which documents were required and how to prepare them. After discovering some templates on YouTube from [Source X], I transformed them into an easy-to-use online BO document generator. This tool simplifies the process by generating signed, ready-to-submit documents that comply with CIPC requirements.

Let’s get to the results and will break them down later.

I launched the website on January 19, 2025, focusing primarily on Facebook to drive organic visibility. I targeted local business groups to spread the word. The website officially went live late Sunday, so most of the traffic began accumulating from Monday onward.

According to the performance data, the site attracted 731 total active users, with 660 coming from paid traffic30 from organic traffic, and 44 from direct traffic. The peak in activity occurred on January 21, after which user engagement gradually declined.

The latest Google Ads performance report paints a mixed picture. While clicks totaled 1,120—down from over 1,500 the previous week—impressions remained steady at 23,000. The average cost-per-click stayed low at R0.49, with a total ad spend of R544.

Despite the traffic, the campaign recorded no conversions, resulting in a cost-per-conversion of R0.00. This is well below the target cost-per-acquisition of R100, highlighting that while paid efforts brought visitors, they didn’t result in any profitable leads.

The click-through rate for the campaign is 4.87%. This is a solid CTR for most advertising campaigns. The data suggests a good interest in the product but there is a need to optimize landing page, or the user journey to get more conversions.

Heading over to the Facebook campaign

The Facebook ad campaigns show clear differences in performance metrics across the two reports:

  • Campaign 1: This campaign recorded 13 link clicks from 1,045 impressions, resulting in a click-through rate (CTR) of 1.24%. The cost-per-click (CPC) was relatively high at R1.13, suggesting lower engagement with the ad content.
  • Campaign 2: The second campaign performed better, generating 27 link clicks from 1,259 impressions, with a CTR of 2.14%. The CPC dropped to R0.95, indicating improved efficiency in driving traffic.

Despite improved CTR and engagement in the second campaign, no conversions were recorded in either campaign, leaving the conversion rate at 0%. This highlights a need to bridge the gap between ad performance and user actions, such as sign-ups or purchases.

Over the past week, the product has experienced steady growth in both user acquisition and engagement. Active users peaked at 300 on Day 2, while new user signups reached 660 by Day 20. Average engagement time per active user ranged between 200-300 seconds.

Revenue showed consistent growth from Day 2 to Day 3, before stabilizing between 100-200 for the remainder of the week. This was also due to my Facebook ads stoping for some reason I couldn’t figure out why.

The primary drivers of new user acquisition were cross-network traffic, organic social media efforts, and organic search. Paid search and direct traffic also played a significant role in driving new signups.

Overall, the product is effectively attracting new users through a combination of paid and organic marketing channels, and user engagement remains strong.

The results indicate a strong click-through performance from Google Ads. Although the actual conversion rate is still at 0, the ad click-through rate suggests considerable potential for growth.

Will I be running more ads in the coming weeks? The answer is no. Instead, I will be focusing on a different strategy that leans more toward organic growth. This will involve optimizing the landing page and refining the submission process to better serve users and inspire confidence in the overall experience.

So how did I do this:

The Idea:

The concept was straightforward: create an easy-to-use online tool that allows users to generate signed BO (Beneficial Ownership) documents without the hassle of figuring out which documents are needed, how to create them, or dealing with the signing process before submitting them to CIPC. Users simply input their details, and the app automatically generates the required documents, fully signed and ready for submission.

Turning It Into a Web App:

The web app was developed from scratch, driven by AI prompts, and built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The goal was to create an intuitive platform that would capture user information, including signatures, generate PDF documents, and process payments. The challenge was ensuring the app was both functional and simple enough to be built quickly, without overcomplicating the process. To achieve this, I used AI to help integrate readily available libraries for signature capture and PDF generation. Additionally, I needed a simple payment gateway, and since I already had an account with PayFast, a local payment provider, I opted for their solution to handle the payment processing seamlessly.

The process of building the app was both exciting and frustrating at times, but ultimately a great learning experience. The initial setup of the form and capturing basic information took me around 30 minutes. Once I had the basic structure in place, I turned my attention to the signature capture and PDF generation functionality. It took about two hours to get these features working properly on Google Chrome, with some trial and error along the way. However, the real challenge came when I started working on the user interface (UI) and messaging. I spent about an hour refining these elements, but during this time, I made a mistake that caused the functionality to break. As a result, I had to go back to square one and rebuild the web app from scratch, which added an additional three hours to the overall development time.

This experience taught me several valuable lessons about app development, especially when working with AI. One of the most important takeaways was the importance of focusing on core functionality before diving into the aesthetics. It’s easy to get caught up in making the app look good, but if the underlying functionality isn’t solid, the whole project can fall apart. I realized that by prioritizing functionality first, I could avoid confusing the AI with unnecessary code while still refining the main features. This approach not only helped streamline the development process but also allowed me to stay focused and avoid wasting time on things that weren’t critical to the app’s basic operation.

Through this process, I also gained a deeper understanding of how to progressively prompt and guide AI in building apps. The key is to start with small, manageable steps, progressively adding complexity once the basic features are working well. It’s all about balance—ensuring that the core functionality is stable before enhancing the user experience with more advanced features.

In the end, although it took longer than I initially expected, rebuilding the app helped me refine my approach to AI-driven development, and I’m confident that these lessons will make future projects smoother and more efficient.

Hosting and going live

Once the website was fully functional and I had a working version ready, the next step was to host it and make the payment integration live for testing purposes. I registered a domain name and opted for a simple hosting plan, costing about R99 for both the .co.za domain and the hosting service for the month, through a local web hosting provider, registerdomain.co.za. In just about 10 minutes, the website was up and running, ready for testing.

During the testing phase, I noticed an issue with Safari—it struggled to handle the downloading of multiple documents at once. To address this, I added a BETA notice to inform users that the website works best in Chrome, while I work on a solution for compatibility with other browsers. After adding the notice and running a few more tests, everything was ready, and we were set to go live.

Launching the App to the Public

For the launch of the website, I decided to experiment with paid advertising, given that the product is a one-time use service. It’s primarily needed when someone is registering a company in South Africa or struggling with annual returns submissions for an existing company. With this in mind, I tailored the approach to target users who would only require the service once.

I started by optimizing the website for SEO, ensuring it would be easy to find on Google. I also set up the website as a property on Google Analytics, implementing basic tagging for both the landing page and the success page (the page that confirms a purchase). This setup allowed me to track purchases and conversions, giving me a better understanding of the app’s performance.

Once the analytics were in place, I moved on to creating a Facebook account and page. This would serve as a foundation for organic reach and allow me to engage with local businesses. The page also became a platform to run paid campaigns by boosting some of the posts.

Using the Facebook page as a profile, I joined about 20 local business and company registration groups, actively posting and engaging with people discussing BO documentation or those struggling with figuring out what documents are needed, how to create them, or how to submit them. This approach helped me connect with potential users who might benefit from the app.

After boosting two posts on Facebook, I created a Google Ads account and set up my first campaign. I repurposed the assets I had already created for the Facebook posts, ensuring consistency across both platforms.

Final Learnings

This project was a perfect example of how to take an idea from concept to market in just a weekend. My goal was to showcase a process that businesses can use to minimize complexity and launch products quickly, validating them with minimal budget while figuring out the next steps along the way.

With a total cost of under R1000 for website hosting and running a week-long ad campaign, businesses can use this approach as a formula for gathering early feedback and validating ideas at speed. Unlike traditional product consultancies, which can take months to deliver results, this method allows businesses to gain insights in just a few days or weeks—particularly for more complex ideas.

“Focusing on MVP functionality and execution is key, and getting the product to users faster is equally important.”

One thing I implemented but didn’t work as expected was using tools like Hotjar or FullStory to record user sessions and track behavior in more detail. These tools could have provided valuable insights into why users weren’t converting. I plan to integrate them in the next week, along with some improvements to the landing page.

I’ll also be testing different marketing and messaging frameworks to see which one resonates best with users. Currently, I’m using the StoryBrand framework for the copy and messaging on the site, but I’m eager to experiment with other frameworks to determine which works most effectively.

Get Your MVP Live in Just 2-4 Weeks – Not Months

Are you a startup or team ready to bring your idea to life fast? Let me help you launch your MVP in just 2-4 weeks, cutting out months of unnecessary work, endless meetings, and costly expenses. I work with teams to focus on what truly matters—building and validating the ideas that will drive your business forward. With clear metrics, actionable next steps, and a roadmap to pivot or scale, you’ll have everything you need to succeed.

With over 10 years of experience in product design and management, I’ve helped top South African brands in banking, fintech, and fast food industries bring their products to market faster.

Ready to make your idea a reality? Book a free strategy call now and let’s discuss how we can get your MVP live and growing. Or connect with me on LinkedIn to start the conversation.

Author avatar
Varima Henry
https://www.dobetterux.com