YC will hate me for this

I have something controversial to get off my heart

I believe that most software companies should have an agency/consulting arm to part bootstrap themselves to product market fit.

hear my why: most software companies don't have a clue of their product market fit. it's this random / chaotic process that relies way too much on their guts. Or in YC's case, having experienced advisors with their ear on the market, giving out keen advice to founders. Not all founders have that.

I'd rather have my SaaS take the safe way:

1) having a product market fit machine that can uncover your customer's pain. I use apollo to outreach to 10k contacts/month and instantly know if my offer appeals to x audience.

2) an agency is fast moving and offer-flexible. clients confirm their pain by paying you with their hard-earned money, not by venting out in exchange for a 20$ Starbucks gift card.

3) you sign these clients with the agreement that the technology you develop with them will be re-used from your SaaS, hence the “discounts” you gave them. these clients are your same exact SaaS ICP.

4) you get top testimonials, get 5 clients paying each 5k+/month, that's 25k mrr you can invest in your SaaS. 25hrs/week in consulting / agency, the rest of your time on your SaaS.

5) In the meanwhile, you develop this Enterprise Plan to transfer this client on if they're interested in continuing with you after a while.

hence you get: insights, money and development, instead of going all-in-blind on your SaaS and having a 1/100 chance to make it. This system gives your SaaS a 33/100 odds to make it.

Your thoughts on my thoughts?