Thursday, April 24, 2025
All the Bits Fit to Print
Building a seven-figure SaaS business solo with Ruby on Rails
A solo developer used Ruby on Rails to build and scale a seven-figure SaaS business over 14 years, proving the framework’s strength for one-person teams. The journey involved learning from mistakes, a full rewrite, and eventually adding a second developer without losing the lean setup.
Why it matters: Rails enables single developers to build and maintain scalable, profitable businesses without large teams.
The big picture: The story challenges the conventional need for large engineering teams in SaaS startups, emphasizing craftsmanship and efficient tooling.
Lessons learned: Embrace Rails conventions, limit dependencies, seek community support, manage technical debt pragmatically, and know solo success is possible.
Commenters say: Readers admire the solo developer’s discipline and Rails’ power, while discussing challenges of solo growth and the balance between speed and maintainability.