Why I Left My Agency to Build SaaS
Today’s advice post is by Dan Lesley, Founder of Homestar. Dan has over 20 years building, growing, and selling SaaS tech startups.
I spent years running my agency before taking the leap into SaaS. The agency life was comfortable - great clients, solid team, predictable work. But I couldn’t shake this nagging desire to build something more scalable. Not because I was unhappy, but because I saw an opportunity I couldn’t ignore.
The idea for Homestar came from countless conversations with frustrated real estate agents. Their existing CRM tools were clunky and generic. They needed something that matched their daily workflow. After hearing the same pain points over and over, I realized there was a real gap to fill with a purpose-built solution.
Agency work taught me client management, but the constant project chase got old. The appeal of SaaS is building once, selling many times. Plus, there’s something deeply satisfying about creating a product that can grow and evolve while maintaining its core value proposition.
These days at Homestar, I bounce between product dev, support tickets, financial planning, and about 50 other tasks. Our small team means wearing multiple hats, just like agency days. But this chaos feels different - more purposeful somehow. Every challenge feeds directly into improving the product.
The switch wasn’t just about business models. I wanted to pioneer something meaningful, something that reflected my values around user experience and innovation. Seeing users benefit from what we’ve built is incredibly rewarding. The product keeps evolving based on their feedback.
The decision ultimately came down to a few key factors:
- Scalability: SaaS can reach exponentially more users through tech improvements, not just adding headcount
- Freedom: Setting our own direction without constant client demands
- Impact: Creating real workflow improvements for an entire industry
- Intrigue: Constant innovation as we push for better features and experiences
Building Homestar has been humbling. Coming from outside real estate means learning the industry while translating needs into features. We’re constantly balancing our vision with user feedback, knowing when to stick to our guns and when to pivot.
The agency taught me invaluable lessons about teams, deadlines and communication. But SaaS scratches a different creative itch. It’s about methodically building something substantial that truly serves its users.
We’ve kept Homestar deliberately small and nimble. Quick pivots, personal support, rapid iterations based on user input. Each customer shapes our roadmap through their feedback and usage patterns.
The transition came from wanting to build something lasting rather than chasing the next project. Taking everything I learned from agency life and applying it to a product that could impact thousands of users. That’s what drives me - creating technology that genuinely makes work better for real people.