Why Most SaaS Products Fail (And How to Avoid It With the BELT Framework)

Most startups fail because they solve transient problems, ignore existing behaviors, and underestimate lock-ins. Here is the BELT framework to fix all three before you waste months building the wrong thing.

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📖 5 Min Read
🏷️ Strategy

Why Most SaaS Products Fail (And How to Avoid It With the BELT Framework)

This week, I broke down why most SaaS products fail and how you can avoid the same fate. Here's everything I covered in my daily walk-and-talk videos, using the BELT framework (Behavior, Enduring problems, Lock-ins, Transient problems).

The Foundation: Behavior Beats Innovation

Is Growth Pigeon going to fail? Let me share why it won't—and why this applies to your product too.

Most apps fail because they try to innovate around a behavior that doesn't exist. Think about how difficult it is to change YOUR OWN habits, then imagine trying to change thousands of users' habits.

Why meal logging apps fail: People don't currently log meals. You're asking them to build an entirely new behavior from scratch.

Why Uber succeeded: People already hailed cabs. They just made it easier. They innovated on top of an existing behavior.

My strategy for Growth Pigeon:

  1. Step 1: Infrequent usage product as a lead magnet (tools founders use once or occasionally)
  2. Step 2: Frequent usage product as the core offering (resources founders return to regularly)

This is behavior-first design. Meet users where they already are, then guide them to where you want them to be.

Part 1: Enduring Problems vs. Transient Problems

Most startups fail because they solve transient problems, not enduring problems.

Figuring out what enduring problem you're solving for your ICP is the fastest way out of the product-market fit pain cave. But what makes a problem "enduring"?

Ask yourself: Does this problem go away once solved, or does it keep coming back?

  • Wedding planning → Painful problem, but it goes away (not enduring)
  • Managing team work and projects → Never stops (enduring)

If it disappears after solving it once, find a different problem to solve for your SaaS. You're building a disposable product, not a sustainable business.

Part 2: Does Growth Pigeon Solve an Enduring Problem?

I shared examples of apps that grew by laser-focusing on solving one enduring problem for their ICP. These products succeeded because they understood this fundamental principle.

Time to eat my own dog food. I spent this video questioning whether Growth Pigeon itself solves an enduring problem for my ICP (technical founders struggling with marketing).

This is the question every founder should be asking themselves constantly. Not "is my product good?" but "am I solving a problem that keeps coming back?"

Because here's the thing—if you're not solving an enduring problem, you're building a product that users will abandon the moment they solve their one-time issue.

Part 3: Lock-Ins Beat Features Every Time

This is the brutal truth most founders don't want to hear: If I can't get people out of their existing solutions, Growth Pigeon fails. Doesn't matter if their tools suck. Doesn't matter if mine are better.

Lock-ins beat features every time.

New entrants can only win by identifying the specific lock-ins that keep users trapped in existing solutions, then building explicit strategies to overcome them. It's not about having better features—it's about making switching possible and worthwhile despite the switching costs.

I explored this concept in depth because it's where most "better" products die. You can build something genuinely superior and still lose because you underestimated the power of lock-ins.

Part 4: The Zero Retention Death Spiral

The final piece of the puzzle. I walked through specific examples of SaaS products that are fundamentally broken because they violate the BELT framework. These aren't just struggling products—they're guaranteed to have zero retention because they're built on shaky foundations.

When you combine transient problems with behaviors that don't exist and ignore the lock-ins keeping users stuck, you get products that might get initial sign-ups but will never retain users. The math just doesn't work.

The BELT Framework in Action

Throughout this week, I've been building in public and stress-testing my own product against the BELT framework:

  • Behavior: Are you building on existing behaviors or trying to create new ones?
  • Enduring problems: Does your problem keep coming back or disappear after being solved once?
  • Lock-ins: What's keeping users stuck in existing solutions, and how will you overcome it?
  • Transient problems: Are you solving temporary pain points that won't drive long-term retention?

If you can't confidently answer these questions about your product, you're navigating blind. And most products that fail do so because they violate one or more of these principles.

The best part? You can fix this before you waste months or years building the wrong thing.

Your Turn

Which part of the BELT framework is your product weakest on? Reply and let me know—I'm genuinely curious where most founders struggle with this.

And if you want to work through this framework for your own product, that's exactly what Growth Pigeon is being built to help with.

Want more insights like this? Follow my build-in-public journey on X/Twitter where I share daily walk-and-talk videos on product strategy, customer acquisition, and avoiding the mistakes that kill most SaaS products.

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