Episode 794 | From Struggling Side Project to Life-Changing SaaS Exit

114 snips

Sep 9, 2025

Zamir Khan, founder of VidHug (now Memento), shares his unconventional SaaS journey, breaking traditional B2C molds with low price points and one-time payments. He recounts nearly giving up before a pandemic surge pivoted his business to new heights. Zamir discusses the emotional rollercoaster of creating a heartfelt video for his mother's birthday that sparked the idea for his platform. He also highlights the challenges of slow growth and the persistence that transformed his project into a success with 80k daily users.

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ANECDOTE

Birthday Hack Became The Product

Zamir built Vidhug to collect video messages for his mother's 70th birthday and edited them in iMovie.
The resulting emotional impact from his mother sparked the idea to productize the process.

ADVICE

Charge Early To Validate Demand

Charge early even for an MVP to test willingness to pay and prioritize automation.
Use that revenue signal to justify building automated workflows instead of manual fulfillment.

ANECDOTE

Small Link Sparked Consistent Sales

Early growth stalled around a few hundred dollars per month despite active outreach on Quora and communities.
A single backlink from a relevant blogger produced a reliable sales uplift and renewed momentum.

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B2C, low price point, one-time payments… not the typical recipe for a life-changing exit.

In this episode, Rob Walling talks with longtime listener Zamir Khan, founder of VidHug (now Memento). Zamir’s story broke a lot of SaaS “rules”: B2C, low price point, one-time payments, and years of slow growth. He shares how he nearly gave up, the pandemic surge that changed everything, and the emotional ride that led to a life-changing exit.

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Topics we cover:

(3:47) — From podcast listener to SaaS founder
(7:59) — The role of luck, timing, and the pandemic in growth
(18:37) — A birthday gift becomes a product
(23:54) — Charging early and surviving slow growth
(30:47) — From $1k a month to 80k daily users
(39:58) — Support load, stress, and the edge of burnout
(48:58) — Deciding to sell (and why timing mattered)
(52:57) — Life after the exit: slowing down and finding balance

Links from the Show:

TinySeed – Applications close tonight!
MicroConf Connect – The community for SaaS founders
The SaaS Playbook
Memento (formerly VidHug)
Zamir Khan (@zam1rkhan) | X
Zamir Khan | LinkedIn

If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!

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