From Necessity to Opportunity: Launching My First SaaS
How an unintended experiment to cut costs turned into a full-fledged SaaS platform designed to provide better tools at an affordable rate.
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I never planned on launching a SaaS. It all began out of necessity when I discovered that the existing tools in the market were charging exorbitant fees—pricing that many traders simply couldn't afford. Frustrated by these high costs, I decided to build an open-source solution for my own use—and for people like me.
The Journey from Open Source to SaaS
I built the platform using the NorenRestApi, NorenAPI offered both REST APIs and Websockets for realtime data feed. At the time I started this project, ChatGPT was so popular so I used it to build the open source version. You can check the horrible code it generated here Steadfast Monorepo on GitHub.
What started as a personal project quickly evolved into something much larger. I built an open-source version that bypassed expensive alternatives and provided the essential functionality I needed. Soon the demand from the community grew, and it became clear that a more accessible, affordable solution was needed.
Inspired by this feedback, I took the leap and rewrote the entire app, API and websocket from scratch again using TypeScript and Claude Sonnet, finally turning it into a hosted web application that supports multiple users. The key challenge in supporting multiple users was to ensure that the real-time data was separated for each user, per broker API key. This ensured that each user received their own real-time data streams, secure and directly from their broker to ensure a seamless trading experience.
Thus, SteadfastApp was born—a SaaS platform that delivers robust tools without the hefty price tag typically seen in the market. Officially launched on December 30, 2024, SteadfastApp quickly became a go-to platform for cost-effective trading.
Was any official registration required?
From my research I found that trading platforms usually are required to register with SEBI, NSE, BSE, MCX, or any data vendors to get the real-time data. But SteadfastApp did not come under such category, because it's a professional trading Software as a Service and a third-party application which allows you to connect with your stock broker using broker provided API key. The app just utilizes the open APIs that are available to everyone. Select brokers like Flattrade, Shoonya, Tradesmart and Zebu are built upon the same API architecture called NorenAPI/OMS. All I needed to do is configure the correct URLs and write code for each broker based on their documentation.
Why did I choose NorenRestApi and these brokers?
Free API, that's why. Initially, I worried this limitation might discourage potential users. However, the response proved otherwise—people signed up despite the restricted compatibility. Expanding support to popular brokers like Zerodha, Dhan, and others was considered, but these platforms charge for API access. Integrating them would have significantly impacted my break-even point and overall profitability. Also testing the app often led to potential losses during development, which I simply could not afford.
Looking Ahead
Launching SteadfastApp has been an exciting and humbling experience. It reminded me that Your idea is not unique. Your execution is. By turning a personal need into a community solution, my goal is to provide effective tools at a fraction of the cost of the alternatives.
The journey is just beginning. I'm looking forward to evolving SteadfastApp further with the support and feedback of our growing user base. Join my telegram community to stay connected and informed about the latest developments. https://t.me/steadfastapp, you can also connect with fellow users, get updates, and share your feedback in the discussion group.