Just got my first paying customer and I ugly cried at my desk

Founder here. All ugly crying aside, I built an automated payment reminder tool for freelancers and small business, called Dun, which started as a Windows desktop app I built for myself because I was tired of writing awkward "just checking in on that invoice" emails. I also convinced my old boss to use it (for free) and he liked it. After that, got a handful of downloads, then made the scary call to rebuild the whole thing as a web SaaS with Stripe/QuickBooks/Xero integrations. This is mostly because I kept getting the same question from users who wanted to use the app from anywhere. After months of 4am webhook debugging later, someone signed up officially yesterday, connected their Stripe account, and their subscription kicked in. Initially, it was free because I have a special that says I don't get paid until the user does, but it seemed to work relatively quickly as they subscribed shortly after. $14.99 a month. Not yacht money. But I sat there staring for a solid minute because a real freelancer I've never met decided what I built was worth paying for. Here's to hoping they stick around.

Several things that got me here: build for yourself first so every feature solves a real problem, let people see value before you ask for money, and don't be afraid to let go of what's working to build what scales. One customer doesn't mean product-market fit and the real grind is just starting, but today I'm letting myself enjoy it. If you're pre-revenue right now, keep going and bet on yourself. The first one hits different.

Thinking of expanding to charge an additional fee to do certified mailings w/ return receipts as the point is to be able to escalate the unpaid invoices into recoveries for the users, and eventually, contracting with law firms to pursue the debts, but I'll keep my ambitions in check.