I don’t see signs of this yet. We’re still seeing the same level of companies with traction come through each time we run an application process for TinySeed (accelerator focused on bootstrapped SaaS).
But realistically, there are a couple camps in bootstrapped SaaS. Folks who want to build an audience (often by “building in public” on social media), then hope they can monetize it. And folks who focus on non-audience-driven marketing and sales.
We only fund the latter, so take my comment with that context.
> Paid ads are prohibitively expensive I've had some success with them. There are tricks, you just need to look for them.
Unfortunately my product (https://nuenki.app) is very low margin so it doesn't quite work out, but I wouldn't write them off entirely.
AI just means that you need something other than your code to be the product. Also, both from pg's essay and my own experience, marketing matters more.
BTW you write like an LLM. I don't think you are one, but mind that.