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How I Built CollabTower Using Sassypack

A behind-the-scenes look at how I used Sassypack to build and launch CollabTower quickly.

Building a SaaS product from scratch can feel like climbing a mountain barefoot.
When I started CollabTower, I needed to move fast, but not break everything.
That’s where Sassypack came in.

The Problem

I had an idea: connect founders and influencers who actually care about your product.
But setting up a full-stack SaaS each time I wanted to test an idea? Exhausting.

I needed:

  • Auth and payments ready out of the box
  • Clean folder structure
  • Simple UI setup
  • Quick deploy

Enter Sassypack

Sassypack is my lightweight starter kit for SaaS founders.
It’s like having an express train instead of walking through the fog.

With it, I got:

  • Authentication via JWT
  • Stripe or Paystack payments ready to roll
  • MERN stack + DaisyUI integration
  • SEO-friendly routing and blog support

Within a weekend, CollabTower was live.

The Build Process

Here’s what I did step by step:

  1. Cloned the Sassypack template.
  2. Customized the routes and components for influencer matching.
  3. Integrated lifetime pricing with Paystack.
  4. Styled everything with DaisyUI and brand colors.
  5. Deployed to Render + MongoDB Atlas.

Lessons Learned

  • Starter kits save days of setup.
  • Focus on launching the MVP first, then polish.
  • Automating payments and auth early makes scaling easier.

If you’re a solo founder or indie hacker, start your journey with Sassypack.
Then, build, experiment, and iterate your next idea like I’m doing with CollabTower.

Check out CollabTower.com
Explore Sassypack

Build smarter, not harder.

Free tools

Turn this guide into a campaign plan.

Use the free tools to calculate creator quality, costs, budget, fit, and outreach before you start matching.

Author

Karl Esi

Founder of Collab Tower. Helping startups and influencers connect instantly to build authentic, high-growth partnerships.