Hey, what's wrong? *This is* /r/startups *emotional support thread. There will be no problem-solving here, no judgement, no networking, no advice. We're here to be heard, be understood, and be told that it'll be okay, that whatever happens, we care. Still, be tactful and classy in how you vent your feelings and share your frustrations. Act in a mature manner. This is meant to be a safe place to support emotional and physical health and there is a zero tolerance policy in effect. Be kind. Please report any conduct that is in... 2 0 replies
How to get clients for your new startup? I have worked as performance marketer for top MNC and now have established single solo company as a start. The problem i am facing is that i am struggling to get clients and leads. I am doing emails to Founder and CEO of startup who might require performance marketing service with every email personally customised to their industry niche and social media links growth but still failing to get any attraction? Can anyone please help me out how to get my first client overboard? I would be highly grateful... 3 3 replies
How best to utilise 300k emails and phone numbers for growth hacking So our startup is in the space of data and ML. And part of getting the data is using scrapers to pull information from a certain big website, this website has a large amount of exposed emails, phone numbers and addresses publicly that I found hidden in the DOM when going through what to scrape. All of these are within our target market but obviously not all of them are the beachhead customers. I can make the cold emails extremely personalized due to the information we have on them,... 5 1 replies
Automating AI Agent news forum Hey All, I did a small project where I have automated the flow of collecting news specific to AI Agents to stay updated on the latest topics. I have used phidata with Groq and Gemini. Also exploring adding a flow to summarize and send the updates on email. 4 0 replies
Our startup is bootstrapped, post revenue and based in Singapore. We're 3 months old, achieved some traction in APAC and are now expanding to the US - potentially our biggest market. What are the basic steps I need to take to set up a company in the US - Co-founder and I are not US citizens. What is the easiest (and cheapest) way to get this done for now - given our context and how young we are. As we grow we can add more bells & whistles...The main goals for setting up the company in the US are two fold - 1. We are a B2B startup that targets large enterprise, so we need to have a presence there for operational reasons. 2. We will look to raise funds soon and want to target US based VC firms, who might lean more towards US... 2 3 replies
Need Help with Lead Generation for My IT Startup I’m planning to start an IT agency offering services like web development, digital marketing, cybersecurity, and graphic design. I’ve already developed the website for it, but now I need help with lead generation and would love some suggestions on how to get started. Is it better to do cold emailing or cold calling? What are the best ways to find potential clients? Also, if anyone is good at sales or pitching and wants to join me, we could work together to grow. What are the best tools for lead... 1 1 replies
How Do You Handle Unpaid Clients? If you're a business/agency owner, how do you track which clients have or haven't paid? Is it through payment gateways (like Stripe, PayPal) synced with your CRM or accounting software? I’m developing a system that automatically checks the client payment status and sends reminder emails. Does your CRM or any software you use show payment status directly, and how do you automate payment reminders effectively? Would love to hear your methods for streamlining the process! 4 5 replies
Feedback Friday Welcome to this week’s Feedback Thread! # Please use this thread appropriately to gather feedback: * Feel free to request general feedback or specific feedback in a certain area like user experience, usability, design, landing page(s), or code review * You may share surveys * You may make an additional request for beta testers * Promo codes and affiliates links are ONLY allowed if they are for your product in an effort to incentivize people to give you feedback * Please refrain from just posting a link * Give... 5 0 replies
What do non technical founders do during the product development stage? Currently doing a hardware startup and I’m at the stage where I am waiting on parts to be made and shipped to me. There is a bit of downtime as I move from stage to stage. At some point in the future I will need to get funding, establish a market, all the usual stuff you’d do in a startup, but I don’t feel comfortable starting this now because I’m at the mercy of lead times and have no clue how long it will take to get a working... 3 3 replies
Would a non profit supplement brand be weird I want to start a non profit ( no salaries too) supplement foundational brand for the foundational （ whey, creatine, fish oil) be more affordable, but mostly because I want to get in the industry and it would be a great learning opportunity What do y’all think, any suggestions, comments? 5 11 replies
How are you dealing with California’s ARL and the FTC’s 'Click-to-Cancel' Rule? California’s ARL and the FTC’s 'Click-to-Cancel' Rule are shaking up subscription compliance. Both will take effect in early 2025. How are you staying up to date with these compliance requirements? My understanding is that the regulations impact subscription businesses that sell subscriptions to California (additional restrictions apply) or U.S.-based customers, even if your company is domiciled outside the U.S. 5 3 replies
looking to start hi all, i am looking to start a play place cafe. I’m just curious where do i start and get the funding for the company? i will be starting from scratch and looking for guidance this place may take up to 8 months to fix up the property and do a soft opening. if you get a business loan do you need to pay that back right away? 3 1 replies
Where to incorporate? I have a startup and need to move it to a US incorporation. Forever, it’s always been Delaware C corp. But now, a friend of mine has told me to go Texas. I honestly don’t even know what things to consider other than tax. YC always says Delaware, but have things changed recently? Am I getting taxed way less if I’m C in Texas? Any downside do operating in multiple states if I’m Texas C v Delaware C? 1 1 replies
Devil is in the details? Double-trigger RSU for private company I have an offer with a private company that is offering Double-trigger RSUs as compensation. (First trigger is vesting date, second is liquidity event). After some prodding they admitted the evaluation of the RSUs is based on the latest funding (Series D) round's preferred price. My understanding is this is unorthodox and typically this is done via the 409A value. My concern is here, I'm getting the shares at the preferred price but still receiving common stock. Are they overvaluing their shares and thereby under-compensating me? Thanks in advance... 4 4 replies
Sharing my story - Planning my next move I’ve worn many hats in my career so far; business analyst, digital transformation consultant and now currently business development manager with my current employer (digital transformation consulting and custom software company). As a result, I am constantly speaking with CEOs and directors about their technical needs. We have more and more begun servicing a niche market in the healthcare space. For a year I pushed my CTO and CEO to build a SaaS product to service this need; custom solutions were not a practical or easily repeatable way to... 5 2 replies
Have you ever denied press coverage because you didn’t think you were ready? How did that decision pan out? (Note: I'm well aware that glory lay on the other side of discomfort, so I would prefer perspectives from people who have experience making this decision) I'm launching a beta of my B2C platform. I decided 2025 would be a year of stealth growth as I gain my first customers, understand their problems and likes/dislikes, and build something we all like while I do it on the side with my day job that pays the bills for at least another year (hoping to go in full-time later in 2026)... 1 6 replies
Design cofounder opportunities Currently based in Sydney, run a design studio ($20k MRR), can send more info if needed. Work full time for one of Australia's fastest growing startups and have over a decade of experience working alongside brands like Airbnb, Samsung etc at various agencies and consultancies. I'm looking for designer cofounder positions. Ideally super early stage, its most likely yourself and a technical cofounder. Can be based anywhere in the world but ideally West Coast US/Australia and ok with remote partnerships. I'm happy to travel and invest if appropriate. Looking... 5 3 replies
Is it a mistake to not use debt? I run a business that generates more than $500k annually with a really healthy profit margin. It’s been a solid and steady ride so far, and I’m proud of what I’ve built. But here’s the thing: part of me wants to scale, but definitely not at all costs. I’ve always been cautious about taking on debt, even though my bank consistently offers me up to $150k in funding that I could access in just a few days. So far, I’ve never taken them up on it—something about it feels... 2 16 replies
Trends that I've seen while researching for my startups discovery newsletter. My day consists of researching interesting new startups for my newsletter. I've done it long enough to see the patterns. Here are a few trends that stand out to me. Please voice out your takes and anything you think I've missed, I'd love to hear it. **Silicon Valley is still king.** Despite depictions of it being a dying startup environment, Silicon Valley continues to dominate. So much so that over half of global VC dollars were spent on Silicon Valley-based startups. While there are many new emerging tech hubs around... 5 1 replies
Seeking Advice on Monetization Strategy for My App I’d love to pick your brains on monetization strategies for my app. I recently built an app where users can take things off their chest anonymously and receive kind replies — a simple yet powerful tool for fostering kindness and building a habit around positive communication. The idea has been well-received so far, with great feedback from initial users and over 200 upvotes on Product Hunt! Now, I’m at a crossroads and would love to get your thoughts on monetization. Specifically, I’m torn between: * **One-time fee**: Charging users... 3 1 replies
