I will not promote - digital branding and web design discussion Hey everyone, I’ve been diving deep into branding and Webflow-first web design and wanted to start a discussion: How important do you think branding is for startups & scale-ups? At what stage should a startup invest in branding? Do you think an early-stage startup should focus on branding, or is it secondary to product-market fit? Have any of you rebranded after launching, and what impact did it have? From my experience, a strong brand identity (logo, typography, UX/UI consistency) can be a major differentiator, but I know some founders... 1 2 replies
Where do you search for idea validation? (I will not promote) Hey everyone, I’m curious—what strategies or methods do you all use to validate a SaaS idea before you even start building? Sure, some of you may have direct access to potential customers or know someone who could use the product, but I’m looking for more diverse validation approaches. For example, I have had an idea for an "all-in-one toolset for ecommerce and startup conversion optimization," which would include features like: * AI chatbots integrated with company data * Pop-up widgets with discounts * Social proof of transactions (e.g. Stripe,... 1 1 replies
How to know difference between “good things take time to do right” vs. unnecessary perfectionism (i will not promote) I find myself needing to do everything** at the highest level possible.. Context: I’m a solo entrepreneur and right now am do everything myself until my monthly revenue affords me to hire someone. Example with recent product photography/videography: - Research best ads and photo/video for similar products - Narrow by getting feedback from target customers on possible executions - Find most ideal environment for photos - Use friends’ really nice kitchen for product photos - Take a week getting all possible shots/angles/photos/videos for different ad creatives - Take time... 2 2 replies
Started a new project i need advice ( i will not promote) Hi, i started a project which i will officially launch near Q3 this year. So i wonder should i open a company and fill for a trademark, or wait until project gets users and some activity then begin with legal stuff. Project will be free initially, and then at some point of time i will add some paid features, this could go even to next year this time. Please advice me, what would you do ? 1 2 replies
Incorporating My First Startup in Delaware? Can I Do It Alone with Stripe Atlas? i will not promote Hey everyone, I'm about to incorporate my first startup and have been researching whether I should go with a Delaware **LLC** or a **C-Corp**. I’ve read that **C-Corps are typically preferred by investors** (especially VCs), but I’m wondering if it’s the right choice for me at this stage. A few things on my mind: 1. How much does the structure really matter (I’m planning to raise funds)? 2. **Has anyone here used Stripe Atlas to incorporate a Delaware C-Corp?** Is it really straightforward enough to do alone, or are... 3 12 replies
100 AI-Driven Businesses Later… Here’s the Truth No One Tells You! (I will not promote) I analyzed 100 businesses across industries that implemented AI, and here’s what I found! Most businesses use AI for: Marketing automation (15%) – email copy, ad creatives, SEO research (ChatGPT, Jasper, Copy.ai) Customer support (12%) – AI chatbots handling up to 70% of inquiries before escalation (Intercom, Drift) Data analysis & insights (10%) – AI summarizing reports, trends in seconds (Tableau AI, ChatGPT for spreadsheets) Sales prospecting (10%) – lead scoring, automated outreach (Apollo.io, HubSpot AI) Workflow automation (8%) – connecting tools and automating repetitive tasks (Zapier, Make.com) Biggest... 3 1 replies
Looking for a recommendation for a virtual phone number provider for a WhatsApp bot - I will not promote So as the title says, I'm building a WhatsApp bot and I am looking for a provider. I am building it by myself with code, I'm not looking or some bot building all included suite of tools or something. It will only be used for the bot. It won't be added to my mobile device. I won't be making any calls. It is simply to establish a WhatsApp entity. Of course though the first text message needs to be received to confirm the number, but that's about it. I've... 4 5 replies
Who Else Hates Prelaunching? Let’s Talk About It " I will not promote " I will not promote. I’ve launched before building. I’ve built before launching. And honestly? **Both approaches kinda suck.** When I launched my last startup, I was convinced people wanted it. We had early signals, we saw some demand, and we figured, **"If we build it, they’ll come."** But after months of work, we launched… and even the people who said they wanted it **didn’t buy.** It made me realize that **just believing in an idea isn’t enough**—we need real-world validation, not just assumptions. But here’s the problem: **prelaunching is... 1 10 replies
Do I have to be able to build a product from scratch to become a successful entrepreneur? (I will not promote) i will not promote \------------------------------------- I'm relatively young, working on my second idea now. Most of my experience has been in sales and finance, but the ideas I come up with are usually require some kind of tech. This means I either: 1. Have to outsource everything at the start (which is expensive and unreliable), or 2. Try to convince a "tech bro" to partner with me and believe in the idea as much as I do (which almost never happens). The biggest issue? Investors don’t really take me... 4 13 replies
How to attract investments for a video game? (i will not promote) How to attract investments for a video game? Or what should a game be like to get funding for its development? Let's think about potential games that people would want to invest in. Should it be an RPG? Or another genre? Maybe a strategy game? VR/AR? What do you think about it? I also thought about crypto games, NFTs, Web3, and WebGL. 3 9 replies
Market Research Isn’t a Buzzkill, It’s Your Secret Weapon (I will not promote) (And no, you don’t need a PhD or a finished product to do it) **Myth:** "Real" market research requires polished surveys, focus groups, or waiting until you’ve built something. **Truth:** If you’ve ever asked a stranger why they hate a problem, you’ve already started. Market research is just talking to humans. It’s sliding into DMs with "What’s broken about \[X\]?" It’s posting a meme about your idea in a Reddit thread and seeing who rage-comments. It’s running a fake ad for a product that doesn’t exist yet (spoiler: this... 2 4 replies
An AI recruiting startup raised $100m at a $2b valuation - someone explain (I will not promote) An AI recruiter startup just raised $100m at a $2b valuation while the founders have not built and scaled something before and are 21-years old. Is this 2022? Someone please help me understand this, this company is a little over 2 years old and 2 of the 3 founders have never built something before. The other founder has, but it never scaled or got acquired (what I can find). No pristine universities (one from Harvard but dropped out in first year?) and one followed 50% of the Thiel Fellowship.... 4 35 replies
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 4 replies
IT Technical co-founder needed (I will not promote) Hey all. Looking for someone to build scraper technology that can image recognise and interrogate listings of a platform (product listings) in more detail. The scraper should be able to process bulk listings and capture the data for triaging into a QA process. Do you have experience building this or want to? If so please dm me directly. I have a great idea ready to go in the area of brand protection/legal tech. Thanks! 5 4 replies
I will not promote. Seeking Funding Advice for Wildfire Prevention & Suppression Technology I'm in the early stages of developing technology for wildfire prevention and suppression, starting with a small-scale proof of concept that I plan to self-fund initially. Given the complexity of the problem, the project will require a modular, phased approach to scale effectively. Since this is a big vision, I realize that working alone would take years, and I’d love to understand how others have secured funding to bring technical ideas to life. My goal is to eventually work with more resources and hire engineers to accelerate development. For... 3 3 replies
How many of you raised VC money, did not succeed and are now profitable bootstrap founders? (I will not promote) Basically the title. We raised during covid, sold the unprofitable platform for pennies and are now in heated discussion with our VC because they squeezed us into the corner saying we need to have a traction for our new product in three months, otherwise they'll shut down the company and take the money from it. And I'm actually paralyzed because of this. I can't do shit except applying to jobs because I might need new cash flow very soon. I must say I'm so SICK of investors, really. They've... 4 19 replies
Founder disputes result in or are part of most startup failures I will not promote Over the past few years, I co-founded several early-stage startups. One of my main takeaways is that the relationship between co-founders is the foundation of any startup, and without alignment, success is unlikely. Building a company with someone you don’t deeply trust and work well with is a recipe for failure. Based on my experience, here are the key qualities I’d look for in a co-founder: • Do I enjoy working with this person and feel excited to build with them? • Do we have complementary skill sets, and... 1 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 3 replies
Startup shutting down, co-founder seized bank account, refusing to pay anyone. Disabled our google workplace so none of us can login. I am (technical) ceo… I will not promote As the title suggests one of my cofounders took control of the company bank account and is refusing to pay anyone back. He has gone relatively radio silent but I have his location and he is still in SF. I understand there are a variety of legal options but I’m not fully sure how to get started / who to talk to. I’m based in SF, and would love some recommendations. Eventually we need to pay back our investors the remaining sum after we pay out our salaries (minimum... 2 21 replies
Advice for a new grad? I will not promote. I am about to graduate university and committed to dedicating the next 10-15 years towards making a successful company to either be acquired, IPO, or just continue working on growing the company to multi-billion dollar revenues. Unfortunately I have no job lined up so I may have to move back in with my parents until I find a relevant tech job to at least save some money. Financially I'm not too worried because I know that my parents could help me, but I also want to make my own... 2 1 replies
