Bootstrapped a LinkedIn tool from 0 to 1000 users - sharing our journey [I will not promote] When building our startup's brand on LinkedIn, we realized most tools weren't built for startup needs. So we built our own. Initial challenges: - Limited marketing budget - Need for consistent brand presence - Time constraints as founders What we built: - AI-assisted content creation - Content frameworks optimised for LinkedIn Audience and Algo. - Serving 1000+ users - Profitable from month 3 Happy to share details about our tech stack, pricing decisions, and growth strategy. [I will not promote] 2 3 replies
Has anyone applied for an Estonia startup visa? (I will not promote) Hi everyone. As a non-EU citizen looking to relocate my startup to the EU, Estonia seems interested, so I applied for a startup visa. Has anyone applied and received the approval letter from the startup committed? If so, can you share the process and timeline with me? 3 0 replies
Is contacting potential customers a good way to raise money (I will not promote) Me and my business partner are creating software for plumbers, HVAC companies and other trades. The very brief overview is that field technicians of these companies can create proposals, invoices and take pictures of their work on mobile devices while they’re in the field and there is also a web app that does the scheduling for these jobs. The official name of this industry is field service management software and there are many companies that do some variation of it already (but as is the case with all founders... 5 0 replies
Is It Worth Starting a Data Center Near Coimbatore? I will not promote Hi everyone, I’m considering starting a small data center (20 racks) near Coimbatore since I already own land. Before I invest, I’d love some insights from people in the industry. My Plan • 20 racks, 1U/2U servers • Services: Colocation, private cloud hosting, managed IT • Target clients: Startups, SMEs, enterprises • Location advantage: Lower real estate & power costs vs. Chennai/Bangalore Questions ❓ How much does it typically cost to set up a 20-rack data center? ❓ What are the biggest challenges in running a small data center... 5 0 replies
Leave cushy job for startup? I will not promote I am a lead engineer / manager for a medium-sized company. I have been with the company for four years. Compensation and benefits are very good for relatively easy work. Vacation is five weeks with an additional week of sick leave. It is a relatively stress-free work environment and the work / life balance is a dream. My friend formed a startup and is closing on a $1.5m funding round. He offered me a position with 5% equity. The caveat is the salary and total comp is half of... 4 0 replies
Co-Founder Dynamics: Evaluating Contributions. I will not promote. Hey guys, I need input regarding our startup's co-founder dynamics. We have four co-founders with near-equal equity: three at 20% each and one at 30%, with 10% reserved for future hires and investment. Each co-founder has a distinct role - growth and product, sales, another is technical, and our CEO focuses on fundraising. Key questions I'm grappling with: 1. How should we measure and evaluate co-founder contributions given our different roles? 2. What's the appropriate stance on co-founders maintaining side projects? One of the co-founders pushing that no side... 4 0 replies
I’m 18, launched an agency in a week, and have 5 days to get my first client—advice? (I will not promote) Last week, I started a service that helps startups get listed on Product Hunt, YC, and Wellfound to gain traction and users. I know the right launch can bring huge exposure—but now I need my first paying client.I don’t have much funding, and I only have 5 days to make this work. For those who’ve been here before, how did you land your first customer? Cold outreach, referrals, or something else? 1 0 replies
Firstbase, Doola, Clemta - All I need to run a US company? I will not promote Hello, I'm considering incorporating a company in the US as a non-US resident. Just stumped about incorporating services such as Firstbase, Clemta and Doola. Those services also offer premium packages with bookkeeping, tax filing and so on. Hence my question: Are those services essentially all you need to run a US company or do they lack important parts? If so, which parts are lacking? Have you any experience with them as a non-US resident? Looking forward to hear from you guys! I will not promote 2 0 replies
PayPal equivalent of Stripe Connect - I will not promote **I will not promote** Does anyone know of a PayPal equivalent of Stripe Connect? My googling led me to PayPal for Marketplaces, however, their copy and onboarding seem to target established/enterprise companies while I am still getting started. I am building an invoicing/CRM app. I need to allow my users to send invoices to their clients and enable their clients to pay them digitally (and I am not taking a cut). With Stripe, it is a self-serve onboarding, follow the documentation and you are set. I see some small/startup-ish... 1 0 replies
I got laid off and I ended up building my startup instead of finding a job: I will not promote Hey guys I am a developer and I ended up getting laid off a few months ago (shockers) my position ended being offshored 😢 long story short my manager screwed me over and honestly didn’t realize how toxic that place was until I left, it was my first job out of college. A few months went by, rejection after rejection I I didn’t want to make finding a job my whole purpose in life so I decided to build something on the side to keep my skills fresh cause... 5 3 replies
How advantageous can it be to build your SaaS around SAP (or any other ERP providers) and be an SAP/Oracle partner (I will not promote) Curiously asking about a potential Saas, not in conflict/competition at all with SAP or any other ERP providers for that matter, but more of an extension to services offered, attempting to aid and further enhance an experience or correct an issue within a certain area. Moreover, how advantageous can it be to be a SAP/Oracle/Workday partner? 1 0 replies
Early-Stage Founders: What’s Your Biggest Challenge Right Now? - I will not promote Hey founders! 🚀 If you’re building something from the ground up, I’d love to hear what challenges you’re facing. 💡 **Product & Users** – How are you validating your idea? What’s been the hardest part about creating something users love? Any struggles with engagement or retention? 📈 **Business & Growth** – What’s your biggest hurdle in getting traction? Are you more focused on product-market fit or scaling? 🚀 **Execution & Team** – What’s been the most unexpected challenge? Do you have the right skill sets on your team, or... 4 0 replies
Experiences in business with Rob kischuk of Atlanta (I will not promote) Has anyone done business with him or personally? His company is Bellwood labs but most of his staff seem incredibly unhappy. He also owned badgy? Is this a common issue with him? It seems he exploited staff and is in legal battles with a bunch. Anyone else? I will not promote. I am just looking for feedback on this person 4 1 replies
V2 - Algorithmically Free Content Consumption Proposal (I will not promote except my own thoughts) So here’s a very high level (yet to be implemented in any serious manner) idea that’s been on my mind. What do you think about a content consumption platform based on manual content curation and promotion? As a possible alternative to the ongoing platform enshittification phenomena? The idea is that instead of a feed of content recommendations by a recommender engine, a platform can be designed in such a way that **incentivizes professional content curation by humans** who can better distinguish between good and bad content in the age... 4 0 replies
What’s Your Go-To-Market Strategy? What’s Actually Working for You? (i will not promote) I’m a solo founder, still in the development stage of my SaaS, but I’m almost done. Now, I’m starting to think about how to actually get users. There are so many GTM strategies—SEO, paid ads, cold outreach, partnerships, product-led growth… and everyone seems to have a different take on what works. I’d love to hear from other founders: * What GTM strategy are you using? * What’s worked well for you? * Anything you tried that was a total flop? 3 3 replies
Does the AI boom feel like the dot com boom to you? (i will not promote) For those who lived through the 90s with the emergence of the internet and the dot com bubble (I haven't), does the AI race feel somewhat similar right now? Does it make you feel like you're in a gold rush and a hurry to create, otherwise you'll be left behind? I'm watching the Blackberry movie right now and saw the engineers scrambling to put email in your pocket, creating this sense of urgency and race against time and competitors. My first thought was "huh, kinda feels like AI right... 2 13 replies
Question for founders about hiring needs and how they access their talent - I will not promote Background: I am the director of recruiting at my recruitment firm, we are midsized and have national reach. Lately, I feel it has been difficult to get ahold of anyone to help them with their hiring needs. Questions: 1. Do startups still use recruiters? 2. What are your likes and dislikes when it comes to being outreached by them? 3. What percentage fees are you typically paying if you have used them? 4. What makes you open to using them? I'm not posting this with the intent of soliciting... 3 0 replies
I will not promote I'm interested what are common pain points when building MVP, any horror stories how early tech decisions derailed your growth in future? for example I worked in really promising startup who managed to raise good money but their original dev team made some terrible architecture choices, so when they replaced them with me and few other really competent colleagues it took us almost 2 years to get it back on track, but it was kinda too late for the product at that point sadly. Missed on some good equity... 5 0 replies
Validating Your Product: TAM, SAM, and SOM Essential Market Sizing for Business Growth (I Will Not Promote) I thought it would be good to try and get some conversations going related to marketing and business techniques, strategies and concepts. I have never seen anyone on this sub or others discussing TAM, SAM or and SOM so this should be a good starting point for all of us. If you are validating your product understanding the size of your market is crucial for setting realistic business goals and developing a scalable strategy. Three key concepts—TAM, SAM, and SOM—help businesses analyze their opportunities and potential for success. #... 3 0 replies
1099 contractor as LLC, and ISO stock options (I will not promote) As I understand it, ISO can only be granted to individuals (Rule 422). 1099 contractors often form LLCs or S-Corps. If you want to grant ISOs to such a contractor, how do you do so? Contract with the company, but options to the individual? Something else? 5 0 replies
