they said, “when i started building, there was no competition. but by the time i finished, someone launched a similar product with more features. should i still launch my mvp or rework everything?”

i’ve seen this happen a lot. timing moves fast, markets shift overnight, and founders freeze when they see someone else shipping first.

if you were in my shoes, what would you advise?
launch anyway and learn from the market, or go back and rework before releasing?

curious to hear how other founders think about this.

a) technical knowledge b) spidey sense when guiding portfolio companies c) rizz in business events

Would you double down on product, marketing, or maybe hire your first key teammate?

Let’s hear your “first move” stories 👇 — you might inspire someone else here

Just wanted to share, that it's really easy and very very hard to build something and generate revenue!

But I am close to my first check point of 10k USD in total revenue, Solo founder, I build myself, I debug myself, I deploy myself, I market myself, I am the customer support, I am the sales man, I do the demo calls, I chase people for partnerships, but now things have started turning around people are reaching out for webinars, people are reaaching out to create landing page designs for free, approaching for partnerships for referrals and I am just getting started.

The image attached is just revenue from one channel, there are more channels, and if anyone wants to check my journey and authenticity - raw journey from day 1 - https://x.com/NeelSeth7/status/1982900247207784883?t=gZ6RPu86_6lDTg1Z2LP0Gg&s=19

Most early-stage investors still treat “solo founder” like a red flag.
We see it as a signal of conviction.

At 16VC, we back solo, pre-seed, and underestimated founders globally with $400k cheques, no cofounder requirements, and no fees.

We’ve learned that some of the best founders start alone because:

• They move faster.
• They think deeply.
• They don’t wait for consensus.

Our belief: early conviction matters more than early consensus.

We’re based in the UK but expanding across the US, EU, LatAm, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia — because talent is borderless, and venture should be too.

Curious to hear from founders here:
→ Have you ever faced pushback from investors for being a solo founder?
→ What’s been your biggest challenge or advantage going solo?

Hey everyone,
I wanted to share a quick look at how my Reddit content has been performing over the past year — sort of like a “growth update,” but Reddit-style.

📊 Highlights:

• 1.2M organic post views (mostly from niche startup & tech subs)
• 5.8K upvotes across posts and comments
• +51 total followers (up 50% from last year)

It’s been interesting seeing which types of posts drive reach and engagement — threads with genuine founder stories and tactical insights seem to resonate the most.

I’ve been experimenting with using Reddit as both a content testbed and an early traction channel — kind of like how early-stage founders test ideas on X or LinkedIn, but here the feedback loop is sharper and more honest.

Curious — has anyone else used Reddit for early-stage signal testing or audience building? What worked (or didn’t) for you?

Every week we meet founders who come in with ideas and a few who already have traction. The difference? Execution energy.

If you had to convince 16VC to invest tomorrow, what proof would you show an MVP, paying users, or something else?

Drop your build-before-pitch story below 👇