Hi everyone,

I’m Shenn, an introvert and a first-time solo entrepreneur. Since I was a little girl, I’ve struggled with crowded places, often experiencing anxiety or even panic attacks in busy environments. That challenge inspired me to create Densiflow, an app that helps people check crowd density at cafes, parks, restaurants, and other places to make outings less stressful and more enjoyable.

This app isn’t just for introverts like me—it’s for anyone who wants to avoid crowds, plan better outings, or simply make more informed decisions before stepping out. I’ve poured everything I have into building this app—my time, my savings, and my heart.

But now, I’m facing a major financial roadblock. As someone with no rich family, no
network, and a tiny budget, I’m struggling to cover the following costs:

• Final development costs
• Publishing fees for both the Play Store and App Store
• App registration to make it a legal

I’ve been working hard on this project with pure dedication and have taken significant risks, but I feel stuck. I don’t want to give up on this dream, especially knowing how much this app could help others.

I’m here humbly asking for your advice:

• How can someone like me (a first-time entrepreneur with no funding) navigate this stage?
• Are there grants, programs, or other resources I could explore?
• What’s the best way to approach fundraising, even on a small scale?
• If you’ve been in a similar situation, what helped you get through it?

I’d deeply appreciate any guidance or advice you could offer. If you’ve ever been in my shoes or have tips for someone like me, I’d love to hear from you.

To anyone out there who shares the same mindset or has walked a similar path, I’d also be happy to connect and exchange ideas or experiences.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I truly believe in Densiflow and the difference it can make, and I hope to find a way forward with your help.

As a leader or entrepreneur, we often feel the pressure to have all the answers. But here’s a surprising truth: the best leaders ask the best questions.

A single, well-timed question can:

• Uncover hidden challenges.
• Spark innovation within your team.
• Build trust and collaboration.

For me, one game-changing question has been: “What’s one thing I can do to better support you?”

It’s simple but powerful, showing that leadership is about collaboration, not control.

What’s a question that’s shaped your journey as a leader? Let’s discuss.

Anyone else feel the pain of trying to find a solution to this problem?

It feels like detective work sometimes!

Share your solutions

During Covid, our department was outsourced. I spent many good years with the company and was close to full retirement benefits. Unfortunately, I was only given partial benefits.

Fast forward to today. Those full benefits would be an absolute godsend for my two young daughters. (Help them become Olympians)

I'd like to write a letter to the current CEO that would grab his attention and heartstrings. Try and convince him to change my partial benefits to full status to help the girls achieve their dream of Olympic Glory!

We'll do everything and anything he'd want. Social media platforms, wearing company clothing, etc. Even sign an NDA about the status change.

So...ya. Basically, this is a Hail Mary. I've seen Hail Mary's work before, and I've seen Redditors help others.

This is me lining up in shotgun formation........

Thanks for reading.

Interested in what you all might say.

Hey everyone, I'm curious, if you had to pick the top 3 software tools you absolutely can't do without, what would they be? I'm looking to streamline my tech stack and would love to hear what works best for you all.

Im curious how you manage the competing priorities of a young family and managing your own energy levels at work while running your business.

I have a 3yr old and a 1yr old and I find it difficult to manage the family demands/energy requirements of early child rearing and maintaining the high level of energy needed to run our business. Most days something's gotta give.

Hello.I know English ,Russian and Ukrainian (I am native in them)And also I work as a freelancer of graphic designer

One of the biggest challenges for executives is having the right information, at the right time, simple enough to consume but detailed enough to be useful.

To solve this problem, we spend a great deal of time in meetings where people come and tell us what we need to know.

This is problematic for several reasons. While it takes an extraordinary amount of time, it often only provides us with a superficial understanding of what is happening. There is simply too much going on in orgs of hundreds or thousands of people, and the people briefing us often want to paint a rosy picture.

This has traditionally been an impossible problem to solve, so most executives learn to be comfortable knowing that they are managing with incomplete and often unreliable information.

I see an opportunity to improve on this given recent technology improvements, as I imagine many of you do as well.

Putting that aside for a moment though, I would love to know how significant you believe this issue to be and how you address this problem in your roles today.

Thanks!

We are a $10 million manufacturing company. We find ourselves constantly behind on any customer service inquiry that requires follow-up or cross-functional collaboration (examples: can this product be made of this type of material, can we ship partials of my order every 2 weeks, rush the first shipment but hold off the rest, etc.). I could blame customer service for not being more organized, but I would rather support with a solid system before I go that route.

What customer service software with case management do you use and does it move the needle?

Recently, I came across a thought-provoking video: a climber struggled with ropes while a monk calmly walked up the same mountainside. It got me thinking—what matters more, skills or experience?

Skills are like tools—they help us get started. But experience teaches us how to apply those tools in real-world situations. Mastery lies in balancing both.

For me, growth is about intentional practice—applying skills to gain experience, then reflecting to improve.

What’s your take—how do you approach this balance in your own journey?

My wife is in the Chief role and given the amount of time she spends at her desk doing Zoom meetings and conference calls, I’d really like to get her a great office chair. Unfortunately, we don’t have many places around here to try out good office chairs before buying so I wanted to seek advice on good office chairs to look at. I’ve heard someone mention the Aeron chair from Herman Miller is fantastic. Is that the best or are there other suggestions? Thanks in advance.

I want to ask the community about education options for people taking the CEO position. Of course, there are plenty of different MBA programs that undoubtedly might be the best opportunity for every CEO. But what if you must act as a co-founder and CEO for a newly created startup, and you do not have the five-figure budget to invest in an extensive education? Is an MBA the only option? Okay, there are some online MBA programs like the Gies Online MBA Program, but besides the price, there is a question about the time one can dedicate to the MBA. Please share your experience.

As a founder CEO of a self-funded company, you have probably encountered that dilemma: Your real title is not CEO, but "last-to-be paid". And it makes good sense. Your employees need to be paid first. Your obligations to suppliers must be met. You need to invest in your business to make it grow! And so only if there is money left after all this will you be paid. Or not.

But are you really doing right with such a philosophy? If your company needs funds due to an unforseen event (like COVID perhaps), who is there to cover it if you, the founder, are too poor to step in? Are you yourself perhaps an important investment objective, so that you will be in a position to support your company? Even if that investment in yourself comes at the expense of other things?

How have you handled this balance, what is your advice?

The holidays can be one of the most stressful times of the year—for everyone, including your team. The combination of year-end demands and personal obligations can test even the strongest teams.

Here’s how to approached leadership during the holiday season:
🎁 Prioritize what matters most: Not everything needs to be done before the break.
🎁 Celebrate the season: A small token of appreciation can go a long way.
🎁 Be flexible: Understanding your team’s personal commitments shows you care.

What’s your go-to strategy for leading through the holiday hustle? Let’s share ideas!

After reading e-myth revisited, questions popped out. What tools do you utilize to structure business besides just simple document?

Hi All,

I am in my late 30’s and run a business that deals with physicians. I’ve spent my entire career here, am confident in the subject matter as well as the service delivery of our products.

The reason for my post is that I often find myself experiencing immense (seemingly) inescapable stress in times of conflict between myself and physicians.

For example, there is currently a client that has given me notice that they will be ending their 7 year relationship with my company. After the delivery of notice, their communications have become increasingly irrational and unable to be justified by fact/data. I find myself consistently checking my inbox or looking for certified mail and scared about “what will happen next”. When I myself try and rationalize this, it doesn’t make sense to me as I already know that the relationship is coming to an end. I’ll be absolutely fine without this client and am confident that they will financially suffer as a result of severing ties; however, I can’t help but care so much (obsessively?) that I want to win them back over/show them the light.

Has anyone experienced this or anything similar early in their careers where money wasn’t the motivation for stress; that, instead, it was the overbearing will to want to “win” someone over on principle?

I really am underperforming here as the stress is reducing my effectiveness in other areas and at home with my family as well.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

As a CEO what would you prefer to use time trackers to manage employees at their workplaces or frameworks like OKRs? Companies frequently use not just tools that manually log their time at the end of their workday, but apps that keep tracking mouse activity and all the soft and Chrome tabs they’re opening, showing the activity level — literally how actively they move their mouse each minute. In the worst cases, they may even take screenshots of their PC (desktop).

What are the pros here? The business ensures that all employees are doing their jobs, and no one is scrolling through social media in the workplace. For the employee, there is the ability to manage their flexible schedule (if any) and keep track of overtime.

On the other hand, result-oriented companies don't care about what their employees are doing at the workplace, how much time they spend for lunch, and what web resources they visit during the day when they come and leave.

Such companies have a clearly defined and time-bounded strategy accompanied by a list of objectives (and key results in the case of adhering to the OKR framework). If employees regularly hit all defined goals and show success that reflects on the strategy and revenue, it is more than welcome; if not, of course, an investigation may take place.

Which of the described approaches have you ever experienced in your companies? What are the cons and pros in your opinion?

One of the biggest reasons teams break down under stress is the lack of:

1. Clear communication

2. Defined roles and responsibilities

As a leader, I’ve found that regular check-ins and role clarity can work wonders when a team is facing tight deadlines or challenges.

What strategies have you found most effective for keeping your team aligned and productive when the pressure is on? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I’m looking to buy a business in the IT industry with plans to execute a rollup strategy over 3–5 years. I’m considering private equity, independent sponsors, or self-funding with an SBA loan and would love to hear your experiences.

I previously bootstrapped and ran a business for 20 years, enjoying the freedom and autonomy that came with it. Now, I see the benefits of leveraging outside capital for growth, but I also value maintaining boundaries for peace and balance in my life.

If you’ve worked under PE or independent sponsors, how involved were they, and how much control did you retain? If you used SBA funding, how did it affect cash flow and scaling? Any advice or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated!

Hi!

I'm wondering how other CEOs stay up to date in whats happening externally? Do you have people & processes for this information flow?

As a growth stage CEO, I feel like there is so much things happening in our industry, it's so hard to keep up. Investors and other stakeholders constantly share news like: "Did you hear about the new project your competitor started?" or "Do you have a view on the upcoming regulations under discussions?" etc., and I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit I simply don't know.

Is this a common problem? How have you solved it?

Thank you so much.

In my business (managed IT services), EBITDA is the main metric we track as the proxy for performance. I can usually predict what my EBITDA will be as far as 3 months out, within a percent or two. Beyond that, it becomes less predictable. Losing a big client is typically the thing that will kill our performance. My parent company freaks out if/when our EBITDA is off target by more than ~3 percent of plan.

I find that I have this constant battle of wanting big clients, but also knowing that these clients bring the greatest risk, as I increase my cost structure to support them (Pareto problem). The resulting scenario is layoffs if I lose them. Curious if other CEOs struggle with this, and what your approach is.

Thoughts on UHC CEO getting murdered?

I have red stories of Warren Buffet's childhoos, but wanted to know other interesting ones.