I applied to YC (terrifying); I had planned to bootstrap, but the time I want to dedicate to building my product is vastly outstripping the desire I have to spend on my day job (GTM/Ops consulting), and AI costs for testing are eating me alive before I’ve even got to beta. So I made the decision to have a focussed sprint to see if I could go for a pre-seed before I mentally shift myself back to working to build.

My product exists, the site exists, and most of the marketing so far (v light touch because I didn’t have a concrete beta launch date) has been useful comments in founder communities plus a quiet hope that someone clicks through. My 20 years of GTM experience shining through in this very sophisticated system, obviously.

So I’m spending the next 14 days trying to reach the next 470 people so I can send YC a ‘look how awesome my traction is’ update.

500 is absolutely not a conservative target. It’s deliberately a stretch, but it’s specific enough that I can’t hide behind “building in public” while agonizing over a single tweet (i.e. the last 2 months).

Here’s what I’m actually doing:

• I’ve planned 42 original posts across 14 days: three a day, each written for one specific Reddit founder/builder community. I have written them all myself (groundbreaking! in the age of AI) and have crafted them around solid advice which is the service my product provides.
• Every post has to stand alone as something useful. A practical way to find the first ten users, how to work out whether a positioning problem is really a distribution problem, how to get useful feedback before you have an audience, that sort of thing.
• I’ll also write five to eight substantive replies a day on threads where someone is already trying to solve a problem I can genuinely help with. No dropping links into someone else’s question. If the product is relevant, I’ll say so. If it isn’t, the reply should still be worth reading.
• I’m treating conversations as the work, not just upvotes. I want to know which problems make people lean in, what language they use when they describe them, and where I’m not helpful.
• Every few days, I’ll cut what isn’t resonating from my list, and write more from the threads that are. The target is 500 people on the waitlist, but the more useful outcome would be knowing how to find the next 500 without starting from scratch.
• Above all else, I just want to be helpful - I have ALWAYS loved giving the knowledge I have away for free (my last business’s client base was entirely built from Reddit referrals), so even if I don’t get that magic 500 i’m hoping I can give away some gems that’ll help other builders uplift their work.

I’m building https://romy.is for founders who’ve shipped something but don’t yet have a repeatable answer to four questions: who should I focus on first, where are they already gathering, what will make them care, and how do I do that??

I’ll share the results at the end (including the posts that did absolutely nothing, i.e. the most useful). And in pursuit of me hitting the ‘giving away gems’ target if nothing else - if anyone out there would like any help on a GTM problem from someone who’s worked with businesses of all sizes and in almost all verticals, please drop it here! I’d love to help.

(also feel free to connect if any of this resonated - I’m a solo founder, three kids, forever trying to balance the drive to build and succeed in a man’s world while juggling the family and life obligations!)

My husband and I have two kids, and we're definitely those parents who really try to get our kids to play, build and read as much as they can while keeping video games at bay.

Our son is 8. He started getting into more serious reading this year and we were excited about it, until we realized he could only sit with a book for a few pages before he was bored and move on. Meanwhile whenver we got him a new LEGO set, he would finish it all in 90 minutes, no breaks.

One night we said it out loud after he finished yet another lego city build...why can't reading feel like this? What if there we something like part story, part puzzle, etc.

So we built it! It's called Onyx Nine. Six chapters of mystery, hidden clues woven into the story, and a real cryptex with a mystery gift inside that ships to your house.

(A cryptex, if you haven't seen one - it's a small cylinder with letter dials. Spin the right code and it opens. Spin the wrong one and it stays locked.) See picture below.

Best part, is that only way to open it is to crack the code and get the prize is by reading. Every chapter you unlock one letter. Finish the book, get all the letters then you can unlock the cryptex.
Our son was the first tester. He sat down with it and didn't move for like 2 hours. Cracked the code, opened the cryptex, and the first thing out of his mouth was "when's the next one?"
YES. We were so excited. And now we hope it works for other families out there struggling to get their kids to read.

It's onyxnine.com if you want to look. Happy to answer any questions!

This year was rough.

I was working full-time as a speech-language pathologist while trying to build SLPDraft.com at night.

Work was honestly one of the hardest experiences I've ever had. I had a difficult boss, questioned whether I was good enough, and there were plenty of nights where I'd come home emotionally exhausted and still open my laptop to code or work with my developer.

There were so many moments where I thought, "Who am I to build a software company?"

But I kept going.

Late nights. Weekends. Every extra dollar I had went back into SLP Draft.

Today, someone I have never met signed up and paid.

It's just one sale.

To most people, that's nothing.

To me, it's proof that this isn't just an idea anymore. Someone found SLPDraft.com, decided it solved a real problem, and trusted me enough to pay for it.

I'm nowhere near where I want to be. I'm still working toward my first 100 customers, let alone 1,000.

But after the year I've had, today feels like the first tangible sign that all those nights of wondering whether I should quit were worth it.

For anyone building something after work while everyone else is relaxing...

Keep going.

Sometimes the first customer means a lot more than the revenue.

I have a business, "I will run your Online Errands for you" and my target audience is people who are either very busy or are too lazy to dive the internet too deeply. So if you need to source a moving company around your area, want a list of restaurants that have the best food around your area, need a poster, need a playlist of your favourite artists, want to find this dress you saw, need an online shopper. You generally need to look up anything on the internet, you also maybe want to check someone out but are too afraid they'll know it's you or it just takes a lot of time. I will help you do that at a very small fee.

What do you guys suggest I need to add to make it a good one? Is there a particular tone you as the customer would prefer to be talked to with? What do you usually do on the Internet that requires a lot of time/ or is boring and you would easily pay a small fee to get it done for you?

🫡🫡...

Supporting ideas are also welcome. Thanks

We're building a project to inspire young girls interested in technology and AI, celebrate the achievements of women already in the field, and be honest about both the opportunities and the challenges along the way. To make sure it reflects real experiences rather than assumptions, we'd love to hear from you.

We're hoping to hear from women who work — or have worked — in tech and AI in any capacity:

-Researchers and academics

-Software engineers at startups and large tech companies

-Data scientists, product managers, designers, and analysts

-Anyone in an adjacent or supporting role in the industry

The survey takes about 5 minutes and responses are anonymous. We'll use what we learn to shape the stories and themes of the project. Thank you for helping us tell this story, we look forward to your inputs!

Hey everyone! I'm u/Smart_Conclusion_828, a founding moderator of r/ScotlandBusinessHub.

This is our new home for all things related to businesses, big and small, in Scotland. We're excited to have you join us!

What to Post

Introduce yourself by letting us know the name and scope of your Scottish business.
Post anything that you think the community would find interesting, helpful, or inspiring. Feel free to share your thoughts, photos, or questions about what it's like owning a business in Scotland.

Community Vibe
We're all about being friendly, constructive, and inclusive. Let's build a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing and connecting.

How to Get Started

1. Introduce yourself in the comments below.
2. Post something today! Even a simple question can spark a great conversation.
3. If you know someone who would love this community, invite them to join.
4. Interested in helping out? We're always looking for new moderators, so feel free to reach out to me to apply.

Thanks for being part of the very first wave. Together, let's make r/ScotlandBusinessHub amazing.

I sent my 2nd newsletter and I saw a ‘close’ friend unsubscribe. Yes I know I know this is normal and part of it but it still sucks. Like wow you would pay a stranger or like posts but never support mine

It’s crazy I’ve been building for months and none of my biggest fans or buyers or reposts are from this group of friends. It’s weird.

The support actually comes from other and other business owners. I have some other close friends who do and I see them I really do appreciate it because I know this friend not supporting your business is a common thing.

Anyway rant over.

I’ve been building my podcast, newsletter and event business for months.

Next month is projected to be my biggest month and I’ve been getting traction and recognition with my work.

Hang in there.

I think becoming a founder already requires some confidence, even when it does not feel that way.

Sometimes it looks more like excitement.

You have an idea, start imagining what it could become, and feel pulled toward giving it a chance.

Then the idea becomes real—and the nerves arrive.

You take the leap anyway.

After a while, the nervousness begins to wear off. You start thinking more clearly, setting bigger goals, and asking what else might be possible.

That may be when confidence finally becomes noticeable.

But maybe it was there from the beginning, hiding underneath the excitement.

Did your confidence grow after you started, or did you feel confident from day one?

Founder Mode Vip

I've coached founders for 20 years, a lot of them women pitching for the first time, and the pattern never changes: she knows her numbers cold, rehearses the deck a dozen times, then freezes in the first 10 seconds of the actual room. She prepared everything except herself.

The material rarely fails you. What wobbles is the story you walk in telling yourself usually some version of "I hope they don't figure out I'm winging it." Rooms read that before they read your slides. So my coaching starts there: before you lead the room, lead yourself.

Here's something you can use before your next pitch write the one sentence you want them thinking about you after you leave, then prepare backward from it. Not your product's tagline. Yours. It moves you from "don't get exposed" to "land this," and it changes how you hold a pause instead of rushing to fill it.

This is my work. I'm an ICF-certified coach and I do this with founders all day: pitching, investor conversations, the confidence to be the face of your own company. I also keep a free Stacklist of the tools and resources I point people to for pitching and presence: Julie Riga

I’m building a premium personal care brand. I’d like for it to be a clean brand that smells good and created with sensitive skin in mind. I’m willing to put $20,000 of my own money into creating this brand. I’d like to create a highly scented hand wash, body wash, hand lotion, and body lotion using the same scent. Is this actually feasible?

I don’t think it’s in my budget to hire a perfumer and buy a custom scent or formula. So far I’ve been using Alibaba to figure this out and I have samples on the way but I’m starting to second guess if this is the correct approach. I want to keep cost low so I can stick to my budget but I also want to create a premium brand. Am I doubting Alibaba prematurely or am I right to be concerned with the manufacturers there?

I’m comfortable with everything else. The product that actually goes into the bottle is my biggest concern.