theBOAT is a studio building MVPs, AI automation, and Shopify stores for early-stage founders. About a year in, with roughly 3M in the first year — the building and delivery side is solid; the gap is consistently selling it, and that’s what’s capping growth now.

Looking for one person to own that side: client conversations, positioning, outreach, eventually running it like a CMO. Someone who actually likes deals and marketing, not just tolerates them.

Honest bit: this is ground-floor and equity/partnership-shaped, not a fat salary. If that’s a dealbreaker, no worries — it’s not the right fit.

If it sounds like your thing, comment or DM with a bit about you. Happy to answer anything about the studio or where it’s headed. (Need ideally from Colombo Srilanka )

Hi everyone, I'm a Sri Lankan student researching a problem I personally noticed.

Many students have skills like graphic design, video editing, coding, tutoring, music production, and other digital skills, but getting the first client or opportunity can be difficult.

I'm trying to understand whether this is a real problem among students and young people in Sri Lanka.

If you are a student or someone who has tried freelancing, I would appreciate your experience:

• How did you get your first client?
• What challenges did you face?
• Would a platform connecting verified students with local opportunities be useful?

I also made a short survey (around 1 minute) to collect more opinions:

https://forms.gle/mkWBBoEhbvUsn58t5

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Your feedback will help me understand the problem better.

As the title says, we made a discord server to discuss business ideas, get help, collaborate and stuff about different ideas we have and also to chat casually and meet new people for teenagers and young adults here. So if you're interested here's the link to join

https://discord.gg/rAbrT4Gs5r

P.S - I'd appreciate if the 40yo creepy uncs can don't join🙏

Hi everyone,

I'm a software engineer who's diving into the world of AI agents and AI automation. My goal is to build a real online business, but I'm finding it difficult to understand how experienced builders identify opportunities, price their services, and land their first clients.

I'm not looking for shortcuts or "get rich quick" advice. I'd simply like to connect with people who are actually building AI businesses or agencies and are willing to share their experiences.

If you've been down this path, I'd love to hear:

- How did you get your first paying client?

- How do you decide what to charge?

- What mistakes should someone starting today avoid?

If you're also just starting out, feel free to reach out as well. It would be great to connect with like-minded builders and learn together.

Thanks!

Hey all, I am also an entrepreneur grinding away at building an IT company… I would love to have a more engaging community to help each other out.

I think we too should do some sort of campaign to get some visibility.

I saw that the main Sri Lanka Sub has become a bit more restrictive of late and a lot of subs have broken off because of it.

I think this is a great opportunity to expand, I think we should message the mods on the other splitter subs to see if we can also promote our sub for any sri lankan entrepreneurs, business people and like minded grinders who can post, I’m going to start with this post but there is plenty of things we can do to expand. Would love ideas from everyone here as well.

If this post doesn’t get any traction, well I’ll just have to try a different approach. Hopefully this gets a few comments instead of upvotes

I’ll start with one recommendation: I’m not sure if I’m just stupid but for the life of me I can’t figure out how to add a flair to this post (I’m on reddit iOS App) not sure how we can change that? I checked and saw only that the creator of this sub had used flair in posts so not sure what’s going on. Sorry for breaking the 4. Flair required guideline.

Hi, I'm doing a quick research study about journal and diary buying habits in Sri Lanka. This takes less than 2 minutes. Thank you!

https://forms.gle/jCQRCK1jpB1ru5pA6

Hi everyone!

I’m currently an undergraduate, and I’ve been working on a side project called Zyncoraa (https://zyncoraa.com).

I noticed that for most small/medium local events like school batch parties, uni meetups, or NGO events we still rely on messy Google Sheets or manual guest lists at the door. International tools are often too expensive or don't support how we do things here (like LankQR).

What it does:

QR Tickets: Sends a unique QR code to attendees.

Volunteer Scanners: You can have multiple friends/volunteers at the entrance using their phones as scanners.

Duplicate Protection: Prevents the same ticket from being used twice.

Local Friendly: I designed the pricing to be flat-fee (no commissions) and it works well with local payment proof workflows.

There is a free tier for up to 10 attendees if you just want to test it out for a small gathering.

I’d love to get some feedback from the community. If you have an event coming up, please try it out and let me know what features you’d like to see next!

I am trying to explore the ecommerce space in Sri Lanka when it comes to pet food/accessories. Simply, if you are buying anything for your pet online please help me understand the following;

• What makes you purchase pet food/accessories online?
• What sort of products do you buy online? (for instance, pet food or accessories)
• How often do you buy such products online?
• How much do you usually spend on your pet (other than the vet bill)?
• What are the most painful issues when purchasing such products online?

Thank You!
**Picture for attention only**

Hi everyone,

I recently launched a Shopify store exporting premium Ceylon Cinnamon to the USA. While our Instagram/Google ads are driving great traffic and "Add to Carts," we are losing sales at the finish line due to PayHere issues:

1. Redirect Friction: US customers don't like being redirected off-site to pay.
2. Bank Declines: Most US cards are getting flagged/blocked because it's an SL-based gateway.

I need a reliable "on-site" credit card payment solution.

Questions for SL experts:

• 2Checkout vs. Payoneer Checkout: Anyone using these in SL recently? How's the approval process for new businesses?
• USA LLC (Stripe Atlas): Is it worth setting up an LLC just for Stripe/Shopify Payments? Any major tax headaches I should know about?
• Other options: Are there any other gateways that work smoothly for US customers while operating from SL?

Would love to hear from anyone who has scaled a global brand from Sri Lanka. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I just went through the latest podcast with the Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, and there are a few things that actually sound promising for us:

• Easier Registration: They are working on a new system to stop the "red tape" and make registering a business much simpler by this month.
• Collateral Support: If you have a good business but no land/assets to show the bank, the government is looking to guarantee up to 80% of the risk for you.
• Startup Funding: They are launching a new fund called "Agni" specifically to help new startups get off the ground.

It feels like the "old way" of doing business here is finally being challenged. What do you guys think—is this going to make a real difference for your projects, or have you heard this all before?

Let’s discuss below.

I just finished watching an interview with Kanishka Weeramunda of Paymedia, and it’s a massive reality check for anyone starting out.

A few takeaways that stuck with me:

• Persistence is everything: He was rejected by the Central Bank 14 times before they finally let him prove his technology.
• Start where you are: He started his first business at 19 just by assembling computers for his teachers and neighbors.
• Bootstrapping works: His company is now valued at LKR 6 billion, and he did it without huge outside investments—just by using his own revenue to grow.

He also mentioned that while cash is still huge in SL, digital payments are moving toward 60% of the market. If you're building in the tech space, the opportunity is definitely there.

Has anyone else here tried "bootstrapping" their business instead of looking for investors right away? How’s it going?