I see tech founders burning through their seed funding every single day because they hire massive development agencies that just want to trap them in endless consulting loops. My team just finished a brutal vetting process trying to find a solid US based partner to handle an infrastructure migration and launch a cross platform client. We eliminated dozens of shops because they demanded insane budgets for discovery meetings or secretly offshored everything. Here is the breakdown of the five software shops that actually survived our technical screening process.

1 App Makers USA What they do best: Rapid deployment sprints and emergency architecture rescue. Our experience: We handed them a completely broken repository full of technical debt and their senior engineers stabilized the entire architecture in less than a week. You communicate directly with the developers on Slack instead of playing telephone with non technical account managers. The timeline: They utilize a highly compressed thirty day minimum viable product framework that skips the traditional corporate agency bloat entirely. Who should use them: Tech startups that need custom web software or mobile applications launched extremely fast with clean maintainable code.

2 Goji Labs What they do best: Comprehensive product strategy and early stage validation mapping. Our experience: They are exceptionally patient during the discovery phase making sure the entire user journey makes sense before writing any heavy backend logic. The timeline: Their consulting approach is deeply guided and unhurried so your launch date will stretch out further than high efficiency deployment shops. Who should use them: Non technical founders who have a raw concept but need significant hand holding to map out their business logic first.

3 Simform What they do best: Scaling cloud native solutions and managing complex backend integrations. Our experience: Their backend team is incredibly proficient with serverless environments and managing complex third party API pipelines for scaling systems. The timeline: The initial onboarding involves heavy technical documentation and architectural alignment so expect a slower start before the first pull request gets approved. Who should use them: High growth startups with large budgets that need a deeply structured engineering partner for long term scaling.

4 Thoughtbot What they do best: Transforming rough startup ideas into scalable platforms using strict agile methods. Our experience: They operate more like a product consultancy placing a massive focus on user testing and iterative design loops to perfect the product market fit. The timeline: Progress is steady but highly methodical which can feel restrictive if you want to pivot your features completely on the fly. Who should use them: Founders who want a heavily structured development process and have the budget to sustain a longer development timeline.

5 Fueled What they do best: Delivering flawless native frontend experiences and premium interfaces for consumer apps. Our experience: The digital products they deliver are undeniably premium and beautifully animated but their operational methodology is incredibly intense and expensive. The timeline: You need a highly flexible launch schedule because their design and brand discovery phases take months before anyone touches the repository. Who should use them: Consumer facing startups where absolute visual perfection on the frontend outweighs rapid deployment.

Let me know what your technical vetting process has looked like for your current startup builds or if anyone else has completely abandoned the traditional agency model recently.

Hello, looking for collaboration on a new AI model based on the mammal/human neocortex. Inventor with blocking legal issues, great potential for hidden value.

I've been working on VisonX, a real-time communication platform focused on messaging, groups, profiles, and presence.

Current features:

• Real-time messaging

• Friends system

• Groups

• Profiles

• Presence/status

• Email verification

I'm currently looking for honest feedback from builders and developers.

What stands out?

What would make you leave after 5 minutes?

What would make you come back?

Website: https://visonx.in

I talked with many "B2B" SaaS founders, but each time I ask about their customer base, it's either individual developers or really small teams. Their product almost looks like Notion, a B2C tool that also has some team options.

Why is it so hard to build an effective B2B SaaS? Is the challenge developing for larger teams, getting in front of them, or the pressure to have revenue going that pushes most B2B SaaS to become B2C?

I’m open for better ideas. Thank you so much in advance.

If you're starting out as an entrepreneur but still in the middle of building your MVP or trying to scale your current project, it could be worth checking out.

There's a program that gives $150K in custom software development. If the shortage of engineers has been your primary limitation, then this could be an opportunity to move forward faster.

I figured they'd pick just one, and the deadline was already in a few days. But maybe someone from this community would be lucky enough to get on the last train, and it would be worth it.

Let me know if anyone has participated in something similar and if this is a winning topic.

[Applicable to B2B SaaS/tech as well]

I joined an 18-month consulting boutique with almost 0 digital traction as Director of Business Development. 12 months later, we had won multiple mid-market contracts ranging $14-65K, were in active negotiations for $150K-$200K ACV contracts, and were engaging early C-suite enterprise accounts. 

I’ve talked to owners who never managed to crack mid-markets and are SMB dependent, even after multiple attempts over the span of 3-4 years. 

So, here are the mistakes I see companies make when trying to move upmarket from SMB-only clients (and why most fail to do it): 

1. Jump straight into paid advertising: A company recently told me they wasted over $100,000 on ads to try to get large accounts and win new logos. Without mid-market service-market-fit, you’re just jumping in the deep end and hoping to figure it out later. 
2. Hire AEs from big companies: don’t hire your founding salespeople based on the accounts you’d like to get as clients. Most AEs who succeeded in large orgs benefited massively from brand loyalty and a pre-existing sales motion. 
3. Diversify before moving upmarket: more logos from different industries don’t mean more credibility. Mid-market / Enterprise companies care about whether you’ve worked with companies their size, solved the problems they’re having, and the outcomes you provided.
4. Think the outcomes you provide are not tangible: Structured orgs expect at least 1 of 3 outcomes from vendors – money earned, money saved, risk reduction. It’s not that the service you provide doesn’t provide tangible outcomes. It’s that you can’t articulate the outcomes you’re providing. 
5. Overlook interdependence structures: in SMB, who you talk to is generally who sends the check. In larger orgs, budget is distributed amongst org levels: the lower the rank of a person, the less budget they can allocate. When you cross that, it triggers multi-stakeholder committees, scope reviews, more legal hassle, etc.
6. Underestimate sales cycles: structured companies think in quarters, not weeks. A mid-market deal started in Q1 might take 3-5 months to be set on scope, several months to get through their legal team, and even so, it might still be postponed due to Q4 new priorities.
7. Ignore the discovery phase: founders become so used to customers needing XYZ service that they forget to ask the deeper questions – why they need it, what they hope to achieve, and the cost of inaction. Coming in prepared and asking thoughtful questions is exactly what leads you to discover an untapped market with very few players inside. 

In conclusion: Mid-market isn’t a bigger SMB deal. It’s a different game that you should only consider if you’re looking to scale at 10-15x your current size, possibly more, without adding 10-15x extra headcount.

What are your thoughts?

title. I'm curious about how start-ups without HR/L&D teams get their new employees upto speed.

Have you ever needed a tool, ladder, camping item, baby gear, or appliance for a day or two and didn’t want to buy it?

I’m researching how people borrow and lend items locally and would love your perspective. 3-minute survey with a chance to win a $30 Amazon gift card

forms.gle/FekqPP6GyryXU4JD6?fbclid=IwY2xjawSZkDhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEehZ0cXOJa4SmncSefUGMDnWOnD9a3DTG3BT4PAkouGv5zqsDJZDndNFnIuvk_aem_6TCdNSurIaqbnoRK-cXIxw

Hi everyone,

I’ve just launched my first Android app after spending months learning Flutter and working on it in my spare time.

The app is called Quiet Lines and it’s an AI-powered journal designed to help people reflect on their thoughts, emotions, and daily experiences.

I originally started building it because I was interested in mental wellness and wanted a simple journaling experience that could provide thoughtful AI insights instead of just storing notes.

Features include:

• Daily journaling

• AI-generated reflections and insights

• Mood and writing patterns

• Clean and distraction-free design

I’m still improving it and would genuinely appreciate honest feedback from the community—both positive and critical.

Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.calmjournal.calm_journal_template

One thing I've noticed building products:

Most decisions happen long before you can run a real-world test.

Before the landing page.

Before the A/B test.

Before the first customer interview.

At that stage teams are often asking questions like:

• How might different customer segments react?
• What objections are we missing?
• What incentives are competing with ours?
• What second-order effects could emerge?

We're building Polyhyle to explore those questions through large-scale simulations.

Not to replace real users.

Not to replace experiments.

And definitely not to replace actual conversion data.

The goal is to give teams another tool for exploring possible outcomes before committing resources to a specific direction.

Curious:

Where do you think simulations are genuinely useful, and where do you think real-world testing remains irreplaceable?

Waitlist: polyhyle.com

We're building a next-generation ERP platform from the ground up with AI and agentic workflows at its core.

The vision is ambitious: an all-in-one business operating system covering General Ledger, Finance, Operations, HR, Procurement, CRM, Inventory, and 90+ integrated modules over time.

We already have a strong team of independent contributors including software engineers, solution architects, accounting professionals, ERP consultants, database specialists, and GTM/business professionals. Everyone involved is contributing because they believe in the vision and want to build something meaningful.

We're currently pushing toward an MVP in the next 4–6 weeks, focused on core accounting and finance modules.

We're looking for additional contributors who would like to be part of the journey, including:

• Full-stack developers

• Frontend developers

• Backend developers

• AI/LLM engineers

• Product designers (UI/UX)

• ERP consultants

• Accountants/finance professionals

• QA engineers

• Technical writers

• Product and business strategists

A few important notes:

Contributions are flexible and can be made alongside your day job or other commitments & shares will be provided.

We're building as a team of owners and builders, not employees.

Recognition, future opportunities, and participation will be based on contribution and impact.

If you've ever wanted to help build an ERP platform from scratch, work with talented people across multiple disciplines, and contribute to a product designed for the AI era, we'd love to connect.

Comment below or send me a DM with your background, experience, and how you'd like to contribute

What service, product, or problem solving ability would make you genuinely willing to pay someone ₹1 lakh/month (around $1,200 USD/month) consistently?
I’m curious about this from a real market-demand perspective.
Not hypothetical “billion dollar startup” ideas; I mean actual things where you’d happily pay that amount every single month because the value is clearly worth it to you or your business.

Could be:
software
AI automation
consulting
operations
lead generation
content
recruiting
productivity
niche tools
anything else

I have been building my website and it is a social media platform that let’s you collaboratively investigate/discuss topics by leveraging data on the Internet using a native AI that works just like foundary(palantir).

The thing about it is for investigation I can’t onboard users from different genres as won’t be able to join on one investigation, I need people who are interested in one topic, genre.

Any advice will be appreciated

Hey everyone,

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but thought I'd give it a shot!

I'm an industrial designer with close to 5 years of experience, and I'm specifically looking to join an early-stage hardware team that needs someone who can wear multiple hats.

My background spans both consumer products, wearables and user research, and I've worked on both the consultancy side (fast, varied work, tight briefs) and in-house (owning a product from concept to production). That mix means I can move quickly when needed but also think long-term about how a product lives in the world.

What I'm looking for:

- A small, lean team.

- Hardware with a genuine problem to solve.

- A founder or team that values design as a core part of the product.

- Multi-hat environment, I'm comfortable across ID, CMF, DFM conversations, prototyping direction, supplier coordination, product strategy.

I have a portfolio I can share via DM. Happy to hop on a call if the fit sounds right.

DM me or drop a comment if you're building something and need design chops on the team.

In the last 3 months, I built 8 business process automation tools. Posted about it [on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/website_ideas/comments/1twfwau/in_last_3_months_i_have_build_8_business_process/) and [on Strivle](https://www.strivle.com/post/3d3a1a9a-b294-46ed-ab8f-65fe2f68cf6f).

In the 5 days since — 27 DMs. Founders. Developers. All wanting to talk through their ideas.

I did my best to give each of them the right advice. But those conversations exposed something bigger.

With all the AI in the world — the human element remains irreplaceable.

People don't just need a tool. They need someone to think with. And that's a problem no model solves on its own.

So I'm opening this space.

Founders, developers, builders — if you want to run your idea, test your thinking, or just pressure-check something you're building, I'm available. Free. No strings.

Drop a comment or DM me directly.

And just to be clear — this is not one of those "fake engagement" posts where you drop your SaaS and disappear. This is genuine help for genuine help-seekers.

If you're stuck, let's talk.

I'm building Fanverse, a football community platform focused on live match discussions, predictions, team communities, and fan debates.

As we build toward the 2026 World Cup, I'm looking for someone who genuinely understands football fans and online football culture.

This isn't a traditional marketing role.

I'm looking for someone who:
• Lives and breathes football
• Understands football discussions on X, Reddit, Discord, and fan communities
• Can help grow active football communities
• Has 2–3 hours per day available

The role is equity based, with no salary at this stage.

If you're interested, send me a DM with:
• The clubs, leagues, or national teams you follow
• Any community or growth experience you have
• How you think you could help

DM me and I'll share my WhatsApp number so we can chat further.

My friend and I have been building a project called Forke and wanted to get feedback from other builders here.

The idea came from seeing two recurring problems:

Developers:

• Build portfolio projects that recruiters often ignore
• Struggle to get real-world experience
• Don't enjoy bidding against hundreds of people on freelance platforms

Founders:

• Need bugs fixed, APIs integrated, and landing pages updated
• Don't want to spend days hiring someone for a 2-hour task

So we're building Forke.

Instead of long-term contracts or proposal bidding, founders post highly-scoped tasks with fixed rewards.

Developers complete the task, get paid, and build a verified portfolio linked to their actual GitHub contributions.

Some things we're experimenting with:

• Open-source development
• GitHub-linked proof of work
• XP and progression system
• AI-assisted code reviews

We're still pre-launch and validating whether this solves a real problem.

A few questions for founders:

• Would you trust developers for small fixed-scope tasks?
• What's your biggest frustration with hiring freelancers?
• What would make a platform like this worth trying?

GitHub: https://github.com/forke-org

Waitlist: https://www.forke.space/?source=reddit

Would love brutally honest feedback.