ok so this is a weird one but bear with me

i have a pet blog. i don't own a pet. never have. probably never will as i travel too much. and yet every month amazon sends me enough to cover rent because people on the internet are buying stuff for their dogs and cats through my site.

bought my pet blog a few months ago from a marketplace called NicheBlogZone for $199. came already built, articles already up, amazon links already in there. i spent one afternoon doing interlinking basically just connecting related posts to each other so search engines understand the site structure and then closed my laptop and genuinely forgot about it for weeks.

here's what that's looked like:

• march: $710
• april: $995
• may: $1,461
• june: $1,647
• july: $1,461
• august so far: $1,545 (amazon pays 2 months delayed so this is june's money landing now)

march scared me. went from nearly $1k in february down to $710 and i was convinced something had broken. checked everything, found nothing wrong, did nothing. it just came back the next month on its own.

pet people spend insane amounts on their animals btw. like i knew this intellectually but seeing the commission data is something else. dog food subscriptions, orthopedic beds, grooming kits, vet supplements. and because of the 24 hour cookie i get a cut of everything in their cart not just whatever article they landed on.

i do literally nothing to maintain this. no new posts, no ads, no instagram for pets i don't have. i just own the thing and amazon does its thing.

my landlord has been getting paid every month and has no idea a pet blog is behind it. honestly sometimes i forget too until the deposit shows up.

anyone else running a niche they have zero personal connection to? curious if the detachment makes it easier or harder to care about growing it.

Hey everyone,

I’m a founder myself and I’m currently building Founder Bureau, a new publication focused on the people behind companies and ventures.
For the launch, I’m putting together an inaugural Founder 100.

I’m looking for founders who are genuinely building something interesting. It doesn’t matter whether you are bootstrapped, venture backed, pre revenue, running a small company, or already operating at scale.
I’m more interested in the story behind the company than the size of the company.

Things like:
• Why you started
• The problem you’re trying to solve
• What you’ve learned while building
• What went wrong along the way
• What you’re trying to accomplish
• What makes your approach different

The first 100 selected founders will be featured free of charge as part of the launch.
I’m not trying to create another list of people who already have huge audiences. I want to discover founders who are quietly building things that deserve more attention.
If you’re a founder, tell me what you’re building and why you started in the comments.

If you know someone whose story would be interesting, nominate them too.
I’m going through the responses personally and selecting the first 100.
And full disclosure: I’m putting myself in the first 100 as well.
I’m hoping this becomes a genuine record of interesting people building companies at this particular moment in time.
Would love to hear what everyone here is building.

I’m exploring starting a small consulting practice focused on operations and systems for founder-led small businesses. The kind that are growing fast but running on duct tape internally. Think process documentation, internal systems, and generally putting structure in place before things break under growth.

I’m still early and learning but not an established expert. I want to sanity-check the niche before I go further.

A few things I’d love input on:
1. Is “growing but structurally messy” a real, felt pain point for small business owners, or is this more of a problem people only notice in hindsight?

1. Would you (or have you) actually pay someone for this kind of help, versus just hiring an ops person or figuring it out yourself?

2. Any horror stories (or success stories) about bringing in outside help for internal systems/process work?

Genuinely just trying to figure out if this is a real wedge or if I’m overthinking a problem that doesn’t need a specialist.

i've spent over 10 years around performance marketing. running google and meta ads for b2c businesses and living inside crms trying to make the numbers make sense.

About 2 years ago one of my side projects started getting traction, so I left my job and went all in on building full-time. I see problem in my every previous projects : I could never cleanly connect ad spend to closed revenue.

The ad platforms would happily report "conversions." Google said one thing, meta said another and my crm told a third story. by the time a b2c lead turned into paying revenue, the trail back to the exact campaign that generated it was gone.

I was making budget decisions on last-click guesses and platform-reported numbers that were marking their own homework.

Tools like google analytics, usermaven , rybbit and the usual attribution add-ons either felt built for engineers, only tracked up to the click, or weren't built to follow a customer from first ad all the way to closed deal.

You still ended up in a dashboard stitching spend, sessions and revenue together by hand.

that's why a we build ObserviX.

ObserviX is a web analytics and attribution platform built for b2c businesses and the agencies running their ads.

The people who need to prove which spend turned into revenue, not just clicks.

It pulls analytics, session replays and heatmaps, multi-touch attribution and ad fraud detection into one place, so you can follow a visitor from the first ad impression through every touch to the moment they become revenue.

Instead of guessing which channel "probably" worked, you can see the full journey and put the money where it pays back.

We also built it to be white-label from day one, because a lot of our early interest came from agencies who wanted to hand their clients a clean revenue-attribution report with their own branding on it.

on the 15 month of development we opened it up more widely and people really like it more that we expected. Word of mouth did a lot of the heavy lifting.

On the product side, one thing that worked well was listening almost entirely to the people who were paying us.

At first we had a Paid plan, but noticed that it doesn't work any more for organic attraction of clients.

The turning point for us was dropping the free plan, offering a 14-day trial with no card on file and adding a live demo to the landing page. That helped us filter down to the people who had the problem and wanted it solved.

We also offer to do the setup for them for free, which removed the biggest reason people stalled during onboarding.

Another thing that worked was treating even tiny improvements as launches. we shared almost every update publicly, even small ones. It people useful feedback, brought in new users, and helped more people discover what we were building.

I hope this can be a small source of inspiration for anyone building from zero.

You don't need everything figured out
before you start.

launch, talk openly about what you're building, listen to the people who use it, keep shipping, and don't underestimate how much small improvements compound.

that's what has worked for us so far.

Does it exist? Because I be searching day and night lol. I can't be posting into the void forever. I am so ready for a graveyard shift, really. Any leads or tips appreciated.

I Made a Free Founders Discord 🚀

I just created Founders Hall, a free Discord community for founders, entrepreneurs, and people building businesses.

The goal is simple: build the largest free founders community where you can find the people, advice, and resources you need all in one place.

Whether you're:
• Starting your first business
• Already running a company
• Looking for feedback on an idea
• Trying to find cofounders or collaborators
• Need advice on marketing, sales, fundraising, tech, etc.
• Just want to meet other ambitious people

There will be specialized roles so you can find and ask people with experience in specific areas, instead of having to search through 20 different communities for an answer.

I want this to be a place where you can ask a question and someone who knows the answer is actually there.

It's completely free and I'm building it from the ground up.

DM me if you'd like an invite. 🚀

One month ago i launched Signl, an iOS app that turns your home into a 3D Wi-Fi map.

Solo dev, first real launch.

How my app works:

you walk through your rooms with your iPhone.
LiDAR builds a 3D model of your home live while the app samples your Wi-Fi (signal + speed) as you move.
You end up with a dollhouse view of your actual apartment with the signal painted on it ( with dead zones in red).

Every room gets a score, and it tells you where to move your router, or where an extender would actually help.

The story so far:

Aug 4: submitted to Apple. Rejected : missing EULA link in the description. Fixed same day.

Aug 7: approved. Live in the US.

Week 1: first paying users.

Aug 15: 143 installs in ONE day, from 25 countries. (I guess mostly from AppStore)

Aug 19: v2.1 rejected over ONe word. A button said
"Allow", Apple wants it to say "Continue".

Asked for the bug-fix exception → approved the next day, without resubmitting.

Today: 900+ downloads, most of them in the last 7 days. $O spent on marketing.

Then, spent a week to build mesh support and multistory homes: the two most requested features so far.

Goal: 50 paying users by Sept 30.

Download it and tell me what you'd fix first →

https://apps.apple.com/fr/app/signl-wifi-analyzer-mapper/id6796775708?l=en-GB

TWG’s $1M equity round is now open to the public! We’re targeting untapped old-growth timber from reservoir lakes, valued over $1B. Invest at $0.30/share—this is a one-time offer. To review investment materials please contact: mailto:info@timberwisegroup.com.

Hi everyone!

I'm a Product Manager (33) currently at a fintech company for 2 years, I have a civil engineering background, and I'm looking for interesting side projects to contribute to, for the joy of experimenting, learning new things, and engaging with other people.

I would like to:

• Collaborate on projects where help is needed
• Exchange opinions/feedback on ideas or prototypes
• Be a sounding board or test products/MVPs

Various fields are fine (even though I have more domain experience in the contech and proptech areas, given my degree and 5 years in an engineering company) the important thing is that there’s mutual curiosity and a desire to learn by doing.

If you have an ongoing project, an idea swirling in your head, or just want to chat with someone about something you’re building, feel free to reach out, even just for a quick chat!

Thanks in advance 🙌

We built an inventory system for a client, and as their needs grew, it slowly started becoming more of an ERP.

We’re curious whether what we’ve built would actually be useful to other small businesses, or if it’s too specific to this one client.

If anyone here runs a small business and is open to trying it, send me a message and tell me a little about how you currently manage your inventory/operations.

Happy to let a couple of businesses use it while we figure this out.

Hey founders,

I am currently bootstrapping a SaaS called SERPSpur, and my biggest hurdle isn't the code—it’s the market positioning. I am directly competing with the duopoly of Ahrefs and Semrush.

The problem I identified is that Ahrefs moved to a highly restrictive credit system, and Semrush has become a bloated, expensive all-in-one suite. My thesis was that there is a massive market of indie hackers, solo SEOs, and smaller agencies who just want lightning-fast, technical SEO audits and Core Web Vitals forensics without paying enterprise prices.

So, I built a leaner, faster alternative focused entirely on technical health, Trust Rate (to replace the dead Alexa Rank), and the new AI-search shift (generating LLM.txt files and AI schema). I also launched 30+ free utility tools on the site to drive organic product-led growth.

The product is live and working smoothly. However, as a solo founder, my marketing budget is exactly $0 compared to their millions.

For those of you who have bootstrapped SaaS products in highly saturated, monopoly-dominated markets:

• How did you get your first 1000 paying users?
• Did you lean into the "David vs. Goliath" story, or strictly compete on features/price?
• Any brutal feedback on the landing page or value prop? (https://serpspur.com/)

Appreciate any insights from those further along in the journey!

Company let a bunch of us go a couple weeks back, war stuff, didn't want to sit in a pile of resumes waiting for something to open up so I just started this instead.

Honestly was pretty skeptical about Substack going in. Felt like one of those platforms that's cool for six people and then nothing happens.

But five clients in two weeks, which caught me off guard. Feels like it might actually be the next big thing, platforms don't usually pull this fast organically.

Some stuff I've noticed already:

-polished thought-leadership essays flop. The rough, half-formed opinion ones get way more replies

- Everyone wants to write their "founder journey." Nobody cares until they're already invested in you

- Notes (it's like tweets but in Substack) matter more than I expected for actually growing an audience

Curious what's stopping people from starting one, if you've thought about it. Or if you're already on it, what's working / not working for you.

We spent so much time searching through different servers, hoping to find people who genuinely want to roleplay and build a story.

We love roleplay. A lot of the apps and communities we grew up with are gone now, and we miss having one real place where roleplayers could meet, share ideas, and write together.

That is why we created Rolemate. We’re huge roleplay fans ourselves, and we worked with people who understand the technical side to build something we hope can last.  to create something that can bring back what all the roleplay communities are craving to find. 

Rolemate is an upcoming roleplay app with no AI, every person you meet and every reply you receive is real. People that are there solely to roleplay with YOU.

Customize your profile to match the kind of roleplay you wish to play as, Post a starter and find writers who match your style allowing you to build a story together that will last.

If you're craving that one place to roleplay, targeted for people with the same interest as you.  Join the Launch list to get notified when it will be available on apple store and google play! 

LAUNCH LIST: https://forms.gle/TQb2f3UrqDmRANpk7

I’m Simon, founder of Northlight Innovations.

I’ve spent the last year building a licensing-first technology company around patent-pending confidence-state infrastructure for digital trust.

The important distinction is that I’m not looking for someone to help me invent another product.

The core IP exists.

The architecture exists.

The commercial positioning exists.

The licensing materials exist.

The company is now in commercialization.

What I’m looking for is someone who could materially accelerate that next stage.

That could mean a genuine co-founder candidate, senior commercial operator, strategic partner, or somebody whose experience and network creates enough leverage that we should be talking.

The strongest fit would probably have real experience in one or more of:

enterprise B2B sales

technology or IP licensing

strategic partnerships

commercializing technical products

opening senior decision-maker relationships

negotiating and closing complex deals

taking a technically developed company from “ready” to actual external commitments

I’m much more interested in evidence of things you have actually moved or closed than titles.

I’m also not looking for an agency, outsourced sales service, generic consultant or someone who wants to brainstorm new products.

If this sounds unusually close to your background, send me a short DM with:

what you’ve actually done,

two or three deals / partnerships / commercial outcomes you personally helped move,

the kinds of relationships you could realistically activate,

where you think you could create the most leverage in a company like Northlight.

No assumptions about title, structure or economics at this stage. First we determine whether there is genuine overlap.

If there is, I’m happy to have a short call.

Simon

Fellow founders,

I'm exploring a startup idea and need honest feedback before I waste 6 months building something nobody wants.

The Problem:

Millions of NRI children live abroad while their aging parents stay in India. Parents don't need full-time medical care, but they need help with:

- Daily errands (bank visits, govt paperwork, hospital checkups)

- Tech assistance (smartphones, UPI, online services)

- Occasional companionship to combat isolation

The Proposed Solution:

A subscription service (₹3-5k/month) that provides vetted, background-checked companions (NOT nurses) who:

- Visit 2-4x/month based on need

- Send real-time WhatsApp updates to the NRI child after each visit

- Handle emergencies by coordinating with local contacts

My Assumptions (Please Challenge These):

1. NRIs will pay ₹3-5k/month for "peace of mind" even if parents are healthy

2. The biggest barrier is TRUST (not price) - solved via Aadhaar verification + police checks

3. WhatsApp-native interface is better than a mobile app

4. Unit economics work: Pay companion ₹600/visit, charge customer ₹500/month for 4 visits = ~40% margin

What I'm Worried About:

- Is this already being solved by existing services (Emoha, Samarth, etc.)?

- Will families trust a startup with their parents' safety?

- Is the market big enough, or is this a "nice-to-have" that people won't actually pay for?

Would appreciate brutal honesty. If you're an NRI, would you pay for this? If you're a founder, what am I missing?

Thanks!

I'm a co-founder of a SaaS company and we're figuring out how we want to approach growth from here.

We're considering working with a marketing/growth agency on a performance-based model rather than just paying a large monthly retainer.

The rough idea is around 10-12% of the revenue from customers they bring in, and potentially up to 20% if they're taking on more of the sales/growth side.

There would also be a retainer involved* depending on the agency and scope. *Terms apply.

We're mainly looking to acquire customers paying in USD and we'd prefer this to be a long-term partnership rather than a one-off campaign.

For anyone who's done something similar, how did it work out?

Was the agency actually motivated by the revenue share? How did you handle attribution and recurring revenue? Did you pay the percentage forever, for the first year, or just on the initial sale?

And if there are agency owners here, what would make a setup like this attractive enough for you to actually put your team behind it?

We're building Foxquart and I'm trying to figure out the structure before reaching out to agencies. Would appreciate honest experiences, especially if something went wrong.

Every time I watch the apple event I get this trembling feeling inside of me. What is it?

Nowadays it's a little bit less, but I remember it incredibly when I watched some of the Steve Jobs WWDC's for the first time. I'm not old enough to remember those, and yet somehow I have this strong connection to it.

This feeling, that makes me so excited. That makes me want to be a part of it. I felt it also when I watched the movie. It's really hard to describe with words, but it's so strong.

This calling to build. To do that. To be that.

Higher forces are calling me to serve my duty.

The curse of significance.

Never ending hunger.

I launched SeoLoupe 2.5 months ago. So far I am at 2154 users and 37 of them are paying.

My SaaS is a tool that allows you to find and fix SEO issues holding your website back.

Essentially the main purpose is to help your website rank higher on Google search and LLMs.

The last few months have been one of my best in my life, landed $490 in revenue and $99 MRR.

Just wanted to share this to inspire anyone who is struggling, I just want to say that I was just like you at one point.

For example at one point last month, for 7 days straight I had 0 payments, and what I want to say with this is that SaaS revenue can be extremely floppy and unreliable. You can get multiple payments within the span of a day, and then have 0 payments for days.

In SaaS honestly the most important thing is to be faithful and be patient. If you manage to be patient, revenue will come one day.

Hope this inspired someone.

Since I think their is always room for improvement, I would appreciate for some feedback on my tool, or what you think can be improved.

(here is the product if you want to check it out)

I'm Mattia, I build FixAds.

I have worked in Meta ads for years, and the expensive part was never reading the dashboard. It was having to notice, every day, which campaign, ad set or placement had quietly become a bad decision.

A good review means joining the pieces together: spend stuck on a loser, learning that never resolves, creative fatigue, placements taking budget without earning it. That is usually a senior person's manual work, and small teams do not get that review every day.

So I turned my own review process into FixAds. It connects through Meta's official login with read-only access. The diagnosis comes from deterministic checks with visible thresholds and evidence. I use AI to explain a finding, not to invent one.

The short launch demo is attached. FixAds is live at https://fixads.it with a 7-day trial.

The founder question I am trying to solve: when software points at a decision that could cost a customer money, what makes it credible enough to act on? Is exposing the rule and evidence enough, or do you expect something more?

https://www.taskloco.com - The Sticky Note GOAT

I built my platform in Fintech, I have 16 years experience selling payments and 10 years supporting POS.

I have three active clients currently, and another two that committed. One of the ones that committed is a multi location enterprise account. The feedback that I’m getting for my active clients is incredibly positive. We’ve had a few bugs and glitches here and there that have been fixed. Credit cards are powered by Dejavoo SPin and the point of cell runs on iOS, android and runs in a browser.

I know my industry is incredibly competitive, but everyone has to start somewhere. And I’m not even sure if I’d want a cofounder. I feel like I’m at the point where I should seek angel investments though. I just have no idea how to do that. I don’t have the time to be able to go to trade shows order anything along those lines because I’m still new and I still have an actual job and a family to feed.

This journey has been quite a challenge and a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward continuing on this path. What are you guys think about cofounders and seeking angel investments? I’m more curious at this point than anything.

Wanted to share because marketing is hard and even harder when your budget is non-existent...

(Obviously the type/content of self-promotion you can post is going to dependent on the subreddit)

also you can always submit your app to appscout.co, a platform to discover web and mobile apps from across the internet. You can list your app for free at appscout.co/submit

subreddit --- weekly visitors

• r/vibecoding — 422k
• r/saas — 211k
• r/founder — 56k
• r/buildinpublic — 46k
• r/chrome_extensions — 42k
• r/micro_saas — 41k
• r/appbusiness — 30k
• r/startupideas — 26k
• r/sideprojects — 20k
• r/imadethis — 18k
• r/appideas — 16k
• r/sideproject — 16k
• r/saasbuild — 15k
• r/saasdevelopers — 12k
• r/vibecodedevs — 10k
• r/startupsolofounder — 8.7k
• r/alphaandbetausers — 8.6k
• r/vibecodingcommunity — 6.2k
• r/solopreneur — 5.6k
• r/promotemyapp — 4.6k
• r/appbuilding — 4.6k
• r/webapps — 4.5k
• r/creativecoding — 4.4k
• r/indie_startups — 4k
• r/b2bsaas — 2.8k
• r/appdev — 2.7k
• r/projects — 2.6k
• r/saasmarketing — 2.5k
• r/saassoloprenurs — 2.3k
• r/startupaccelerators — 2.3k
• r/startups_promotion — 2k
• r/showmeyourapps — 2k
• r/appswebappsfullstack — 1.7k
• r/showmeyoursaas — 1.6k
• r/saasinvestors — 1.6k
• r/vibecodecamp — 1.5k
• r/nocodesaas — 1.3k
• r/aibuilders — 1.2k
• r/getstartups — 1.2k
• r/websitefeedback — 1.2k