Apparel manufacturing industry. India. Many denim dye uses wastewater from nearby polluted rivers. Now you know why your denim does not feel like your old denim.

I’ve started businesses based on good ideas many times. Some of those times I’ve made money but couldn’t scale, some things failed due to no knowledge of the industry and a lack of a mentor, and some were solutions in search of problems. None of them was properly funded from the beginning. My question to those who are successfully living off the profits of their business is - did you start this business with less than 50k of seed money (no matter where it came from), and did it become profitable in less than 3 years? From where I sit, it looks incredibly difficult to achieve this.

What lifestyle do you all have in mind when pursuing entrepreneurship? Do you actually spend lots of money? If you have the life style, you desire, do you think you could afford it with a six figure 40 hour work week job?

I know software, latest tech and a little bit about business and marketing, I'm searching for a partner who full of ideas, knows marketing and business so we can start our own startup.

I am a student in Canada studying business technology at a not so prestigious school and I have recently realized how much of what I have been doing overlaps with private equity.

Quick backstory. I was 70k in debt, scraped together my last 10k, and used it to buy a failing business. I managed to turn it around and today it is valued at over 250k and bringing in cash flow ($7-9k per month). Since then my father and I have been actively looking at acquiring and flipping digital holdings like YouTube channels, SaaS products, websites, and similar online assets. At the time I did not know it but this is basically the same model as private equity just on a smaller scale.

Now I am at a crossroads. I want to learn more and specifically by interning or working in private equity. So I have options:

1. Should I try to break into private equity through the traditional route with internships and analyst roles at large firms

2. Or should I lean into my track record and try to build my own practice continuing to acquire and flip digital assets (I plan on doing this regardless but working while im young can teach me alot)

Is there a path where both can intersect where I leverage my deal experience to get in at a firm

I would love to hear from people who work in the industry. Is my non traditional background an advantage or a disadvantage if I want to enter private equity, Should I be doubling down on what I am already doing and focus on scaling it or should I attempt to pivot into the big firms even without a target school background

Any advice or perspective would mean a lot.

Not the flashy stuff everyone talks about. I mean the tool, system, or little hack that quietly saves you hours, keeps you sane, or helps you punch above your weight.

For me, it’s small custom GPTs I build for specific projects. They’re not general-purpose “do everything” bots, but lightweight helpers that take repetitive tasks off my plate: things like summarizing client notes in my style, or generating quick drafts for outreach. The time saved compounds fast.

What’s worked for others here? What’s your underrated, can’t-live-without-it tool?

I was feeling pretty lonely and isolated over the past couple of days. All of my friends were out of town. My cofounder lives halfway across the country and this whole entire week. It’s been raining.

Safe to say I was struggling. Over the past four months I’ve been working on my start up. Getting things moving in the early stages is very difficult. It’s been very long hours in the apartment only leaving for 10 to 15 minutes to get some sunlight.

I was sitting on the couch Saturday night. Out of the blue a friend called me who I hadn’t talked to in over a month. He’s also an entrepreneur just further down the road in his business.

On the call, we did the normal. How are you doing? How’s the business doing? Doing anything fun type of phone call. Out of the blue he starts talking about how he used an AI model to do a self audit and he says the self audit told him that he craves a social life and craves building quality relationships yet, he builds his life for complete isolation.

We talked about it for another hour as I expressed I had the same exact feeling. We then thought to ourselves how many other people have this feeling? It’s very clear humans are social beings.

My question to you is. Is the design for isolation an entrepreneurial thing or a societal shift that has happened over the past five years?

If it’s an entrepreneurial thing, why do we design our lives for isolation? Is it for productivity and if so, how come we always preach network is so important and barely network.

P.S. - I believe the value of community will skyrocket in the future.

Recently, a friend wrapped the launch of her B2B SaaS after months of building.

Their launch post went viral with millions of views across LinkedIn, Twitter, and other platforms, and they also ended up in the top 3 on Product Hunt.

I used to think “launch” = just ship it and post on Product Hunt. I was wrong.

Here’s what actually moved the needle for them:

1. Start telling the story weeks before. You don’t need to “build in public” feature by feature, what worked best was sharing the big story early, giving people a reason to care before launch day.
2. Have one high-quality piece of launch content. For them, it was a 90-second video (produced with Represent Studio) alongside clean screenshots and a polished Webflow landing page. It became their best performing piece of content.
3. Line up distribution in advance.
   • Get friends, colleagues, and even former classmates ready to upvote/share on Product Hunt.
   • Reach out to people who’ve retweeted similar launches (tools like Apify can help scrape lists). A simple “Hey, you liked X, here’s something you’ll love” works.
   • Lock in newsletter mentions and community shoutouts before launch.
4. Activate hard on launch day. Think of it less like broadcasting and more like direct outreach at scale. Momentum comes from dozens of small pushes, not one big push.
5. Measure and adjust in real time. Tools like Posthog helped track where traffic came from and where onboarding was dropping off, so they could make changes in the first 48 hours, not weeks later.

I’d love to hear from other founders, what’s your #1 launch tip that made the difference?

Hi I'm looking for digital entreprneurs for something( will not share what because I don't want it to seems like I am advertising)
pls give me Idea how do I find those people and where do I find those who want to share their story

This year, I had a life-changing stroke of genius - or at least, it felt like it. I was inspired to follow some research I had been doing for fun, and realized that the overlooked and discarded components I had access to could make something special in the skincare realm. Even better, it's a niche with a single competitor honing in on part of the niche I'm building on, and their prices are more than my own.

One niche (controversial at first glance) ingredient, focusing on allergen-friendly ingredients, affordability, and education are the cornerstones I am building on right now. As we grow, I plan to work with my city's international connections to source exotic featured ingredients to highlight each place, and plant seeds for an international market.

Setting up a website, Tiktok shop, Etsy, Square - I did it all, only to learn that I need $400 now to file with the FDA to list the ingredients, before I am permitted to sell any 'cosmetics' online. Right now I'm very limited to my own free time and in-person interactions, and have yet to make a single sale.

Any advice for discouraged, halfway-there beginners?

I'm using this time to do more research, applying for loans/grants, and offering samples to friends/coworkers for testimonials. I'm keeping the passion going, even though I'm fighting the feeling of inadequacy constantly.

There's a training class I'm dying to start, 8 months part-time, that would enable me to perform additional services AND work abroad.

The big catch is...always, always, always, money. I'm making the least I've ever made and have next to nothing I can invest, rather than my time and energy. I refuse to let $400 be the obstacle I can't cross after I've put in so much work, and am debating pulling a couple thousand from my 401k to pay the fee and upgrade equipment.

I need some advice if you time around staying motivated and grateful for doing business. Right now - having a bit of hard time with potential loss of clients + trying to consistently do sales. At end of the day I chose this life and I knew I’d love it but it’s been hard.

Are there any good tips to stay positive and have a good mindset?

It’s not that I’ll give up, but just want to continue staying positive even when it’s tough

Quick reality check for fellow entrepreneurs:

That positioning framework you downloaded? It's not going to save you if you're treating it like a checklist.

I've seen too many startups burn weeks on positioning exercises that produce statements like "We're the easy, fast platform for modern businesses."

Here's what separates winners from wannabes:

Winner approach:

1. Pick ANY framework (they all work)
2. Do the hard work: systematic customer interviews, competitive analysis, message testing
3. Adapt language to your specific industry/audience
4. Test and refine relentlessly

Real example: Instead of "fast, easy platform" → "The only platform that combines enterprise-grade security with instant setup, built for regulated industries."

In one of my last startupds, we saw 200% better conversion rates just from getting specific.

Bottom line: Your positioning isn't limited by which framework you choose. It's limited by how systematically you execute.

Stop looking for the "perfect" framework. Start executing better.

What positioning mistakes have you made? Let's learn from each other.

I am a coder and an entrepreneur and I have multiple side projects that all require several subscriptions e.g. email sending, chat, content generation, automations etc... they start to add up really quick. Since I am a coder, I started replacing these tools by just using AI to build a simplified version. For example I didn't want to pay 50 bucks for intercom to get basic chat functionality (fine for one project but you need it on 8 different projects, it adds up), so I used AI to build a simple chat/support module that I just add to all my projects.

I replaced resend for email sending, I replaced a lot of the gen-ai tools with custom tools to generate marketing content, imagery, etc.

Is anyone else doing that?

My next replacement is zapier. I am not going to replace all of zapier obviously (that will take too much time), but I have 5 zaps that require a paid subscription, so i plan to just automate those 5 zaps so i can cancel my subscription.

PS: I am also open sourcing many of these tools, it turns out open sourcing stuff is a great leadgen for your hosted/paid versions.

Hey everyone,

I'm developing a business plan and would love some outside perspective on what I'm calling my "integrated business model." It's a three-part venture operating from a single, small office space in India. I've tried to think of all the potential points of failure, but I know there are blind spots.

Here's the plan:

1. Cyber Cafe: The physical space will operate as a standard cyber cafe during specific hours (e.g., 9 am to 5 pm). This will cover the base rent and utilities.
2. Coding/IT Coaching: After cyber cafe hours, the same space and rented laptops will be used for a coaching business. I'll start by offering free classes to underprivileged students as a CSR initiative to build a portfolio. Once successful, I'll transition to a paid model, creating a new revenue stream.
3. SaaS Business: The "homework" for my students will be real projects based on government tenders. I will build the software to be scalable and consumer-friendly, so if the government doesn't buy it, I can still sell it as a solution to a wider market. The students' work becomes my business's portfolio.

I've already identified and thought through a few major risks, and here are my planned mitigations:

• Conflict of Use: I'll have separate, scheduled timings for the cyber cafe and coaching.
• Infrastructure Failure (power, internet): I plan to invest in a backup inverter/generator and use two different ISPs to ensure uptime.
• Student Attrition/Founder Burnout: If students drop out, I'll complete the project myself and then hire a monthly intern to assist with any pending work.

My main question to the community is: What are the biggest points of failure or hidden risks I haven't considered?

Specifically, I'm concerned about:

• Are the costs of my mitigations (backup power, dual ISPs) going to kill my profit margins in the early days?
• Am I oversimplifying the market by assuming government-tender products will be a good fit for consumers?
• Is my plan for handling student attrition actually a viable solution, or will it lead to major project delays and unexpected costs?
• Is the risk of founder burnout from managing three ventures simultaneously something I'm underestimating?

I appreciate any and all constructive criticism. Thanks for reading!

I’ve been learning social media marketing, and really focusing on content creation and video editing. It’s what interests me more, I would love to expand and get good at SEO to diversify, but that’s for another topic for another time thats not going to come for a good while. My main question is: since I’ve been learning these skills and I’m starting to feel pretty comfortable, when should I take my skills to the marketplace on platforms like upwork and Fiverr and etc.? I know the importance of just starting, get that experience and just start. But I also don’t want to prematurely get into the waters to drown.

In the beginning I am more than willing to do some things for free or for cheap, just to build that experience and portfolio to then justify my prices for my future thereafter clients.

Hi,
I wanted to know who do you improve your marketing skill. I speak about people that have really no skill in this.

I'm a developer and an introvert, I got them all I think 😂
I have started to actually try to build something on my own.
And the first thing to do before anything is GET SOMEONE interest in your things.

So... where, who, do you learn who to attract people. Make them interest. Be more comfortable and know what is a good conversation vs a bad.

I have already read book like the mom test, 100M$ Leads... and this help. I also re-open them every time to search for what to do.

Thanks, have a good day.

I’ve started businesses based on good ideas many times. Some of those times I’ve made money but couldn’t scale, some things failed due to no knowledge of the industry and lack of mentor, and some were solutions in search of problems. None of them were properly funded from the beginning. My question to those that are successfully and living off profits of their business is - did you start this business with less than 50k of seed money (no matter where it came from) and did it become profitable in less than 3 years? From where I sit, it looks incredibly difficult to achieve this.

A lot of people get surprised when they find out how much an LLC actually costs. Here’s the breakdown so you know what you’re really paying for.

State Filing Fees
Every state charges a fee to register an LLC. It can be as low as 40 dollars in Kentucky or as high as 500 dollars in Massachusetts. Most states are in the 100 to 300 dollar range.

Service Fees
If you don’t want to file directly with the state, you can use a company that guides you through it. Common options are LegalZoom, Genie LLC, and Tailor Brands. They all add a service fee on top of the state filing fee.

Upsells and Traps
Many services advertise a “0 dollar LLC” but then hit you with 200 to 400 dollars in add-ons. Things like registered agents, operating agreements, or EINs often get sold separately. Some are optional, others are required to actually run your business.

So What Do You Actually Pay
Filing directly with the state means you only pay the state fee. Using a service means the state fee plus a service fee, usually somewhere between 49 and 300 dollars. If you don’t watch out for upsells, your “cheap” LLC can suddenly cost 500 dollars or more.

Bottom line
Know your state’s filing fee, decide if you want to file yourself or pay a service, and avoid unnecessary upsells. That’s the real cost of forming an LLC in the US.

For people who run a service based business and manage client communication + internal communications, do you typically have notification anxiety when you are winding down & waking up? It comes & goes for me but I am wondering how you guys tackle this? I used to stop using my phone right as I wake up but I slip into that habit again subconsciously at times.

Or should I just get a separate phone for work?

What are the lessons you learned down the line?

I am planning to launch my mental health app( an AI Therapy app with AI bot personas), and I need advice on how I should launch it. I have started with social accounts and talking about features, anonymous surveys, and got 200+ waitlist as well, but launching on social is hard. I am planning to go on Product Hunt directly. Need advice on what implementations I should take into account before the official launch?

Hey!

I'm thinking of removing free tier from my SaaS and switching to a free trial model instead. My hesitation is that there are other products in my space offering permanent free tiers.

Has anyone here gone through this transition? What was the impact on signups, conversions, or churn? Would love to hear your experiences.

Have a great vision, 2 person team, possible funding & the sales experience to get to break even.

Lack someone who is deeply passionate about bigger things than technology, stuff like equality. The vision is big, really worth working a couple of year for (not going to ignore revenue either). We lack someone experienced with fine tuning on the team, as we had errors the first time.

For the people who think it's not professional to ask for someone on the far political left for a startup, that it's not professional or not legal:
Startups are very different from you "Career" idiots, a startup is not even a company in the first years (literally). What makes or breaks the startup is the vision and energy of the founder especially in the early stages, paypal pre 2005 actually hired for people who believe in disrupting the exiting banking system, wouldn't even hire 1 person on the team who with less than full commitment to that vision. The fact you think its not professional proves to us with experience that you never did a startup in your life.

We launch in eleven days. Before talking about features, me and my team set one goal. Talk to real people and earn a small yes.

What worked for us

Short social videos with a clear call to action at the end brought steady interest. Real help on Indie Hackers first, then a kind invite to join the waitlist. Honest posts on Reddit where we show the problem, the action, and the result, then ask for thoughts.

What did not work

Discord invites did not move the needle. Targeted ads did not land for us before launch. We will try ads again once we go live, with clearer intent and fresh creatives.

Early signs

The waitlist grows a little every day. In the last thirty days, about 1,500 people joined, which means there are only 350 spots left. People reply, ask questions, and request the next demo. That is enough signal for us to keep going.

One ask

If you have one tip for the last eleven days, I would love to hear it.

I’m currently on my second product launch, and my first attempt at marketing didn’t go the way I hoped. It wasn’t a total failure, but it taught me some lessons I’m applying this time around.

From my first launch, I learned that running ads before validating the product is a mistake. It’s tempting to think ads will solve traction, but without product-market fit, they just burn cash.

The second lesson was that relying only on word-of-mouth isn’t enough. Early users talked, but growth stalled fast. Now, I’m balancing organic channels with small, targeted experiments instead of going all-in on one approach.

I’d love to hear from others, what’s been your biggest marketing mistake, and how do you approach marketing effectively without overspending or overcomplicating?