I was an early swe at a startup that is now growing fast. The CEO is very established in our field and managed to get us enough funding to expand, but I feel uneasy with how this is happening.

The early employees were all fresh grads from top colleges, I guess because we don’t need sleep and can build an MVP of just about anything given enough caffeine. We’ve done really well but now the hiring strategy is changing. The focus is now on bringing in people with 10+ years of experience in each little section of our project. Basically every new hire is significantly more senior than the original team, and rather than supporting or leading, they are just given our work to take over and we have to go find something else to do. The reasoning is that they “don’t have time to teach, we need to execute.” Sometimes we pitch new features / functionalities and the response is “don’t start that, we’ll hire someone who has done that before”. In many cases we have not been able to find such a person and so the work has been left undone for months.

I guess the feeling is that if we’re just going to hire more experienced people for everything, then what is the point of us grads in the company? Is this normal? Are we going to get fired?

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. 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. A simple “Hey, you liked X, here’s something you’ll love” works.
   • Lock in newsletter mentions and community shoutouts before launch.
3. Have one high-quality piece of launch content. For them, it was a 90-second video alongside clean screenshots and a polished landing page. It became their best performing piece of content.
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. Analytics tools 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?

Has anyone used crowdfunding rather than VC to launch? My users would have access and interest in investing and I wondered if this would be a good way to secure funding for growth as well as gain loyalty and accounts at the same time. Our product is not new to the market as an idea, but up and coming. Several competitors have received VC so there is interest from users as well as investors. One of the founders thought this would be a unique and smart way to lunch and I wanted to run it by this community to get outside thoughts and opinions. We would use a CF platform and LLC to host so it only looks like one investor

Edit: I’m talking about an equity crowdfunding portal. I would do some marketing with teasers and get registrations to see what early interest would look like. This is invite only to pitch meetings with minimum investment of $5-8K. Some investors will be bringing $25-50K and it’s possible I’ll get an angel at higher amounts as well.

Hey,

Many parts for a hardware prototype can be created using 3D printing. But for parts that are subjected to mechanical stress 3D printing isn't good enough.

Has anyone here had plastic parts injection molded for a prototype? How much did you spend on it (not just the injection mold, but all costs)? I've read about cheap 3D printed molds. Has anyone experience with these regarding the quality of the molded part and the cost?

Thanks!

Hello everyone. I have a question, what would you do if you knew with absolute certainty, that your invention/innovation would disrupt other businesses and possibly put them out-of-business (whilst simultaneously drastically improving the lives of their customers)?

I’ve been wrangling with this because I’ve seen close family members businesses (even my own) fail and it brings me no pleasure inflicting this pain onto others.

Would love your thoughts.

Hello, hello!

Looking for anyone who may have been here before!

My co-founder and I are building something bootstrapped, still pre-launch, MVP in testing. One of us is working full time, the other is focused on this full time. We’ve got about $93K cash left. I’d probably need technical support in the near term.

We recently had a call with someone who runs a well-connected retail & tech community. After one hour-long conversation (and a quick test of the product), she sent over a proposal to become a strategic advisor: $5K upfront, $2.5K/week for 10 weeks, plus 20% commission on any deals she’s “aligned to.”

I’ve worked in early-stage startups before and seen what happens when founders overextend too early. My gut says this is way off for our stage, but my co-founder is more relationship-driven and sees some value in staying connected.

Curious how others have handled this kind of situation. Have you had advisors approach this early with big retainers? How do you say no clearly without burning bridges? I barely know her.

Edit: Thanks for all the feedback! I wasn’t considering spending that kind of money. It seemed pretty outrageous when we still have just an MVP with some validation and testing, 0 revenue. My partner was like maybe we have to spend money to make money, but not like this. I couldn’t imagine explaining to an investor signing away 20% of POC or ARR up front. Or spending that kind of money. I’d need a dev before anything else to make it more production ready for an actual company to use.

Hi all,

I develop apps, but I realised there is not much point in developing cool apps no matter how cool and useful they are if you do not know how to get it out to people and main key is basically marketing and skill of getting it out to people which most developers lack or have no funds to delegate it to other teams/people.

For me, I'm currently stuck at 1200 users, which is still amazing to have this number (got lucky at the launch 3 years ago somehow managed to get 500 users in just few days), not so lucky with my other cool app which after huge update gained maybe 40 users :|

I tried :

• Product hunt - Not really amazing, just 12 upvotes
• Reddit posts -- Ok, barely getting any traction max maybe 12 upvotes on posts etc.
• Reddit commenting under relevant posts (Like when users ask for some cool apps, and I get chance to tell them about mine i usually get about 5-10 upvotes which is always good, any number helps)
• Instagram reels and tiktoks - waste of time for me, I spend hours on reels and barely getting 5 views
• Apple ads, of course working if you pay (but you can get 100$ free coupon from them) that helps

I think best would be to make the 1200 users share it with friends, but I have no idea how to do this.

TDLR : What are your methods to promote your apps, what have you tried that worked and what was waste of time for you ?

Hi guys, this is more of a general question but me and my friends are all new to this and I'd like to hear from people who went thru similar situation.

3 of us started a company together, we're friends. CEO had the idea, who then approached the friend who was appointed as COO and they approached me to be the CTO and build up the app. I did build the app, and we decided to discuss the equity distribution once we've worked a bit and seen how much we contribute.

Now, we had the discussion last night. The results were: CEO 40%, CTO 30% and COO 30%. We're starting with $5000 initial investment where I don't pay anything, CEO pays $2750 and COO pays $2250. I was happy with the distribution, somewhat, but then again,

1. I built the entire app. It'd probably cost them more than $5000 to make the MVP of an food tech app similar to (for the argument's sake, uber eats)
2. The CEO did have the idea, so I don't mind the CEO getting bigger share of the pie.. but the COO isn't contributing much yet.. I feel like 30% for me might not be fair compared to him getting 30% as well considering the effort we put in to this date. But COO will have a lot on his plate when work starts. But that's still a huge risk considering it's in the future. The COO brings political backings and connections in the country, which we'll need to survive in the political situation of the country we're in, but still, I'm making the app.
3. CEO 40% and COO 30% will give them outright majority in decision making. Which as friends doesn't seem as bad but this could someday turn into a lucrative business and bite me in the bottom.

So, do you think the 40-30-30 split is fair? Should I push for more? Am i overthinking this about the COO getting more than what he should as of now? COO is my best friend.. or you could say one of my closest friends.. but business is till business

Cause I do own the IP, I'm the only one with access to the codebase and $5K isn't a big deal for me.. so I won't lose anything if I back out of the team with my IP.. I basically hold all the leverage. But I don't want to be an asshole.. I want to be practical and fair to me and my friends. Please suggest what I should do~

(I will not promote)

Guys, I need your opinion: Would you blow $10-$20 on a custom domain in the beginning, when you only have a landing page, or would you stick to the free one in vercel for example? Because of your startup falls or you lose interest you would lose those $10-$20 Whats your opinion?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently building an AI tool and I’ve hit a wall with pricing. I know pricing can make or break adoption, but honestly I feel stuck and not sure which direction to take.

Here’s the situation:

• The product: It’s an AI tool where usage depends on tokens (similar to how most LLM APIs work).
• My idea: I was thinking of going with a pay-as-you-go model. For example, charge X dollars for 1M tokens, and if someone wants 2–3M tokens, the price doubles/triples accordingly.
• The confusion: I’m not sure if this is the best approach for early users. Should I instead go with subscriptions (like $20/month for Y tokens)? Or a hybrid model (base subscription + pay-as-you-go overages)?

I want to keep things simple for users while also making sure the model is sustainable. Right now, I’m torn between what’s fair, scalable, and attractive enough for people to try without friction.

If anyone here has experience pricing SaaS tools, API-based products, or AI apps, I’d really appreciate your thoughts. What has worked for you or what have you seen done well?

Thanks in advance!

I'm looking for a startup in the AI space that I can promote in my weekly pub. Just need your backstory and a few more details. Email [news@noahonai.com](mailto:news@noahonai.com) if you're interested. Will go out to 75+ subscribers (which includes a few VC contacts) on Tuesday. No cost or anything, just want to highlight a startup doing cool things!

Please include:

• Company Logo or Website Link
• Backstory
• One Liner // Value Prop

I've been working with an industrial designer who has been very helpful in getting our cosmetic prototypes designed and made. He's even helped source a supplier when our original supplier turned out to be not up to the task. He's very knowledgeable and willing to put in the time needed to make things happen. I would love to formally bring him onboard to lead the industrial design moving forward. However, there are a few things holding me back

1. His function isn't the most critical piece at the moment. We've taken the industrial design as far as we can at the moment. The vast majority of the remaining work will be on the electrical and software engineering side
2. He may not be in it for the long(ish) term. The only reason he has been able to help me so far is because he was laid off earlier this year and had some time to kill as he looks for his next opportunity. He also has a family he has to take care of so finding another role is a necessity. While that's not necessarily a deal-breaker, it does make me wonder if he would be able to continue contributing as much as he's had given his responsibilities as a family man
3. While he's very knowledgeable on the CMF side of things, his "artistic" side leaves a bit to be desired. While this isn't a huge deal, it does affect my opinion on his competency long-term just a little bit.

As additional context, we are currently in the angel/f&f stage. Given all that, how much equity should I consider offering him at this stage?

Hey founders, I’d love your advice.

I just launched a new startup and we’re getting some traffic, but no conversions yet. I’m brainstorming ways to incentivize early adoption and was considering two options:

1. Affiliate program: letting influencers/partners earn 20% commission per sale.
2. Limited-time promo: e.g. “first 50 users get reports at 50% off” or some early-adopter perk.

My question is:
– From your experience, would either of these actually move the needle at this early stage, or would it come across as gimmicky/desperate?
– Which one feels more credible for a brand-new product?
– Any pitfalls I should avoid?

I want to experiment without cheapening the product, so curious how you’d approach it.

Hi all, I’ve been thinking starting a business as a side hustle for a while now, and I’ve been working on the idea for a year and a half.

The startup is in technology and plasma engineering, so doing it at home is not an option.

Currently, I need a relatively small space, but I’m thinking that if it works out, I may need to build a larger structure in the future. My budget is limited, so I’m not sure what the best approach is.

I’m also not sure how I would take until I have done something sensible.

What is your advice please.

Thanks in advance.

Folks, we’re about to relaunch our news app and I’m trying to work out the best way to generate momentum without a budget.

Seems there are three choices:

1. Waitlists
2. Invite codes
3. Just opening it up

We’ve been in closed beta for a while with an invite-code system.

We’ve given testers a free invite codes and encouraged invites by using invites to unlock channels of content (kinda like Dropbox did when it started)…

So I’m keen to stick with that and try and grow it through invites … but it feels like a bit of a throttle?

Waitlists don’t work in my experience (the conversion rates suck) …

… but is it a bad idea not to just let anyone sign up?

Would love to know of anyone has mileage on this kinda thing??

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 noticed something interesting about male startup founders. They often seem to fit a specific mold: lean muscular build, regular gym habits, heavy coffee drinkers, driving expensive cars, reading books, good-looking, living in sleek apartments, and having a dominant personality. Is this just a stereotype, or is there something real behind it? Why do so many male founders share these traits? I’m not a startup founder myself, but I look up to successful people and associate these traits with success or likability. I live in an apartment with a roommate, drink maybe one coffee a day, and don’t have a commanding presence. It makes me wonder if I’m missing something to come across as successful or make a good impression. What do you think? What’s driving this pattern, and does it even matter?