u/CaptainNo3491

I work a Walmart deli job. I built a SaaS. Here's what that actually looks like.

SocialMate is a social media scheduler and creator OS.

What competitors charge $99/month for, we do for $5 or free.

8 weeks of solo building later, here's the honest breakdown:

What I shipped:

- Multi-platform scheduling (Bluesky, Mastodon, Discord, Telegram, X/Twitter)

- AI content system that learns your writing voice

- 8 automated agents (newsletter, inbox, repurpose, trend scout, and more)

- Creator monetization - tip jar + fan subscriptions, 0% cut

- Analytics, link in bio, competitor tracking

- Android app in Google Play closed testing

What I'd do differently:

Ship less, talk to users sooner. I built 40+ features before asking anyone what they actually needed. Classic mistake. The real question is: what's the one workflow that gives a new user a win in 24 hours?
For SocialMate it's probably "connect your accounts, schedule a week of posts, done."

Everything else is noise until that clicks.

Where I'm stuck:

Google Play requires 12 testers opted in for 14 consecutive days to unlock production publishing.

Currently at 0. Getting 12 humans to opt into a closed test is genuinely harder than building

the app. Nobody warns you about this part.

What I'm asking:

If you're a fellow SaaS builder, creator, or anyone

who posts on social media - I'd love two things:

1. Feedback on the product or the approach

2. If you want to be one of the 12 Android testers, lmk

Built with Next.js, Supabase, Inngest, Gemini, Stripe, and Vercel. 100% vibe coded. 100% bootstrapped.

Happy to answer anything about the build.

Quick context: I'm Joshua. I work a Walmart deli job + part-time HR assist for a construction company. I build SocialMate nights and weekends.

No funding, no cofounder, no safety net.

Six weeks ago I soft launched. Here's what building in public actually looked like:

What I shipped:

- Multi-platform social scheduler (Bluesky, Mastodon, Discord, Telegram, X/Twitter)

- AI content system (SOMA) that learns your voice and generates weeks of posts

- 8 automated agents: newsletter, repurpose, inbox, trend scout, and more

- Creator monetization: tip jar + fan subscriptions, 0% cut

- Android app wrapped with Capacitor

- 4 free long-form guides for builders starting from nothing

What I got wrong:

I shipped way too much before talking to users. Classic trap. Someone in my last post put it perfectly - pick 1-2 workflows that give someone a win in 24 hours and "bury" the rest until they've done that once.

For SocialMate that's probably: connect your accounts, schedule a week of posts in 10 minutes, done. Everything else is secondary.

Where I'm stuck right now:

Android app is in Google Play closed testing. Google requires 12 testers opted in for 14 consecutive days before you can apply for production. I'm at 0.

Lesson I didn't expect: getting 12 humans to opt in to a closed test is genuinely harder than building the app. Nobody tells you this part.

If you're a creator, social media manager, or just someone who posts online and wants to try a real tool while helping a solo founder clear a bureaucratic hurdle - I'd appreciate it.

What's next:

Once Play Store is live, I'm focusing hard on that one 24-hour win workflow before I touch anything else.

Happy to answer questions about the stack, the build process, or anything else. This community helped me think through some of this - figured I'd share back.

Stack if you're curious: Next.js 15, Supabase, Inngest, Google Gemini, Stripe, Vercel. 100% vibe coded.

This is a progress post. No pitch. Just where things are.

Background: I'm Joshua. I work at Walmart deli full-time while building SocialMate nights and weekends. No team. No funding. No CS degree. Just Claude Code, Supabase, Vercel, and a lot of late nights.

SocialMate is a multi-platform social media scheduler + AI Creator OS. It's live at socialmate.studio. Soft launched March 26. Official Product Hunt launch April 1.

Here's what I've shipped in roughly 7-8 weeks:

- Multi-platform scheduling (Bluesky, Mastodon, Discord, Telegram, X/Twitter)

- SOMA - AI content autopilot that learns your brand voice and generates a full week of posts from a master doc. Runs on a cron. No babysitting.

- 8 autonomous AI agents (newsletter, trend scout, inbox responder, client reports, repurpose, caption, growth scout, inbox agent)

- Creator Monetization Hub - tip jar + fan subscriptions, Stripe Connect, zero platform cut

- Enki - AI trading bot with paper/live trading, doctrine engine, leaderboard

- Studio Stax, Link in Bio, A/B testing, evergreen recycling, thread builder, social inbox, analytics - the list is embarrassing at this point

The Android app just passed Google identity verification and is in closed testing on Google Play.

Here's my actual blocker right now: I need 12 people to opt into the closed test and I need to run it for 14 days before Google lets me apply for production. I'm at 0 opted in.

If you're building in public and want to kick the tires on a social scheduling tool, I'd genuinely appreciate it. It's free to test. The app is a Capacitor wrapper around the web app so it's stable.

What I've learned building this way:

1. Ship ugly, fix in prod. Everything I worried about polishing first was wrong.

2. AI coding tools don't replace judgment — they amplify it. You still have to know what you're building.

3. Bootstrapped + solo means every feature needs a cost model. Infrastructure sustainability first, features second.

4. Building in public is the only marketing strategy that doesn't require a budget.

If you're building something, drop it below. I'll engage for real - not just a like.

Launched SocialMate on Product Hunt April 1st. Here's the honest 30-day recap.

Numbers:

- 437 unique visitors

- 2,474 page views

- 62% bounce rate

- Traffic sources: Reddit, X, Bing organic, Google organic - no paid ads

- SocialMate started as a social media management tool; into a Creator OS

What I shipped in 30 days (solo, nights/weekends):

- 8 AI agents (newsletter, inbox replies, trend scout, caption generator, repurpose, client reports, growth scout, email outreach)

- SOMA - paste a brain dump, get a full week of scheduled social content

- Enki - AI trading bot with quant logic (ADX, Kelly sizing, trailing stops)

- Studio Stax - curated creator services marketplace

- Creator monetization hub (tip jar + fan subscriptions, 0% platform cut)

- TikTok Studio — upload, trim, filter, caption, schedule (API approval pending)

- Link in Bio, content DNA, smart queue, thread builder, recurring posts, A/B testing...

What's next/to come:

LinkedIn API, TikTok Production approval, Google Play Store submission.

Still working the deli. Still building. Month 2 started yesterday.

Happy to answer anything - what I used, what broke, what I'd do differently. Still building. Still learning.

I run a content site covering creators, indie builders, and online tools. Launched one month ago, pulling 466 visitors and 2,850 page views in the last 30 days - up 340% month over month. Organic traffic from Google, Bing, Reddit, and Twitter. 55% US audience.

Content is editorial and manually curated. No casino, no crypto, no CBD, no AI content farms.

Backlink type on offer: contextual link insertion within a dedicated editorial feature page. Each page is written around a single creator, product, or project - your link lives inside the body content of that page, not a list, not a footer, not a sidebar. 9 spots remaining (1/10 filled). Permanent placement.

What I'm looking for: contextual link insertion within relevant content on your site. Has to be within the body of a real page, not a links page or footer.

Niche: creator economy, SaaS, productivity, tools, online business. Country: US-based preferred, open to others.

Drop your niche and site description in the comments.

Compensation: Sweat Equity Only - no salary, ~10% equity in SocialMate
Status: Startup Ready - live product, real users, specific gap to fill

Not here to pitch an idea.

SocialMate is live at socialmate.studio. It has users. It ships constantly. Here's what I built and deployed in the last 5 weeks alone:

1. SOMA - AI content autopilot that learns your brand voice, ingests a master doc, and generates a full week of platform-native content. Safe mode, Autopilot, Full Send. It runs itself.
2. 8 autonomous AI agents - newsletter writer, trend scout, inbox responder, client report builder, caption agent, repurpose agent, growth scout, and more. All cron-driven, no babysitting needed.
3. Creator Monetization Hub - tip jar + fan subscriptions via Stripe Connect. Zero platform cut. Your money stays yours.
4. Multi-platform scheduling - Bluesky, Mastodon, Discord, Telegram, X/Twitter all live. LinkedIn + TikTok API in review.
5. Studio Stax, Link in Bio, social inbox, A/B testing, evergreen recycling, analytics, clips scheduler, thread builder, hashtag AI, and more.

The product builds itself. That's not the gap.

The gap is user acquisition. I use SocialMate to post across platforms. I make fliers and put them up around my area. That's what I've got right now. It's not enough.

What I need:

Someone who gets eyeballs on things. Not someone who's going to explain growth to me. Someone who has actually grown a page, a product, a community, an audience - and knows how to do it again.

You should:

a. Have a real track record of growing something - anything
b. Execute, not strategize
c. Want ownership, not instructions

What you get:

• ~10% equity in SocialMate
• If we build something real together, equity in the other products (Enki, RenewalMate, LifeMate) is on the table - we can talk when you've earned it
• No salary. Long-term play.

Geography doesn't matter. Background doesn't matter. Execution does.

If you're trying to make quick money, skip it.

If you want to own a real piece of a live product that's still early - tell me what you've grown and how you'd attack this.