r/founder

Here's the full idea —

You know how we all have stuff lying around — shoes we wore twice, clothes we bought but stopped using, bags collecting dust — but we don't want to just throw them away?

And at the same time, we want new things but don't always want to spend money?

That's exactly what this app solves.

Here's how it works:

You list your old item (shoes, clothes, bag, watch — anything)

You browse what others have listed near you

If you like something, you either offer a swap — your item for theirs — or buy it for cash if the seller allows it

If you can't find a direct swap, you earn Swap Credits when someone takes your item, and spend those credits to get something you actually want from someone else

Everything is local first — you see people near you — but you can switch to all of India too

No forced spending. No middleman. Just people exchanging things they don't need for things they actually want.

I'm currently researching if people would genuinely use this before building anything. So I just want to ask you honestly —

Would you use this app?

What would stop you from trusting it?

Is there anything you'd want it to do that I haven't mentioned?

Your honest opinion matters more than a yes right now.

Every time there's a game coming up, I look forward to the banter with friends. Its even better after the game. So I built something for exactly this. I have conveniently called it, Bantxr.

For every game, there's a post to which you get up to 30 seconds to record your banter. You can record any amount you want. The app puts the recordings all together so we all listen to them just like a playlist. Skip, like, reply, block etc...

If you find that fun - join me to build this out beyond the beta that I have out live right now.
Lets get this going before the World Cup this summer!

Something I keep coming back to lately:

Why does building products still feel more complex than it should be?

Not the coding itself. That has improved a lot.

But the overall process:

how things are structured

how decisions are made

how everything evolves over time

It still feels fragmented.

I’ve been exploring this more seriously recently.

Curious, where do you see the biggest friction today?

Saw a thread by Gabriel Jarrosson (@GJarrosson on X) that every first-time founder needs to read before taking a single investor meeting.

Adding my own notes because this burned people I know personally.

The pitch: "We want 20% for $900K." Sounds clean. You own 80%, they own 20%. Except that's not what happens.

Before the investment closes, they ask for a 10% employee option pool. And they want it created before they invest — which means it dilutes you, not them.

So the actual math: — You start at 100% — Create 10% pool → you're now at 90% — Investor buys 20% → you're at 72%, investor at 20%, pool at 8% You gave up 28%. Not 20%. The pool diluted you. Not them.

And this compounds every round:

— Pre-seed: 20% equity + 10% pool = 28% dilution for you — Seed: 18% equity + 10% pool = 26% dilution for you — Two rounds = 54% dilution. You're left with 46%.

By Series B, solo founders often own less than 20% of their own company.

Not just because of investors — because of option pools too.

Three things Gabriel recommends — and I'd add a fourth:

Factor pools into dilution math upfront. When an investor says "20%," the real number is 28-30% once you add the pool.

Hire slowly. Every employee grant comes from your equity. The option pool is a tax on hiring. Front-load early grants. Give meaningful equity to your first 5 employees. Once the pool runs out, investors won't let you refresh it without diluting yourself again.

(My addition) Negotiate the pool size. Most founders don't know you can push back on 10%. If your hiring plan for the next 18 months only needs 6%, negotiate 6%. Every % you save now is compounding equity you keep through every future round.

The 15-20% equity standard is a lie. The real cost is 25-30% once you add the pool.

Investors aren't paying for your employees. You are. Full credit to Gabriel Jarrosson for the original breakdown — worth following on X if you're a founder navigating fundraising.

Most founders ask me the wrong question when they want to hire in LatAm. They ask: "How much can I save?"

I've spent the last few years helping startups hire developers across Latin America. Something interesting happened that I didn't expect. The founders who got the best results weren't the ones optimizing for cost. They were optimizing for something else entirely: ownership mindset.

Here's what I mean. The developers who thrive in startups, regardless of where they're from, are the ones who think like builders, not employees. They don't wait to be told what to do. They flag problems before they become fires. They care about the product, not just the ticket.

The ones who struggled? Almost always, the issue wasn't technical skill. It was the operating model. They were used to large companies, clear specs, stable environments.

Hiring internationally doesn't fix a broken hiring process. It exposes it.

The best founders I've worked with figured this out early. They stopped interviewing for skills and started interviewing for how people think under pressure.

One question that changed everything for us: "Tell me about the last time something broke in production and you had to fix it alone. Walk me through what you did." The answer to that question tells you more about someone than any technical test.

Curious if other founders have experienced something similar, what's been the most surprising thing about hiring technical talent, wherever they're from?

Hello! We’re currently looking for AI programmers or engineers as co-founder who may be interested in joining an AI project focused on public safety and security in the Philippines.

Our team has already completed around 70–80% of the codebase and has been actively working on market research and product development since last year. We’re now gaining traction, with several interested clients ready to explore the solution.

At this point, we’re seeking a UK-based expert with strong experience in AI and system/application development to help us strengthen our technical engineering and infrastructure, and bring the project to full deployment.

If this sounds like a good fit, feel free to send a DM or leave your email in the comments so we can share more details.

Thank you!

For those of you running US-based companies: When evaluating a vendor that’s not US-based (e.g., India, Eastern Europe, etc.), what actually creates hesitation - if anything?

Is it:

•	Legal structure / incorporation

•	Contract enforceability

•	Data/security concerns

•	Payment logistics

•	Time zone / communication

•	Or just pattern recognition from past experiences?

And on the flip side - what overrides those concerns and makes you say yes anyway?

Looking for real decision criteria, not generic answers.

For context: I’m an India-based founder evaluating whether to register in the US (likely Delaware) or keep it India-based while selling to US companies.

Trying to understand if incorporation materially impacts trust / buying decisions, or if execution and value outweigh that.

Want to make your business run a bit smoother for you?

Not perfect. Not a million-dollar exit by Friday. Just… smoother.

Let's fix three things.

1. Systems should be your bestie.

A system is just a repeatable way of doing something. That's it. But here's the magic: when you have one, your business can function without you for a few hours. Or a few days. Imagine that.

You don't need fancy software. Just write down how you onboard a client, handle a refund, post a weekly update. Now someone else can do it. Your business stops living inside your head. That's when it gets smooth.

Ask yourself: if you disappeared for a week, would things fall apart or just… keep going?

2. Automate the boring, repetitive stuff.

You know those tasks you do every day that make you want to poke your eyes out? The copy-paste, the follow-up emails, the data entry? Stop doing them. A robot can do them.

Tools like Zapier, Make, or even simple calendar automations can take that off your plate. Set it up once, and it runs forever. That's not cheating. That's being smart.

Ask yourself: what have you done three times this week that you could automate by next week?

3. Delegate. You're not an island.

No man is. Neither are you.

Look at your to-do list. Circle the things that only you can do - strategy, vision and big decisions. Everything else? Hand it to someone else. Someone who's good at it.

Ask yourself: what's one thing on your plate today that you could give away?

Try these three things. Watch your business breathe a little easier.

Which one are you going to tackle first?

Hey, we’re building a small AI studio focused on helping businesses set up AI infrastructure (knowledge bases, agent systems, workflow automation) while also building our own products.

We’re looking for 1–2 developers who:

• Build with AI tools (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.)
• Have built things (weekend project counts)
• Are excited about multi-agent systems, MCP, OpenClaw-type stuff
• Want to be part of something early and growing

What we offer:

• Paid Claude Code Max subscription
• Revenue share on products we build together
• Direct pay from client contracts as they come in
• Real experience building AI systems for actual businesses
• A technical founder who actively builds alongside the team

This isn’t a traditional job. It’s joining a small, fast-moving build team. If you’re a student, early career, or just obsessed with AI and want to build real things, feel free to DM.

Hey, I am a CS student in my final year. I have been building a product which works like you email assistant and handles your Gmail/Outlook.

In the past month we have managed over 6k+ mails, 200+ drafts and 15 founders across globe use it.

It is in beta and I have around 10-15 slots left. so anyone who is interested (costs less than $10).

Looking to connect for a small chat and share access!!

Hey, I am AI developer from India, from IITs(ivy equivalent of India), I have experience of developing ml,dl models, fastapi backend, AWS deployment, CI/CD, I have built end to end product as a startup founder, and have research experience in AI. Also I have upcoming intern as a product analyst. currently looking for opportunities in AI/SDE, machine learning, or data science.

Hey everyone,

I have a marketing SaaS and a TTRPG platform.

I would like to collaborate with people for better distribution and further developing both these tools if you have the right skill set for it.

The marketing SaaS currently serves in EN, ES, DE, FR and NL.

I have proposals in mind, AND I am open to your sugggestions for collaborations.

1. For the Marketing SaaS, I'm mostly interested in commission-based partnerships. I am connected to a third-party affiliate hub (Creem) and we can create a mutually agreed upon commission scheme. (percentage from signups.)

The ideal audience are solo founders, content creators, freelance marketers, marketers in corporate and marketing agencies. (so, if you have a network of these people, you would be ideal for this).

I won't spam here with a link but feel free to DM.

2. For the TTRPG platform, same affiliate set-up.

But If you are a streamer, I can sponsor your episode and you can use my platform for your D&D session.

Also Discord servers, and in general gamer communities are ideal for this network.

Looking forward to your messages,

Hi everyone,

I’m a developer currently looking to gain more real-world experience by working on projects.

If any founders here are building something and need help with development (websites, backend systems, or scalable applications), I’d love to contribute and learn.

I’m especially interested in:

• Building scalable applications
• Improving security and performance
• Creating modern, premium websites

Even if you don’t have a role, I’d really appreciate any guidance or advice on how I can get involved in real startup projects.

Thanks in advance 🙏

Where does one go to get funding for a product? First time founder in tech saas b2b and have no idea where to start. I have 0 clients right now but am sure this product is value added.

My market is very niche but very rich.

HELP