r/indiebiz

I started my 3rd saas about 5 months ago and we hit 100 users in less than 30 days of actually marketing it.

tried a lot of different things before figuring out what worked.

tried meta ads early on. burned through budget fast with no real data to optimize against, you need way more runway than most early stage founders have to make it work.

spent about 3 weeks on X. unless you already have an audience it just takes too long to build from scratch. not worth it at this stage.

The channel that changed everything for us: linkedin

i know a lot of you guys hate on linkedin but honestly it's one of the best acquisition channels out there right now, especially for b2b saas.

the type of content that worked best for us was lead magnets.

posts where you ask people to comment a specific keyword and they receive a value document in return. a guide, a framework, a breakdown, whatever is genuinely useful for your audience.

no product pitch, just value.

people love free useful stuff so the engagement is insane. comments go crazy, algorithm pushes it to way more people, and a chunk of them end up checking out your product on their own.

BUT...

content alone wasn't enough to hit 100 in under 30 days.

what got us there was reaching out to everyone who commented. they already engaged with your content so they're not cold at all.

at first we were doing it manually. the personalization was good but it was taking way too long.

you have to research each person, write something specific, it just doesn't scale when you're a team of two.

so we started looking at options. tested a few things like lemlist and waalaxy but wasn't a big fan of sending generic messages using sequences so we tried a few AI tools like kakiyo and as a small team that was the thing that made it actually doable. ig there are a few other tools doing similar things now but that's the one we tried and it worked for us.

ads are a trap at this stage.

content, especially on linkedin is free and it compounds.

outreach to people who already engaged converts way better than anything cold.

still the main channel we use today. went from 0 to 250 customers in less than 60 days and still growing

We soft launch products to test waters. Why not do the same with a distribution channel? Instead of a big 'launch post,' I'm thinking of a 4-week soft launch for my Reddit presence. Week 1: Comment only in 3 target communities. Week 2: Share a small, helpful resource I made (no product link). Week 3: Post a genuine 'ask' for advice on a problem. Week 4: Share the project, framed as a follow-up to the earlier interactions. The goal is to build contextual familiarity before the 'ask.' It feels slow, but it's about lowering the perceived transactionality. I'm using Reoogle to identify and track those initial 3 communities, ensuring they're active and relevant. This isn't gaming the system; it's acknowledging that trust in a space takes time, even online. I'm tired of the 'hit and run' post. Has anyone structured their channel entry this deliberately?

Hey fellow small business owners, I’ve been running my small business for a while, and one thing keeps tripping me up: finding freelancers I can actually rely on. I’ve had experiences where someone seemed perfect but missed deadlines, misunderstood instructions, or just disappeared halfway through a project.

It feels like every new freelancer is a gamble, sometimes it works out great, other times it costs me more time and stress than it’s worth.

I want to hear from you: how do you find freelancers who are dependable and understand what your business really needs? Any tips, processes, or lessons learned from your own struggles would be super helpful.

Hey everyone 👋

About a month ago, I posted here when my small side project Arthavi had just 38 users.

Quick update: it just crossed 500+ users, all from organic traffic (mostly Google) — still no ads, no paid marketing.

The problem I’m trying to solve is still the same:

Tracking investments in India is fragmented — mutual funds in CAS emails, stocks in brokers, everything else in spreadsheets.

So I built Arthavi to keep things simple:
• Track stocks + mutual funds in one place
• Import CAS (CAMS/KFintech)
• Ask basic questions about your portfolio (AI layer)
• No demat linking, no ads

What I’ve learned so far (more important than the number):
• People care more about clarity than “advanced analytics”
• Onboarding friction kills usage faster than anything
• “Privacy-first” matters, but only after trust is built

Still early, still rough in many places, but getting real usage now.

Would love honest feedback again:

• What do you currently use to track investments?
• What’s still broken or annoying there?
• What would make you switch to a new tool?

Happy to share the link if anyone wants to try it.

I manage a handful of small business pages on TikTok and Instagram and I’m constantly logging in and out of each account to check messages, post updates, or run quick tests. The process feels slow and I’m always worried about accidentally posting from the wrong account or triggering a security check because of rapid switches.

What strategies or tools do you use to keep multiple accounts organized and reduce the time spent switching between them

I spent three months deep in the Reddit grind. Writing posts, crafting comments, analyzing engagement. I got traffic. I got a few users. But I looked up and realized I hadn't shipped a meaningful new feature in that entire time. I was so focused on the 'distribution' part that I'd starved the 'product' part. The feedback loops on Reddit are addictive—upvotes, comments, DMs. They feel like progress. But for a solo founder, they can become a distraction from the harder, quieter work of building. I've now strict-timeboxed my Reddit activity to two 30-minute slots per week. I use Reoogle to pre-identify a few key threads or communities to check in on. I'm less 'present,' but my product is better. Ironically, I think that makes my occasional contributions more valuable because I have more substantial updates to share. Has anyone else had to consciously pull back from community engagement to preserve their building focus?

Hi everyone! 👋

I recently released Masal Dünyası (World of Tales), an audio-first app designed to help parents with bedtime routines.

Note: The content is currently in Turkish, but I would love your honest feedback on the UI/UX and overall app flow.

Main Feature: Children can follow along with the text on the screen while listening to the high-quality narrated stories, making it both an engaging and educational experience.

Side Feature (Coming Soon): I’m currently adding a Smart White Noise tool (rain, music sounds, etc.) that will seamlessly play after a story ends to keep the child asleep.

I’d appreciate your thoughts on:

• Does the interface feel intuitive and easy to navigate?
• How does the "read-along" experience feel from a design perspective?
• Any general improvements for a dark-mode sleep app?

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Hello,

I’m a food lover and a creator who’s reached a breaking point. I’m tired of seeing incredible Michelin-star chefs and passionate home cooks forced to do "pointless dances" or use trending audio just to get 100 views on IG or TikTok.

The craft is being buried by the algorithm.

So, I decided to build GourMeal — a dedicated social network for the culinary world. No thirst traps, no AI-slop, no silly trends. Just pure food, recipes, and techniques. Think of it as a sanctuary for people who actually care about what's on the plate.

The Brutal Reality: I launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund the MVP a few days ago. Currently? I have exactly 4 backers. It feels like I'm screaming into a massive, empty void.

I’m starting to wonder:

• Has the algorithm already won?
• Do people actually want a quiet space for food, or am I just chasing a ghost?
• Are my "perks" for early adopters not enticing enough?

I’m not dropping the link here because I respect this sub's rules and I don't want to be a spammer. But if you’re curious to "roast" my landing page or see the vision, you can search for "GourMeal" on Indiegogo or just ask me for the link in the comments.

I desperately need your brutal, honest feedback. Tell me why this isn't converting, or tell me if I should just pack it up and go back to the "circus."

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Most companies can't see their own website the way a stranger sees it.

So I built PageSense AI.

It navigates any public webpage (landing, pricing, about, etc) like a real first-time visitor, clicks up to 5 CTAs, and tells you exactly what's costing you conversions, exact fixes required and annotated screenshots in the form of a detailed report.

Not a Lighthouse score. Not generic advice. Your actual page, your actual copy, your actual conversion problem.

Three modules:
→ First Impression Score
→ Conversion Power Score
→ Content Quality Score

For context - PageSense AI crossed 20+ users in its first week of launch and was ranked 2nd Product of the Day on PeerPush. Still early, but the signal feels real.

Would love to hear honest feedback from this community.

→ Try PageSense AI