In 2013, I was a broke college student in India, frustrated with life and feeling stuck. Our culture often pushes us to take the "safe" route, but I wanted to do something different. One day, I deleted all my games and decided to learn Android development. I had no money, no mentors, and barely any resources—just a burning desire to change my life.

The idea for my app came from a problem I personally faced: I loved the design of Nokia Lumia’s music player but couldn’t find anything like it on Android. That’s when I decided to build a music player app that wasn’t just functional but beautiful and easy to use.

Here’s how I turned that idea into 4 million downloads (and $150,000 in revenue):

1. Keywords First, Ideas Second Before starting, I researched keywords and demand. “Music Player” was a heavily searched term, so I built my app around it. Keywords drive app store discovery—don’t ignore them.
2. Learning by Doing I had zero coding experience, so I taught myself Android development through free tutorials on YouTube. I spent 16+ hours daily coding, Googling problems, and asking questions on Stack Overflow. I even skipped meals and rarely went out—coding became my life.
3. Designing Without a Budget I couldn’t afford a professional designer, so I taught myself app design. I scoured sites like Dribbble, studied color schemes, and learned what made apps visually appealing. The result? A UI that stood out in a crowded market.
4. Polishing the Presentation I used my freelancing earnings ($500) to hire a designer for the app icon and screenshots. Visuals matter—a polished app icon and screenshots can drastically improve downloads.
5. Marketing on a Shoestring I wrote an ASO-optimized app description with relevant keywords. I also posted about the app on my personal Facebook, thanking everyone for their support, which generated downloads through word of mouth.
6. Making Money with Ads I made the app free and monetized with ads. Earnings grew as the user base expanded, starting at $3/day and eventually hitting $300/day. By the end of the first year, I made $50,000 from ads alone.

How This App Transformed My Life

In just three years, I made $150,000 from the app—remarkable for a project I marketed only for three months. This income allowed me to never opt for traditional jobs, and instead, I moved into eCommerce, consulting, and SaaS ventures. I didn’t just avoid a 9-to-5 job; I built a lifestyle.

Thanks to this app, I was able to travel to 10 different countries over the course of three years, spreading my travels across the last decade. This journey has not only been financially rewarding but has also taught me invaluable lessons in entrepreneurship, resilience, and the power of digital products.

Lessons Learned:

• Solve a Real Problem: Build something people are already searching for.
• Don’t Wait for Perfection: Start with what you have and improve along the way.
• Teach Yourself Skills: Lack of money isn’t an excuse. Google and persistence can take you far.
• Polish Your Presentation: A great product with poor visuals won’t get far.

Today, my app has over 4.6 million downloads. It wasn’t easy, but the journey taught me more about resilience, creativity, and entrepreneurship than any college class ever could.

AMA if you have questions—I’d love to help others take the leap!

Please read the full article here

App Marketing Strategy: How to get millions of downloads for your app

Hey Reddit 👋,

I wanted to share a bit about some side projects I’ve been working on lately. Quick background for context: I’m the CEO of a mid-to-large-scale eCommerce company pulling in €10M+ annually in net turnover. We even built our own internal tracking software that’s now a SaaS (in early review stages on Shopify), competing with platforms like Lifetimely and TrueROAS.

But! That’s not really the point of this post — there’s another journey I’ve been on that I’m super excited to share (and maybe get your feedback on!).

AI Transformed My Role (and My Ideas List)

I’m not a developer by trade — never properly learned how to code, and to be honest, I don’t intend to. But, I’ve always been the kind of guy who jots down ideas in a notes app and dreams about execution. My dev team calls me their “4th developer” (they’re a team of three) because I have solid theoretical knowledge and can kinda read code.

And then AI happened. 🛠️

It basically turned my random ideas app into an MVP generation machine. I thought it’d be fun to share one of the apps I’m especially proud of. I am also planning to build this in public and therefore I am planning to post my progress on X and every project will have /stats page where live stats of the app will be available.

Tackling My Task Management Problem 🚀

I’ve sucked at task management for YEARS, I still do! I’ve tried literally everything — Sheets, Todoist, Asana, ClickUp, Notion — you name it. I’d start… and then quit after a few weeks - always.

What I struggle with the most is delegating tasks. As a CEO, I delegate a ton, and it’s super hard to track everything I’ve handed off to the team. Take this example: A few days ago, I emailed an employee about checking potential collaboration opportunities with a courier company. Just one of 10s of tasks like this I delegate daily.

Suddenly, I thought: “Wouldn’t it be AMAZING if just typing out this email automatically created a task for me to track?” 💡

So… I jumped in. With the power of AI and a few intense days of work, I built a task manager that does just that. But of course, I couldn’t stop there.

Research & Leveling It Up 📈

I looked at similar tools like TickTick and Todoist, scraped their G2 reviews (totally legally, promise! 😅), and ran them through AI for a deep SWOT analysis. I wanted to understand what their users liked/didn’t like and what gaps my app could fill.

Some of the features people said they were missing didn’t align with the vision for my app (keeping it simple and personal), but I found some gold nuggets:

• Integration with calendars (Google)
• Reminders
• Customizable UX (themes)

So, I started implementing what made sense and am keeping others on the roadmap for the future.

And I’ve even built for that to, it still doesn’t have a name, however the point is you select on how many reviews of a specific app you want to make a SWOT analysis on and it will do it for you. Example for Todoist in comments. But more on that, some other time, maybe other post ...

Key Features So Far:

Here’s what’s live right now:

✅ Email to Task: Add an email as to, cc, or bcc — and it automatically creates a task with context, due dates, labels, etc.

✅ WhatsApp Reminders: Get nudged to handle your tasks via WhatsApp.

✅ WhatsApp to Task: Send a message like /task buy groceries — bam, it’s added with full context etc..

✅ Chrome Extension (work-in-progress): Highlight text on any page, right-click, and send it straight to your task list.

Next Steps: Build WITH the Community 👥

Right now, the app is 100% free while still in the early stages. But hey, API calls and server costs aren’t cheap, so pricing is something I’ll figure out with you as we grow. For now, my goal is to hit 100 users and iterate from there. My first pricing idea is, without monthly subscription, I don’t want to charge someone for something he didn’t use. So I am planning on charging "per task", what do you think?

Here’s what I have planned:

📍 End of Year Goal: 100 users (starting from… 1 🥲).

💸 Revenue Roadmap: When we establish pricing, we’ll talk about that.

🛠️ Milestones:

• Post on Product Hunt when we hit 100 users.
• Clean up my self-written spaghetti code (hire a pro dev for review 🙃).
• Hire a part-time dev once we hit MRR that can cover its costs.

You can check how are we doing on thisisatask.me/stats

Other Side Projects I’m Working On:

Because… what’s life without taking on too much, right? 😂 Full list of things I’m building:

1. Internal HRM: Not public, tried and tested in-house.
2. Android TV App: Syncs with HRM to post announcements to office TVs (streamlined and simple).
3. Stats Tracker App: Connects to our internal software and gives me real-time company insights.
4. Review Analyzer: Scrapes SaaS reviews (e.g., G2) and runs deep analysis via AI. This was originally for my Shopify SaaS but is quickly turning into something standalone. Coming soon!
5. Mobile app game: secret for now.

Let’s Build This Together!

Would love it if you guys checked out https://thisisatask.me and gave it a spin! Still super early, super raw, but I’m pumped to hear your thoughts.

Also, what’s a must-have task manager feature for you? Anything that frustrates you with current tools? I want to keep evolving this in public, so your feedback is gold. 🌟

Let me know, Reddit! Are you with me? 🙌

I see a lot off mobile app indie hackers here and I was wondering how much of the apps being released actually get a good amount of success.

I'll tell you exactly how we did it, but first you should know:

the bar is a lot lower than you think.

• Most people aren't following a clear process for building and launching their products.
• Most people quit trying after 2-5 months.
• Most people don't have a plan.

You don't need to work 70 hour weeks and be an expert to succeed. You just need to not make the common mistakes and stick around for a bit longer. That's enough.

Now, here's exactly how we went from 0 users and 0 traffic to 1600+ users with 80 days of effort and $0 spent:

Step 1 - Foundation:

• You shouldn't build any random idea. Your idea needs to be validated or else it won't resonate.
• We used the Reddit to determine market demand for a few different ideas.
• We found one idea that indicated market demand and that we felt excited about.
• So we started building right? Nope.
• We reached out to potential users about the idea we had and kindly asked if they would help us by answering 6-7 questions. We found these people on Reddit and X.
• Their answers indicated that people had the problem we were looking to solve and that they were interested in the product we would build, and even be ready to pay for it if it was good.
• Great. Now we build.

Step 2 - Building:

• This is the easy part. We knew what we should focus on from the feedback so we let that guide our building.
• We built fast. 30-45 days for the MVP.
• We made sure that our MVP actually solved the problem we had identified.
• That's it. Time to market this MVP and see if we can get some users.

Step 3 - Marketing:

• First we set a clear goal. We wanted as much feedback as possible so we were going to need active users. Let's say 20 active users, that was our goal.
• Then we selected 2 marketing channels we believed in. What marketing channel you select depends on where your potential users are and who they are. For us it was Reddit and X.
• Then we set daily volume targets. For example, post 50 replies on X on relevant posts.
• So we had our daily targets, meaning we knew exactly what to do every day. We thought it would be reasonable to expect that we can hit our goal of 20 active users in 2 weeks.
• Then we just executed our marketing plan. It was easy, because we knew what to do every day. No questions.
• 10 days later we were at 70+ users. We had hit our goal.
• The feedback on our MVP was good so we got the green light to build the full product. Let’s go!

Step 4 - Build again:

• This time we had much better feedback.
• We removed everything that was bad.
• Added some good things.
• And made sure we were still focused on solving the core problem.
• Voila, we had a pretty awesome product at this point that users actually want.
• Time for the official launch.

Step 5 - The launch

• Since our product is made for founders, Product Hunt was the perfect place for us to launch.
• We prepared a demo of the product, wrote a launch post, said our prayers, and then we launched.
• During the launch, we tried to drive as much traffic to our Product Hunt page as we could.
• This meant creating a lot of content on X and Reddit.
• It was a close race for the top 5 spots. Our small team of 2 brothers vs the large VC backed companies.
• In the end we claimed the 4th spot on product of the day with 500+ upvotes. Success!
• You can find the launch post here: https://www.producthunt.com/products/buildpad#buildpad

Step 6 - Iterate

• At this point we had over 1k users and had gotten our first paying customers too.
• Now it was just about iteration.
• Collect feedback > improve the product > market more > collect feedback …
• This is what we did to get to 40+ paying customers and 1600+ users.

But how did we know that these are the steps we should take to get there? How did we come up with this plan? The truth is, we stole it.

Let me explain myself.

Earlier this year we failed hard. We spent months building a product that people didn't want. We tried everything to make it work (including spending $1k on ads), but we weren't able to turn it into a success.

It was really weird because we thought we had something good. The product made sense to us.

Finally, we came to a point of sober thought. We had wasted months on a bad product. That sucked, but at least there were some lessons to be learned.

When reflecting on what had gone wrong, it became clear. We had made the same mistakes that 95% of entrepreneurs make.

We didn't follow a clear process. We spent our time on the wrong things. We didn't have a plan. There were a lot of mistakes and we kept seeing other people make them too.

So what if we build a product that solves that problem?

A business building platform for entrepreneurs. The idea spoke to us deeply. We feel your struggles. We know how much it sucks to spend months building something, only to find out that no one wants it.

The product we built was meant for you and us.

Now to the cool part.

We used the product we built to get help building the product we built. Confusing? Let me explain:

The process I outlined above that got us our first 1600+ users wasn't us just freestyling. It was a carefully crafted process by Buildpad.

We started building Buildpad and as we did we used it at the same time to guide ourselves. In a way, Buildpad built Buildpad.

Super meta, I know.

But that's what happened. And if you’re tired of building failed products, maybe give Buildpad a chance?

Probably don't build another Buildpad though. My head starts spinning when I think about the meta of that.

But you can build something you feel passionate about and that people will pay you for. Or you can import your existing project and get help in getting that off the ground.

Once you've gotten your first payments and things are looking good for your business, perhaps you will consider giving us some feedback so we can make Buildpad even better.

This was a long post but it's something close to my heart. I hope you could learn something from our failures and our successes. And if you think Buildpad might be for you I'll leave a link.

I'm happy to offer my input in the comments if you have any questions.

I am feeling lost, I just finished building my app and now I don't know what to do. I am sure that my product has the potential to bring a lot of value to people but when I try to mention about my app people just criticize my act of self-promotion. I was very hopeful while I was working on it but now, I feel like I am not fit to be an indie developer. It would be great if you guys pointed me to a direction.

Last week, I launched a lightweight personal finance app called Fyenance.

Born out of a personal need, loved using it over the next couple of days and quickly it spiraled into a full-blown product I was ready to get early feedback on.

3 days to build.
$5 lifetime license.

No email list. No ads. Just Reddit posts, texts to friends, and word-of-mouth.

People told me:

1. "$5 is unsustainable."
2. "You’re underpricing yourself."
3. "You can’t build a business on that."

They were right.

But here’s what $5 did:

50+ sales in the first 7 days.

It’s not life-changing money. But it’s validation.
And validation is the only thing that matters when you’re starting.

Lesson 1: $5 buys you validation.

Here’s why $5 worked:

1. It removes friction. No one debates over a $5 decision. It’s an impulse buy.
2. It proves the idea. 50 people didn’t just visit the landing page — they bought the product.
3. It gave me momentum. Momentum isn’t just revenue. It’s:
   • Real user feedback.
   • Proof that the messaging resonates.
   • The confidence to move forward and raise prices.

Lesson 2: Start unsustainable, scale sustainable.

Your first job isn’t to “build a business.” It’s to prove there’s a business to build.

Here’s how I thought about pricing:

• Low prices remove risk: $5 isn’t just cheap for customers; it’s cheap for you. If it flops, you’ve lost nothing but time.
• Cheap creates conversation: Low prices get people curious enough to try — and tell others. Early customers become your marketers.
• You’re buying proof, not revenue: At this stage, your goal isn’t profit. It’s proof of life. Does anyone care about this? Will anyone pay for it?

Here’s the trade-off:
Low pricing gets you momentum, but it also puts pressure on execution.

When you price low, two things happen:

1. People expect less — but they expect it to work.
2. You have to prove that they’ve made the right call — fast.

Momentum buys you time. Execution earns you trust.

I raised the price to $12 after the first week.
Why? Because I could.

• Sales proved demand.
• Feedback showed me what to build next.
• Momentum gave me leverage to move forward.

If I had started at $12, I might have still been waiting for my first sale.

Here’s where most founders get stuck.

They worry about underpricing and miss the bigger problem:

No one cares about your product yet.

When you’re starting out:

• People don’t trust you.
• You don’t know what’s working.
• You have no leverage.

Pricing high early makes you feel good — but it kills momentum.

If your product is unproven, start cheap. Give yourself a win.

Once you have momentum, everything gets easier:

• You know who your customers are.
• You know what they want.
• You know what they’ll pay for.

And you can raise prices with confidence.

Lesson 3: Users will build the product for you.

At $5, you don’t just get validation. You get feedback.

In the past 7 days, I’ve heard it all:

• “This is useless without being able to import my bank statements..”
• “I’d love to track projects alongside budgets.”
• “I need better reporting and controls.”

Here’s what’s shipping this week (tomorrow or Thursday):

• Bank statement CSV imports.
• Project tracking.
• Budgeting tools.
• Advanced reports.

This isn’t just a "tweak." It’s a full-on overhaul built with real feedback from paying customers.

Your early users are your co-founders. They’ll tell you what to build — if you listen.

Tactical advice for founders:

1. Price for momentum, not profit. Make it so cheap people can’t say no. You’ll lose money short-term, but you’ll win in the long run.
2. Launch fast, improve faster. I built Fyenance in 3 days because I wanted proof. Ship something simple, get feedback, and iterate.
3. Talk to your customers. Every feature I’m adding this week came from user feedback. The more you listen, the faster you’ll grow.
4. Raising prices = raising confidence. As your product improves, charge more. Start small, but don’t stay there.

What’s next for Fyenance:

1. Continue to search for the right long-term price based on feedback.
2. Run paid ads to test acquisition costs.
3. Launch a premium, local LLM-powered add-on for power users.

Bank CSV imports and project tracking solve core pains. The offline AI layer? That’s how I really set the product apart.

The takeaway:

Forget “sustainability” when you’re starting.

• Price low.
• Ship fast.
• Get proof.

Momentum is the hardest part of any launch.

Start unsustainable, build trust, then scale smart.

Here's the link to Fyenance: https://fyenanceapp.com/

I’d love to hear:

• How did you validate pricing and momentum in the early days?
• Any advice for scaling a product like this in Month 2?

Hi everyone,

I'm currently working on a productivity app called https://scape.run.
It's similar to Raycast but with a focus on AI more accessible and useful.

This is a MacOS desktop app with accessibility API and AppKit-Electron binding.

While it's still under development, I'd share some insights on why&how I'm creating this tool.

If any of you are working on unique projects, particularly non-web-SaaS,
I might have some tips to share.

We’re all chasing that sweet, sweet search traffic, right? And how couldn’t we.

It’s probably the most “passive” customer acquisition channel out there. Once you rank, it’s basically just free traffic that’s coming in every day.

Ranking for intent-based queries is particularly lucrative (e.g., “best credit card”) since the lead is already warm and in purchasing mood.

However, in recent years, partly due to the onslaught of AI-generated (rubbish) content and the subsequent reputational risks for Google, it’s become harder and takes much longer to rank.

I’ve seen the change first hand. When I first started blogging in 2017, it was as easy as “publish great content, interlink properly, and watch traffic trickle in almost instantly.”

If you’re not investing thousands of dollars into link building, it’ll probably take at least 6 months or longer to get some Google love (sandbox) – granted you do everything right and then some.

That said, if you as impatient as me, there are still a great way to get search traffic early on, which is Microsoft’s Bing.

Here are the stats from my Google Search Console & Bing Webmaster Tools to illustrate the point (from my newest project called terrific.tools, which I launched 3 weeks ago):

· Google: 48 clicks, 110 impressions, ranking for 4 queries/keywords

· Bing: 132 clicks, 6k impressions, already ranking for 205 keywords

So, almost 3x the traffic despite supposedly being the much smaller search engine.

Bing offers a bunch of other benefits as well.

First, ChatGPT utilizes the Bing index for its own Search product and the main chat, so if you rank on Bing, you’ll also get traffic from ChatGPT (I got around 13 visitors from ChatGPT in the last 3 weeks!).

Second, Bing is quite popular in tier 1 countries like the US. So, the traffic you get is likelier to be of higher quality / purchasing power.

Third, Bing offers a bunch of free tools within its webmaster tools, which help you to improve pages from an SEO perspective (which will inevitably also help you with ranking on Google). Also worth it to check out IndexNow, which will speed up indexing across other search engines (except Google).

It’s super easy to get started with optimizing for Bing. Just set up an account and connect your Google Search Console account.

I expect Bing to continue being a great traffic source. Microsoft’s financial success doesn’t hinge on Bing (unlike Google).

In fact, because Google is entrenching itself into Microsoft’s money-making categories (the whole Google Office products like Sheets or Google’s Cloud product), I expect Microsoft to continue doubling down on making Bing better for both users and creators alike.

So, tldr, eff Google, check out Bing.

I launched my first SaaS roughly a month ago and was aiming for 50 users before the end of the year.

If you asked me a week ago, I would say it's very ambitious and I am probably not going to hit it. For the past two days, I posted two short-form videos that aren't direct promo but they shows the product in action.

The making of each of those videos took less than 5 minutes. 10 minutes total if you count the editing, captioning, SEO, all of that.

Now I am sitting at almost 80% of that goal with 15 days to go.

I can share a link to those two vids if anyone is interested but I highly recommend folks do it too!

Edit: Here are the two vids

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Czd_bHIKXU0 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iGPOwXFsTyg

So, how did Profiolio make it's first $100 in revenue? It wasn’t some grand marketing campaign or months of planning. In fact, it took me just 3 weeks to build the app and hit that milestone. Here’s how we did it.

Build Fast and Focus on What Matters
I spent a little over 2 weeks building Profiolio, keeping things simple and focused on helping SaaS founders analyze their ideas with key metrics. No fluff, just the essentials.

Launch on Product Hunt
Once I had Built the app, I launched on Product Hunt the day after. It gave me some early visibility and brought in a few curious users.

Engage on Reddit
The real magic happened here on Reddit. I spent about a week or 2 writing helpful posts in SaaS-related subreddits. Instead of trying to sell, I just offered value and, at the end of each post, subtly mentioned Profiolio and how it could help. People took notice.

The Result
After two weeks of engaging on Reddit and getting feedback from users, we hit our first $100 in revenue. It wasn’t a huge number, but it showed that building something useful, launching it well, and connecting with your audience can generate real results quickly.

I recently launched a side project called BudgetForCars.com, a free car budget calculator that uses the 20/4/10 rule to calculate car budget for your income.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React with Material-UI for a clean and responsive design.
• Backend: Django REST Framework for API endpoints.
• Hosting: Deployed on Vercel for the frontend and Cloud Run for the backend.
• SEO: Focused on programmatic SEO pages like “Car Budget in California” and “Car Budget for $60,000 Income.”

Challenges I’m Facing

1. Thin Content on SEO Pages: I’ve built dynamic pages targeting location- and income-specific queries, but they sometimes feel repetitive. Any tips on improving the depth without bloating them?
2. Backlink Building: Growth is slow without backlinks. Are there creative strategies you’ve used for projects in similar niches?

Looking for Feedback

If you have a moment, I’d love your feedback on:

• Design: Does the UI/UX feel intuitive?
• SEO & Content: Ideas to make the pages more engaging and rank-worthy?

Here’s the link: BudgetForCars.com

So guys I am an beginner indie hacket here I have built 2 projects until now and both have no users until now.

My question how long do you wait until you give up and see something else and what convinces you to give up ?

Hi builders! 👋

I love crafting products, playing with design, and lately I've been diving into engineering - because why not learn it all, right? Currently building something exciting for fellow indie hackers like you.

Let's grow together! Here's what I'm thinking:

Share your story first:

• What are you building? (Early ideas welcome!)

• Where do you feel stuck?

• What keeps your mind buzzing at night?

I'll jump in with:

• Fresh eyes on your product strategy

• Design thinking perspective

• Growth ideas

• Or whatever else you're grappling with

Then we flip roles - you help me shape my project with your unique insights. Every conversation sparks new ideas, and I believe we all have something valuable to share.

Drop a DM or comment to kick things off! 🚀

I was searching for a good github chart generator to showcase my contributions on my website but could not find anything beautiful and nice.

So i made it up myself, link in comment.

I would request feedback

Some people say you should spend max 4-8 weeks, some people say 2 weeks and some say 12 months.

From my point of view, the ideal number is from 1 week up to 2 months. As always, there is "but". It depends on the complexity of your MVP. But why is it necessary to build faster? Because you won't burn money. Because you will validate your idea quickly.

People are confused with MVP and the product itself. You must spend less time on building MVP. You must spend more time on building product. What does it mean?

It means that you need to create a prototype as quickly as possible (meaning MVP). Then trying to sell it. After validating that your idea is working. You are moving to a new step - Product Development. Don't try to create a wheel. Yeah, I know you heard of MVP in 12 months. But you know a real rate of their success ?

If you don't want to play cards, be speedy, be fast.

If you need help with MVP, write me a message.

We all know that building is the easy part. I want to learn about your distribution strategy!

Share your project and what you did specifically to get your most recent sale.

After building over 8 MVPs and seeing both successes and failures, I've developed a practical framework for building MVPs that actually validate business ideas.

What is a minimum viable product (MVP)?

A minimum viable product (MVP) is the simplest version of a product that solves a problem. Idea popularized by Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup.

When developing an MVP, businesses must focus on balance: solving real problems with small resources and validating ideas very quickly. This approach helps spend less money on creating products, getting feedback very quickly, and adapting to market.

Advantages of MVP:

• Spend less money on building the first version

Focus on core features that the market needs. Quickly respond to user feedback. Collect and analyze data.

• Validate product faster

Instead of building a product in 6-12 months, spend less than 2 months. Ideally, to build a prototype in a few weeks. Based on user feedback, iterate and improve the product.

• Collect user feedback

One of the necessary ingredients in building a product. Quickly get early adopters, engage with them, and understand their specific needs.

Real-world examples of minimum viable products

Most of the successful companies started with MVP.

1. Airbnb: Just photos of apartments and an email form
2. Buffer: A landing page with pricing but no product
3. Dropbox: A simple video demo

3 Questions Your MVP Needs to Answer

1. Will people use it?
2. Will they pay for it?
3. Can you deliver the core value?

How to build a minimum viable product

• Problem validation

1. Talk to 10 potential users
2. Document their exact pain points
3. Identify what they're currently paying for

• Solution Design

1. Map user journey
2. Identify ONE core feature
3. Remove everything that isn't essential

• Building

1. Choose a proven tech stack
2. Focus on speed to market
3. Plan for quick iterations

Common MVP Mistakes

• Not identifying your ideal customer

Niche. Niche. Niche. Never focus on the global market. First, acquire customers in your specific market. Work based on their feedback. Then after getting clients, you can expand to more niches.

• Not clear deadline of building MVP

Spend time on planning. It could take from a week to several months. Everything depends on the complexity of the problem/solution and the amount of features. Also matters the experience of developers.

• Not set budget for MVP

Before paying for building MVP. Set clear goals and a plan that needed to be executed. Consider paying for development costs, design expenses, marketing products and promotions, market research, and operation costs.

• Not talking to customers

Crucial mistake of each founder that started the journey. Not talking to customers and relying on gut feeling. It is one of the biggest mistakes that a founder can make. Get early adopters and ask a lot of questions.

• Not launching fast

Build the first prototype quickly. Launch before adding more features. Validate the idea fast. Get user feedback fast. Never over-engineering. Never add "nice to have" features. Never perfectionism in design.

Build your MVP with me

Ready to start ? Write me a message, I'll help.

The last time I did this, the reception was pretty good, so I've decided to run this again. But this time better!

For context, I'm working on an app that analyzes social media posts and finds precise matches of whatever you're looking for. My current goal is efficiently finding qualified customer leads. The app's main selling point is that it doesn't just use keywords, but analyzes posts with AI to produce much better results.

Last time the results were somewhat mixed, some projects had really good results, others not quite so. Since then, I've improved the algorithm and the app, and now I'm letting you use it directly.

All you need to do is sign in through here: https://sky-scout.app/waitlist and you'll be able to use premium features for 48 hours. No paywalls, no spam e-mails. My goal is to be able to gauge the usefulness of my project and at the same time help out the community here. All I ask for in return is honest feedback.

It's quite costly for me to run so the app will be open for the next 24 hours or until too many people start using it. After it stops running, you will still be able to access and view the results.

Let me know if you have any questions! Feedback is also highly appreciated!