u/Inevitable-Truck-661

I got a 52 on my first physics exam.

It wasn’t the kind of 52 you brush off and promise to improve next time. It stayed with me. It made me feel like maybe I’d never actually get better.

I thought I had studied a lot. But really, I was just memorizing terms and formulas that didn’t really make sense to me.

So I decided to change how I studied.

I stopped rereading notes

Instead, I tried solving problems without looking at the solutions. It was honestly frustrating at first. Without a guide, I’d get stuck on a single problem for a long time and not know how to move forward.

I started tracking my mistakes

• misreading the question
• not recognizing the concept or which formula to use
• guessing most of the time

I started using tools not to shortcut, but to understand more

I’ll admit, I used ai tools before. However, it was because of my laziness, wanting to get things done. Now, I started taking studying seriously. I changed how I used them.

Instead of using tools just to copy and paste answers, I started using tools like Turbo AI and Claude to quiz myself, explain wrong answers, and break difficult topics down step by step until I understood the whole topic FULLY and not just the basics.

Another thing that helped was explaining concepts out loud like I was teaching someone else. If I couldn’t explain it simply, I knew I still didn’t understand it enough.

In my second exam that time, it felt different and better. I didn’t get a perfect score, but still it was a huge improvement. It was like the first achievement in my life. It wasn’t just in physics. For the first time, I actually understood what I just did.

I used to work as a consultant in Big 4, last year i was one of the victim of a big layoff and I started building my first app to see if I could make some money.

I started thinking about an idea an finally I started vibecoding one with Cursor. It was OFC an AI note taker, and I understood it was a way too competitive market so I dropped. Then I started making something very original… An AI calories tracker lol. In the meanwhile I understood UI was very important so I started collaborating with a friend and we collaborate on Figma for the design. For coding I switched to Milq to be faster and focus on iOS native apps. Then I started using Sensor Tower to analyse the market and I built a personal budget app and of course… I failed again.

Long story short I failed 7 projects more and then I finally made my first 10€ on the end of october! Then some other purchases and I chose to double down on this idea.

I’m doing a CV builder app that is nothing original but it’s much easier to use and give you an editable doc that you can send to your PC and edit it with whatever software you want.

Some things I did:

I chose the right keywords are: In the italian app store there are not many apps for CV and the ones you have are very old. So i guess I found a popular space that is not saturated at all. I placed the most important keywords in the first characters of the app title (CV, Builder).

I started promoting it in universities: I contacted the main students associations and gave them 200-300€ to send it in the whatsapp groups.

Reviews right after onboarding: I made the onboarding so that the user as a first version of the CV istantly (super short time-to-value). I studied the UI so it is very pleasing and I added some motion design e animations. Right after, I invite the user to give a review, and lots of them put 5 stars becuase i think they base their valuation on the very first result that looks great.

Freemium model: you can build you first CV for free and you can edit it in the app, but you have to pay if you want to export it as a doc file. So there’s a sunk cost in building it and then you just pay the subscription to keep going.

I wanted to share this personal story to tell you that failing is the first step to success! Keep going and eventually you will find your big project!

Also if you have any suggestions I’ll be happy to read them!

I used to earn more or less $780 a month in my freelance video editing job depending on how many videos i need to edit

I could usually finish a 40 minute raw video in about an hour, so I decided to look for other side hustles

Since I have little experience with content creation and a little of marketing background so i took that as an advantage.

I made 5 UGC videos and edited them the best I could for brands to notice me and respond to my pitches. I added them all to my portfolio

I also created an email/DM template, then started reaching out to brands I wanted to work with on Instagram

Mine isn’t the best, but I’ve gotten several compliments from brands saying they liked it. After 2 days, I got a few responses offering $180 for 3 videos, which felt low, but I took it just to gain experience.

I also signed up for platforms like sideshift the average value of brand deals is around $200-$500 I kept refreshing the page to see what was available and secured 2 deals. All I had to do was feature a Hair spray in my video and provide 3 contents for them to post on their page

I’m still figuring out what type of content and niche I’m best at, but earning a few bucks is definitely motivating

Anyone else doing UGC right now? How much did you make in your first month?

I've always been curious what mornings actually look like for fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov

I found a few interviews and articles where he broke down his daily habits, so I tried to replicate his crazy routine for a week, it was a tuff but I made it

Wake up at 4:45 AM: Khabib has talked about waking up before sunrise his whole life, something his father drilled into him from childhood in Dagestan. The night before, I went to bed at 8 PM and set two alarms. Tbh it wasn't so bad, I was basically on a different time zone lol

Fajr prayer/mindset reset: This is something extremely important to him, but I’m not Muslim or Christian, so I didn’t pray or anything. I stayed there in silence for 20 minutes, meditating and thinking. I don’t think I had ever done that before, you know, with work and university, I had never taken 20 minutes alone at sunrise just to think, you need to try this guys

Sambo conditioning circuit (60 min): The foundation of everything he does is pure physical conditioning. I followed this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LclmZRsLnWQ inspired by his training Combat Sambo exercises you can do alone and I was completely gassed after 25 minutes lol. On a couple of days my brother joined me so we could also drill some of the partner based takedown entries, which honestly made it even harder. The video is brutal even just to watch

ICED shower: If you grow up in the mountains of Dagestan, the only shower you can take is an ice cold one. I took a 5 minutes one right after training, and trust me, you are NOT ready for the first 30 seconds. After a while you get used to it, but it still feels absolutely shocking guys

Check everything: I'd been using Daimon throughout the week to keeps track of everything, workouts, diet, sleep. It was messaging me 5 minutes before each session, reminding me what to eat, when to go to bed and it motivates you too hahaha, if I wasn’t training after 10 minutes, he would start yelling at me.

Khabib's diet: Traditional Dagestani food is heavy protein, fermented dairy and nothing processed. I found a diet online and tried to replicate it with lamb mince, eggs, kefir and buckwheat. On YT there are tons of athletes and youtubers recreating Khabib’s diet, so I took inspiration from them and from some articles online https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRsNLiiGCWg

Afternoon second session: He trains twice a day, but when I set my alarm for the afternoon session the third day, I got up from the couch, looked at my shoes, and went back to sit down. My legs were still wrecked from the morning and the idea of doing another 60 minutes of conditioning felt genuinely insane. I tried the day next but I lasted about 12 minutes before my lower back just gave out. Never attempted it again

I made it through the week but I won't lie, by day 7 I was completely done. The double session was a total failure, I never managed to pull it off properly, my body just wasn't built for that volume yet. Would I do it again? Maybe. But I'd start with just the morning session and actually build up before attempting twice a day, my lower back is still not happy with me

I'm a small creator focused on home equipment and decor it's genuinely my passion so content feels natural to me. I'm uploading every day and my views have been reaching around 20K per video at my best, which I'm really proud of given my follower count.

I've already had a few gifted collabs which have been awesome, and I recently landed a paid deal here in reddit worth $150 for 3 videos so I know it's possible, but I honestly feel like I got lucky with that one.

My biggest struggle right now is pitching to brands like what to say in a cold outreach message or whether 1K followers is even "enough" to ask for paid deals

I genuinely love this niche and want any brand partnership to feel authentic. But if there's a way to actually earn from the work I'm putting in every day, I'd love to figure that out.

Has anyone been in a similar position? How did you go from gifted collabs to actual paid deals? Any tips on pitching, pricing, or just where to even find brands to work with would mean a lot🙏

Thanks in advance!

I want to build my UGC portfolio for sideshift and i’ll make a post for a few apps from this community for free but I’ll just pick 10 best product to feature in my account. I’m looking for founders who are open to testing this as an extra growth channel alongside whatever outbound or ads you’re already running.

I’m consistently getting around 50-100k views. Instead of another typical ad, I’ll focus on making content that feels native to TikTok while clearly showing what your product does and the problem it solves

From what I’ve seen, featuring tools this way can bring in a decent handful of paid users and a lot of free signups, especially when the content feels organic.

Let me know what you’re working on in the comments and I’ll suggest what kind of content could work for your app. If you prefer sharing details privately my DMs are open.

Recently I’ve been seeing a lot of guys giving advice to other men about how to get women to match with them on dating apps, and honestly… a lot of the advice has been bad (at best) and actively hurting your chances (at worst). I want y’all to do well, and I also think women are a little tired of low effort men lol. So here’s what women ACTUALLY like, coming from a woman.

Pictures:

• Please no selfies if you can help it. A tripod works way better and looks more intentional.
• If your friends take terrible photos, invest in a photographer or ask someone who knows angles. Just keep it natural and not stiff looking.
• Use clear photos of yourself showing at least part of your upper body. We want to actually see you.
• Try to avoid group photos (main reason is that it is sometimes difficult to figure out who you are, try to make it obvious at least)
• Try not to hide behind sunglasses or face coverings in every photo. One is fine. More than that just gives insecurity. This applies to women too.
• A picture with an animal helps a LOT. Girls love that!
• Include a photo of you doing something you genuinely enjoy. Hobbies are attractive.
• Use all the photo slots your app gives you. Why limit yourself?

Bio:

• Yes, this matters. Yes, women read it. It shows effort immediately.
• Be clear about what you’re looking for in a woman. Confidence is attractive.
• Avoid talking badly about yourself unless it’s clearly a joke with a punchline. Very few people want to date someone who doesn’t even like themselves.
• Mention your hobbies and how you spend your time.
• Add humor if you can. Please don’t force it though.
• Mention food or travel if you genuinely enjoy either. Women can talk forever about both if they’re into it too.

Texting:

• Please do not open with just “hey” or “wyd.” It is lazy and boring. reference something in her profile/bio so she knows you actually pay attention
• Ask questions that are fun to answer, not job interview questions. Nobody wants to explain their five year plan to a stranger.
• Don’t immediately turn the conversation sexual. It usually makes women lose interest faster than you think.
• Match her energy. If she’s giving short dry replies, either slow down or move on
• Don’t double text five times in a row just because she took an hour to reply. It makes you look needy and it’s a big turn off for women.
• If the vibe is good, ask her out on a date. Texting for 3 weeks is a waste of time

Additional:

• If you’re really struggling, delete and remake your profile. New profiles usually get shown to more people early on. Apps want to hook you in.

At the end of the day, it is a numbers game for men, but you can increase your odds a lot by putting in genuine effort which can set you aside from 90% of men on these apps

Good luck out there. I hope this helps!!