r/StartupSoloFounder

Solo founder. Waitlist worked, Launch worked, growth stalled. What should I do?

I’m a solo founder, built an app that uses AI to match people for real life activities: coffee Meetup, tennis partner, padel, or just explore the city. AI turns your desires to structured intent, and match you with someone nearby who wants the same thing and has similar interests. No profiles, no swiping.

Before building I made a waitlist, and after reaching out in Facebook communities got 200 signups.

Then I shipped the app for iOS and Android, overall now I have 115 users, I see some very low activity.

I understand that without large user base this app doesn’t make any sense, people simply have no one to be matched with. I decided to target one city specifically to increase density.

Now my growth stuck. I don’t know what to and how to bring more users and engagements into the app. I tried some collaborations with local instagram accounts, tik tok, but it was just waste of money.
Have you ever face similar situation, what did you do to fix it, any advice would be appreciated 🙏

reddit.com
u/Ordinary-Coach5034 — 10 hours ago
▲ 54 r/StartupSoloFounder+14 crossposts

put your startup through this and see where a first-time user gets confused

I built tryproduck.com/audit, it walks your app like someone opening it for the first time and sends back every bug and confusing bit it hits. Over 650 startups have run it so far.

u/Ninjishnu — 2 days ago
▲ 14 r/StartupSoloFounder+10 crossposts

I made an incremental game where you shake vending machines until they basically run themselves – One More Shake

One More Shake is a small incremental game where you start by manually shaking vending machines to make money.

Upgrade your machines, increase their value and speed, unlock more machines, and eventually automate the whole process.

If you enjoy incremental games, I'd really appreciate a wishlist on Steam!

Wishlist One More Shake:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4933650/One_More_Shake/

▲ 60 r/StartupSoloFounder+26 crossposts

I built a home inventory app where you never type anything: snap a photo, find your stuff months later [Android, free]

Solo dev here. I kept owning things and forgetting where I put them, so I built Store & Forget.

The whole point is zero effort to catalog: you don't type or tag anything. Snap a photo and it auto-fills what the item is (the photo scan uses a cloud AI service). Later you find it by searching names, descriptions, or which box or room it's in, or tap "Smart Find" to search by meaning.

Local-first: everything sits in an on-device database, no account, no sign-up. Optional backup to your own Google Drive.

It's free, Android only. Would love feedback from other builders.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.koalalab.storeandforget

u/RomeoDelta1234 — 2 days ago
▲ 12 r/StartupSoloFounder+8 crossposts

I built a game where forgetting to take a selfie can literally cost you money. This may have been a terrible idea.

After months of building this thing, the first-ever StreakWars game is finally starting.

The rules are borderline stupid:
📸 Everyone joins the same War
⏰ You have to post proof before the clock runs out
💀 Miss once = you’re fucking out
🏆 Last person still alive wins the pot

That’s it.

No XP. No levels. No 45-minute gaming sessions.
We built it because we’re adults with jobs, meetings, kids and approximately 11 minutes of free time…
…but somehow we’ll still spend 45 minutes talking shit in a group chat.

So we thought:

What if the group chat WAS the game?
Something you check for 30 seconds a day, talk an unreasonable amount of shit about, and slowly watch your friends get eliminated because Kevin forgot to take a fucking selfie on Tuesday.
And now we’re actually testing it.

WAR #001 starts soon.

Which is mildly terrifying because this will be the first real StreakWars game ever played.

The rules will probably evolve.
Something will probably break.
Someone is absolutely going to get eliminated in an embarrassingly stupid way.

And one psychopath is going to outlast everybody.

So before we start, Reddit gets to decide something:
What would YOU be most likely to survive?
A) Daily selfie
B) Outfit check
C) Photo of your lunch
D) Couples selfie
E) Something considerably more unhinged — comment it 👇

Also:
How many days do you genuinely think you’d last?
I’m saying 6 before half of Reddit forgets. 😂
If you find StreakWars right now, you’re ridiculously early.

No giant community. No polished corporate launch.
Just War #001 and a bunch of strangers about to find out who has their shit together.

May the least forgetful idiot win. 🫡

u/nchatterji — 1 day ago
▲ 43 r/StartupSoloFounder+26 crossposts

[Help needed] I need advice about a new video on the Play Store for my app

This is the app (called "LWP+"), and I've shown here the video that I've published there:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lb.lwp_plus

At first I was happy about what I created on the video, but then I thought that it looks more like a tutorial here, instead of maybe focusing on what's the most interesting. Surprisingly, ever since I've published the video, it actually got quite some views already (29 after 2 days), despite the fact it's a bit of a niche app. Still, I think maybe it can be improved.

I want to know what you guys think about the video (which has audio, BTW).

Here's about the app:

It's a live wallpaper app, that has these features:

  1. Allows showing color/image/animation/video as content (users choose the file from the file system). No special effects so some users that complain about the dimming/zooming effects actually like using it. Users can also choose whether it should scroll or the type of automatic cropping.

  2. Allows (some) control over the Material-You colors of the OS, as it lets users to choose the colors to report the OS about what's on the wallpaper. This means that like on Android 17, users can choose the colors they want (if the OS supports it) despite the content not matching it.

  3. Setting of double-tap to lock the screen. Some launchers don't offer this, so I added it to the app too.

  4. Some extra flags that (on some devices) should affect colors further, such as black/white text and/or black/white icons on status bar and/or lock screen and/or launcher.

The app is completely free, ad-based. Users can remove the ads including by just watching full screen ads. Originally it was created to offer dark-theme on devices as it wasn't a toggle on the OS settings, and was based on the colors of the wallpaper.

u/AD-LB — 2 days ago
▲ 2 r/StartupSoloFounder+2 crossposts

Client just landed $1.3 contract

Ok, so I got an email yesterday from a client that said they have won a $1.3 million dollar federal contract. They are the first client so far to win a contract using our software. We have only been out for a couple months and this helps prove that we took our decades of experience in the field and built something that is actually helping people compete more. We are excited to see more winners, coming down the pipeline. Now lets see whose next, we have over $4 million in our entire pipeline.. Lets end the year strong!!!!

reddit.com
u/mrbless404 — 1 day ago
▲ 15 r/StartupSoloFounder+14 crossposts

Is Your Website Invisible to ChatGPT? Find Out in 10 Seconds

Your website can look perfect and still be invisible to ChatGPT.

We’ve been checking websites for AI visibility, and one thing keeps surprising us: even established, well-funded companies can fail basic checks that affect whether AI search engines can discover and understand their site.

Before spending money on “AI SEO,” check your foundation first.

Leapd offers the best AI visibility audit for free. In about 10 seconds, it checks the basics and shows you what’s working, what’s broken, and what you should fix.

Enter your URL. See what AI sees.

Run the free audit →

u/leapd-ai — 1 day ago
▲ 33 r/StartupSoloFounder+8 crossposts

Thank you for 1k8 active users and 4.8 rating App Store for my subscription reminder app, here is discount code

Hey everyone,

I'm developer who built Submindo, a subscription tracker and manager I originally built because I kept losing money to forgotten renewals and free trials. I've posted here before, and feedback from this community has been a huge part of how the app keeps improving.

Submindo has now over 1,800 active subscriptions tracked. All of it has been organic and word of mouth — I haven't spent a single dollar on ads.

A large portion of early users came directly from Reddit — people testing the app, reporting bugs, suggesting features, and recommending it to others. As a thank-you to the community, I'm offering Submindo Unlimited Lifetime for just $3.99 (normally $11.99, over 60% off) for iOS. It works for everyone, is valid for 3 days, and requires no DMs or comments to claim.


What Makes Submindo Different

Most expense and reminder apps treat recurring costs as basic, flat calendar events. Real subscription management involves trial deadlines, billing cycles across different currencies, overlapping tools, and finding out if you are overpaying.

Submindo is built specifically around recurring expenses and portfolio efficiency:

  • Smart Pre-Bill Alerts: Push notifications arrive days before a charge hits so you have ample time to cancel.
  • AI Spending Analysis: Scans your active subscriptions to flag redundant plans, evaluate utility, and output a clear Worth It / Borderline / Not Worth It verdict.
  • AI Alternatives Finder: Detects overpaid tools and suggests lower-cost alternatives with side-by-side savings breakdowns.
  • Visual Expense Calendar & Overview: Track costs across daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly intervals.

What's new in recent updates based on community feedback:

  • Home Screen Widgets: Monitor upcoming renewal dates directly from your phone's home screen.
  • True Dark Mode (AMOLED/OLED): Pure pitch-black interface to save battery life and reduce eye strain at night.
  • Trial Period Tracking: Dedicated counters for free trials to ensure cancellation happens before automatic charges occur.
  • 13 Spending Categories & Full History: Complete payment timeline logging for long-term budget records.

Plans & Pricing

Submindo Free:

  • Track core subscriptions with custom billing cycles
  • Standard bill reminders before renewal dates
  • Expense summary views
  • Dark Mode and AMOLED support

Submindo Unlimited:

  • Unlimited subscription tracking & categories
  • Full AI Spending Analysis and redundancy detection
  • AI Alternatives Finder with cost savings reports
  • Interactive Home Screen Widgets
  • Complete billing history and calendar breakdowns

Regular Pricing:

  • Yearly: $9.99 / year
  • Lifetime: $11.99 (One-time purchase)

The Thank-You Offer — Submindo Unlimited Lifetime for $3.99 (iOS)

How to claim:

  1. Tap the direct redeem link above on your iPhone/iPad (or enter code THANKYOUREDDIT via App Store redeem).
  2. Confirm the redemption to unlock Submindo Lifetime Unlimited for $3.99.

Download Links:

If you track subscriptions or recurring bills, I would love to hear what features you'd like added next or what needs improvement. Every update listed above came directly from user feedback in the comments!

u/dungngminh — 3 days ago
▲ 17 r/StartupSoloFounder+15 crossposts

Do you ever wish you could test startup decisions before actually shipping them?

I’m working on a product for founders who want to make better decisions before spending time, money, or traffic on the wrong thing.

The problem I’m trying to solve:

A lot of startup decisions are expensive to validate.

Changing pricing can hurt conversion.
Changing copy can confuse users.
Changing onboarding can reduce activation.
Launching a feature can waste weeks.
Running interviews or A/B tests takes time and often requires traffic you may not have yet.

So I’m building Polyhyle: a simulation platform where you can model a product/business scenario and see how different synthetic user segments might react.

Examples:

  • simulate a pricing change
  • test positioning and landing page copy
  • predict objections before launching
  • compare feature concepts
  • simulate user reactions to a competitor move
  • estimate impact on conversion, churn, adoption, or trust

To be clear: I don’t think simulated users replace real customers.

But I do think they can help founders narrow down bad ideas faster, generate better hypotheses, and decide what is actually worth testing.

I’d love feedback from other founders:

What’s one startup decision you wish you could simulate before making it?

u/TransportationOne437 — 2 days ago
▲ 15 r/StartupSoloFounder+1 crossposts

I built Clarity, a free Chrome extension for customizable, dyslexia-friendly reading

I just published Clarity, a Chrome extension I built to make webpages easier and more comfortable to read, especially for dyslexic and neurodivergent readers.

It has two main options: Reading Mode, which turns article content into a distraction-free reading view, and Integrated Mode, which adjusts the text directly on the original webpage. You can customize the font (including OpenDyslexic), font size, line spacing, and letter spacing, and Clarity saves your preferences for later.

It’s completely free, and the current version processes webpage content locally rather than sending what you read to a server. I attached a short demo showing how it works. I’d genuinely appreciate any feedback, especially on usability, bugs, or features you think would make it better.

LINK: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/clarity/igcfgbcfkfbjafcbochonmifljapcanc

▲ 2.9k r/StartupSoloFounder+27 crossposts

why do i get like this

For anyone wondering, the app I'm working on is https://www.AppScout.co.

It helps people discover web and mobile apps from across the internet by showing them one app at a time. People like apps in order to get personalized app recommendations.

If you run a software startup or side project, you can list it for free to get free extra traffic here:https://www.appscout.co/submit/

(Affiliation Disclosure: I'm the sole creator and developer behind AppScout.)

u/Healthy_Flatworm_957 — 4 days ago
▲ 21 r/StartupSoloFounder+6 crossposts

I got tired of checking 10 different sites for stock research, so I built Walnut Markets

I built Walnut Markets because most stock research still feels way too fragmented.

You can find Congress trades, insider filings, institutional data, technicals, fundamentals, contracts, and news — but usually not in one place, and rarely with a clear read on what the data is saying.

Walnut is my attempt to fix that.

It tracks:

- Congress disclosures

- Insider activity

- Government contracts

- Institutional filings

- Technicals / price-volume

- Fundamentals

- Watchlists and screeners

- Bullish and bearish monitors

- A proprietary confirmation score

The goal is not stock picks.

The goal is better research.

If $MU is moving, I want to know whether the data actually supports the move: revenue, EPS, margins, price action, institutional activity, insider/Congress disclosures, and what to watch next.

Free tools are great for alerts. I’m trying to build something more useful for actual research.

Would appreciate any feedback, especially from people who track filings, insiders, Congress trades, or earnings closely.

https://walnutmarkets.com

Research only. Not investment advice.

u/Comprehensive_Tea388 — 2 days ago

Modern CRMs suck. I want a CRM that does the following...

I don't think tools like Mailchimp are necessary anymore. I currently use makeshift system of Claude Desktop pointed at my production database--have it generate text-based lists, and HTML e-mails; but I'm looking for something a little more structured.

I want a CRM that has the following features

  1. Uses my Amazon SES for cheap e-mail

  2. Has a killer enrichment UI, probably Chrome extension-based, that allows me to right-click on leads I find on the web and enrich them with contact info / automatically populate a record

  3. Can sync with my existing contact database structures easily to filter lists for campaigns. Can use an LLM to issue SQL queries to said database to help construct lists quickly.

  4. Provides an LLM-based interface into HTML-based e-mail creation

reddit.com
u/johnwheelerdev — 2 days ago
▲ 3 r/StartupSoloFounder+1 crossposts

I built Testinel because debugging failed automated tests was taking longer than writing them

Hey r/SideProject,

I’ve spent 15 years working with automated tests (unit, integration, e2e), and one part of the process kept frustrating me:

When a test fails, the result usually tells you what failed — but figuring out why still means digging through logs, screenshots, previous runs, and CI output.

When I took a role of test automation lead it became worse: now I need to figure out complex issues for my team. I dreamed about a tool which will do analysis for me.

So I built Testinel.

It collects results from pytest, Python Selenium, and Python Playwright and puts the failures in one place. It helps you:

  • see each failure with its logs and context
  • compare results across test runs
  • spot flaky or recurring failures
  • group failures that may share the same root cause
  • get clues about what to investigate next

It works with local test runs or an existing CI pipeline, so it doesn’t replace the test stack you already use.

There’s a free plan with 1,000 test results per month and no credit card required:

https://testinel.dev/

I’m currently trying to learn whether the product explains its value clearly to test engineers who encounter it for the first time. Also, I'm looking for early adopters to validate is my solution good enough to replace raw CI logs reading.

If you work with automated tests, I’d especially appreciate feedback on two things:

  1. Is it immediately clear what Testinel does?
  2. What would it need to show you before you trusted it with a real project?

I built it in Ukraine (solo, no funding) and would be happy to answer questions about the product, its roadmap or the process behind it.

reddit.com
u/obrizan — 2 days ago
▲ 3 r/StartupSoloFounder+1 crossposts

Does ChatGPT know your app?

Just realized Chat knows my app 🥳 and if you look in what it responded with it seems to get lots of info from Reddit

Any specific hacks you guys are using lately to help with SEO / AEO?

u/sshegem — 3 days ago

One-person startups, where are you?

I’m just starting out with my startup and, as I have extensive experience in digital product development, I’m doing this on my own – just me and my minions. But setting up a startup on your own isn’t easy – is anyone else here going through the same process? Founding a start-up from scratch with just you and your AIs as the founding team? How is this process going for you?

I’d love to hear the details

reddit.com
u/Significant_Word_854 — 4 days ago