Anyone else building under tremendous stress right now?
Personally, I was laid off a year ago and currently bottoming out on savings. Every day is not guaranteed, quite literally, at this point. Yet, I keep my head down and continue building out a product relentlessly that I, quite frankly, have no idea how it will turn out.
Many of us took this leap of faith and are under strenuous circumstances, especially in the current market. If you're in similar positions, just know that everything will work out! Fortune favors the bold.
We're in this together! I would love to hear your stories.
Replies
DataTable.dev
@angelinashv That's a great way to think about it! 💪🏻
Kalyxa
I'm right there with you — I'm down to the last bit of my savings too.
Some days, I spiral into overthinking:
Will what I’m building even work? Am I wasting my prime years at 23? Should I be doing something else with my life?
But every time I reach that point, I come back to one simple truth: just show up.
That’s the real game. Not letting doubt win.
Most people lose because they stop showing up when things get hard.
But if you keep showing up — especially when it’s unclear, when it’s lonely, when it’s brutal — you're already ahead.
We are becoming.
@parth_ahir Exactly, the recurring theme in this journey (or in any journey) is about showing up, no matter the circumstance. Like you said, many people fold under real pressure, which is understandable - it's incredibly difficult! However, it's about continuing despite those odds - that's the difference maker. I definitely think that a core part of this journey is about accepting the uncertainties and even, embracing them. Even though we have no clue how everything will turn out, we learn to remain confident in ourselves and just show up. Thanks for sharing Parth! Let's stay connected - looking forward to seeing you continue to build
Rockfonts
Same here. One of the best lessons I've learned lately is to talk to customers, brainstorm ideas, and keep that feedback loop as fast as possible.
Keep pushing 💪!
@ricky_r1 Thanks for sharing 💪 - feedback is paramount for sure. What helped you attract those initial customers and how did you approach gathering feedback?
@ricky_r1 @seanphwang You are in the right place, PH can be your first platform to bring the light to your product. What I have learned here lately is that don't be afraid to not take the product of the day, but being featured in PH is your true testimony.....don't give up, it's all in your hands! And shout out for the help of the Hunters.
I'm in the same boat. It's tough, but I believe in what I'm building. Keep going!
@jonny_vince We got this! Looking forward to seeing your progress
Please start marketing now. Focus on your marketing plan as much, maybe more, than your product. What you're making may be the next best thing for your industry, but if people don't know about it, they're not going to buy it.
I did a poor attempt at market research. I made my product mostly for myself, but I justified the effort to take it from a prototype I use at home to something marketable based on the fact that there's a lot of similar apps with 50k+ downloads. So I figured mine would be another good addition since I have a very specific set of values which is unique compared to all the other recipe apps on the market.
But what I'm still struggling with is how do I convey that message to the people who would buy it. I can add ALL the features, but if I was betting my livelihood on it, I would focus more on selling it than improving it. It can be improved once people start using it and providing feedback.
So please, pause the relentless building and spend some time telling us and the people you expect will benefit from it about what you're building.
@appsforhumans Right - a minimal, simple product with great marketing can become wildly successful. It's clearly evident in brands like Liquid Death. Do you know of any marketing strategies that have worked well for you or others?
@seanphwang Nope. I'm a terrible marketer because I don't like "selling." I'm just trying to get word out about it. I don't want to be a salesperson, but I acknowledge that people won't buy my product if they don't know about it. So I post on social media, not to sell directly, just to talk about my vision and goals and show off my stuff, but not really in a "selling" way. Also I'm not a talking head, so it's mostly just threads, mastodon, and I post shots of my app on instagram. I've posted it on some subreddits and I plan to do more of that. I'm also going to invest in running ads.
I've has 2 people buy in this month, so it's something! I'm open to hearing more ideas about marketing strategies too.
@appsforhumans Great to hear that you've had some success at least! Sales and marketing are definitely quintessential aspects of product success, despite the actual quality of the product itself. I've often heard people say - like yourself - just spend enough time to build an ok product, and focus on executing an amazing marketing strategy
@seanphwang It's because I know we can come up with an endless number of amazing features, but if you're working alone, you have to split your time between making an awesome product, and telling people it exists and they can buy it. If you're out talking about it, yourself not improving it, and that feels bad.
I'm not saying just settle for an ok product, I'm saying don't put all your energy into exclusively building the product, because it takes more than that for the product to be successful.