/r/Entrepreneur
Our community brings together individuals driven by a shared commitment to problem-solving, professional networking, and collaborative innovation, all with the goal of making a positive impact. We welcome a diverse range of pursuits, from side projects and small businesses to venture-backed startups and solo ventures. However, this is a space for genuine connection and exchange of ideas, not self-promotion. Please refrain from promoting personal blogs, consulting services, books, podcasts, MLMs,
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Upcoming AMAs:
Sol Orwell - Sold several websites and was a nomad for a while. He is the main force behind examine.com and sjo.com and previously did an AMA here.
Friday, April 30th
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3) Ten comment karma in /r/Entrepreneur required to post - we ask you interact with the community before you lead the discussion
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Now Featuring Weekly Sticky Posts
NooB Monday - For the most basic of questions
Marketplace Tuesday - Post jobs or internships you're looking to fill or about services you can offer
Wantrepreneur Wednesday - Looking to ask a question a bit beyond the super basic but don't need a whole thread? Ask here!
Thank You Thursday - Thank the /r/Entrepreneur community by offering free stuff, contests, discounts, electronic courses, ebooks and the best deals you know of. Consolidate such offers here!
Accomplishments and Lessons Learned Friday - Tell us what you have accomplished or alternatively what you will hope to never do again
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Community Overview
This community is for giving & receiving advice on all aspects of Entrepreneurship. Help and encourage each other, it's hard enough out there!
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/r/Entrepreneur
Hello everyone,
I am thinking of creating a new website like Coursera. I am very fond of e-learning because I know many people cannot go to other countries for advanced studies due to travel costs. My question is: how much does it cost, and how do people share their videos on it? I mean, how do you connect with universities and colleges around the world?
Throughout my 20ties I've pushed myself to burnout many times.
Burnout looks different for different people, but for me I will generally get burnout if I work every hour of the day that I can manage (so between 8-14 realistically) for about a 4-6 weeks without any days off.
I've noticed that over the years, by getting a lot of experience with burnouts, I've gained some advantages:
- I don't burn out as quickly as I used to.
- burnouts aren't as "emotional" for me anymore. They used to really make me doubt myself, my abilities, my projects, etc.
- it's very easy for me now to bounce back after burnout after getting some rest.
- I don't need as much rest to recover from burnout as I used to.
- I can feel the burnouts coming, so I can better prepare and make the most of the downtime I do take.
---
This kind of goes against the common wisdom that you should try not to burn out, whereas IMO, you should burn yourself out periodically so you learn more about your limits and how to work optimally within them.
And finding actual good channel and somehow learning from it may take months
Anyone have success with a pet waste removal business? Seems like such a convenient service.
I run a startup called coave with my partner and a team of 4 who have jobs they do since we haven't started raking in the cash yet.
I saw a post on reddit about someone quitting his job to face his startup full time and I saw a lot of encouraging comments telling him it was the best.
I don't know about you guys but wouldn't it be great to still have a backup plan if one fails. I'm checking the statistics of failed startups and I'm seeing 90%.
I know we don't all plan to fail but it should still be at the back of our minds. If you did quit your job to face your startup full time, how did you handle the thoughts of failure and disappointing your team?
I just built an MVP for a health tracker app which includes:
I used Claude and it took less than a day.
Why would anyone spend time and money on traditional customer validation of their idea (interviews, surveys, landing pages etc.) when an MVP can now be build so quickly and efficiently?
PS. I do have a background in software development, but not React/Mongo, however having seen numerous videos and articles about AI code generation I was fascinated to try it. I have to say I am very impressed.
Hi all,
I’ve been thinking of the tough time I’ve been having managing my groceries, what to eat, what’s currently in my kitchen etc. I came up with the idea that adding RFID tags to my grocery products and adding RFID readers to my cabinets and refrigerator. Then I can know my exact inventory of my entire kitchen, and be able to automatically order new things as well as suggest recipes based on what’s currently in my refrigerator.
Would this sound like something you would be interested in? Feedback would be welcome!
Okay so i am working on an idea for a children's toy and right now, i have very little financial backing.
The thing is i will need social media videos for promotional,m but i can make these myself I will need a well designed website, which i can also make myself.
.But the other two things is that I will eventually need an app to accommodate the toy, and although there are a few similar apps already available, a lot of them have flaws. and i think having a quality free app would make for great marketing. I read somewhere that a good business strategy is to offer something decent for free, to entice the customer to make a purchase. So i am currently researching different frameworks, to gauge which may best suit my product.
I would also like to make a video game version of my toy for smartphones so I am currently researching game engines for this
So lets say i was to find an app developer. maybe they work freelance.
and i was to say to them.
Here is my idea.
I can make the website, and promotional videos.
But i need someone to make me two apps.
One for the physical toy using this framework, and one for the video game using this game engine.
In your opinion, what would be a fair portion of my company to give them. 10%?
I run a small single member LLC. I pay myself from this business bank account to my personal account by listing it as an owners draw on my books (wave accounting). I recently opened up an HYSA for personal use from funds earned through my part-time job. My question is, can I take money I intend to use in the future for my business, transfer it to my personal account with an owners draw, place it in the HYSA to take advantage of interest gains, then when I am wanting to use the money again, transfer it back to my business account and use it? Or would I have to just use my business savings account, and lose out on the HYSA gains. I have some travel coming up for business purposes in the spring and summer of next year and I’m starting to set money aside for that now, as well as setting money aside for taxes. Hoping I can get the HYSA gains. Thanks!!
I'm curious to know what tools people are using to create reports and presentations quickly. I've been using Bash AI to aggregate data from various online sources and transform it into structured reports. But I'm also curious about other solutions or strategies you might have tried, especially those that can integrate with existing workflows without much hassle.
We’ve switched to free listings on our two-sided B2B software marketplace. This decision helps bring in more products and get things moving faster. By making it easier for sellers to join, we’re aiming to build up supply, drive more interest from buyers and land a better SEO. We aim for the sellers to be more visible, and buyers to have more options.
Let me know what you think of this move!
Hey all,
I’m in the customer discovery phase following The Four Steps to the Epiphany, and it’s been a lot tougher than I thought. Finding the right people to talk to is difficult (what to do if you are not an expert in that industry, keyword searching only helps so much), and even when I do, validating assumptions is tricky; even articulating your assumptions is not really straightforward.
Have you found creative ways to reach unresponsive or niche customers? or expand the search horizon? anything that helps gain more data points / 'aha' moments?
Hey everyone I am building a tool for demand forecasting and doing some research on demand forecasting in the fashion industry, and I’d love to hear from those of you who have experience with it. If you’re managing demand for your brand, I have a few questions:
Your insights will help me understand what’s working and where there are opportunities to improve!
It's a hard truth but we should be honest.
If you want to grow on LinkedIn, consider it a full-time job.
I have 9.3k followers now and send 20 connection requests and messages every day.
I see many people with great expertise trying to achieve some meaningful results here, but they also:
It's a sad truth. For me too.
I believe it's important to change your mindset and choose a pill.
What pill do you choose?
A highly successful founder friend of mine (I will call S), who has a net worth in the ten's of millions, encouraged me to get into the startup game as it was a logical next step for a product manager with many startup ideas.
He convinced me to build a startup on the side while working my day job (my 9 to 5). He would provide marketing and capital-raising support, as he's had success in those domains (has raised $2M+ for his startup, scaled a startup from a few thousand to a few ten thousand customers that got acquired).
I did just that: I started a company, defined the problem, created the landing page, found product market fit, got the customers, and so on. We were at it for just over a year; our friendship became stronger than it was before and trust within each other became strong (we trusted each other with important things and would stop what we were doing to help each other out in both business and personal).
The startup expanded to the point where we gained a technical cofounder and an innovation cofounder that was one of the largest providers in our target niche industry. While working with the innovation partner, we were able to build a functional software product that reduced the innovation partner's cost by a factor of two, thereby reducing operational bottlenecks and increasing operating profits.
S said that because the startup was incurring regular monthly expenses, we needed a business credit card to separate and better track business expenses. Based on our trajectory of success, opening a business credit card made sense given we had operational expenses, and it made sense that I was the account owner since I was the CEO. And it made sense to give S a supplementary card as he was running marketing and there were marketing costs, so I did that, and since I trusted him, I gave S a supplemental card.
During the first few months, S was making business purchases on the card. Overall, the number of transactions was low. Over time, I noticed that S began putting personal expenses on the card, such as Uber, restaurants, etc., but this wasn't a big issue to me as S was making regular payments to the card.
The months went by, and the number of personal transactions grew more frequent, and the amounts became larger. The payment frequency became less, and the volume of personal expenses grew.
So I suspended the card.
After that, S stopped communicating with me. We went from having daily conversations for nearly 2 years to not speaking at all.
At first, I thought this was normal, as S said he was busy with his startup as they were doing a huge pivot (the biggest pivot they have done since the company started, and he needed 100% focus for a period of time on the pivot).
But after 2 weeks, S completely ghosted me. Now it's been over 2 months of this.
I threatened to report his conduct to his largest investor, and he finally made a payment to the card, the first payment in over 6 months. He paid one 1/3 of the balance that he owes.
But I'm still having to chase him regularly to pay it off. And of course he doesn't respond to any of my messages.
He's betting that I will stop chasing him so that he can get away with not paying back.
Ie., successfully robbing me.
The balance owing is under $5k—not a huge amount, but it's a big enough amount, especially when you are a startup and every penny counts.
Don't fuck up like I did; don't give access to a business credit card to another startup founder.
Have you fucked up as an entrepreneur or a startup founder? If so, don't be scared to share your story in the comments. You could help a future entrepreneur not fuck up.
Hi all,
I am writing to this group to gain your thoughts on a potential drink that I have created.
It is a natural fruit flavoured (Lemon, Watermelon, etc) drink with caffeine and Manuka honey that is focused on providing people with diabetes and high blood sugar a taste of a refreshing drink that can replace coffee and energy drinks. It is also beneficial for people who wish to consume a caffeinated drink that isn’t energy drink focused and replace coffee during the warmer or hotter days of the year.
I am pitching it here because I have the recipe and factory ready to market, and am just wondering if YOU as a consumer would buy this drink to replace your coffee needs or when you’re wanting a natural fruit drink that gives you a boost of energy.
Hi all- I know AI is not perfect but I see it just like how tractors were to farming. It did not completely eliminate farmers but we need 1 farmer to use a tractor instead of 25 on the field today. So what AI tools have you all been using? :)
Personally here are a few I have been using:
Title says it I’ve been doing organic marketing on Facebook and YouTube. I am thinking about running ads once I learn how to.
When money is the primary focus:
When problem-solving is primary:
Even seemingly invincible market leaders can fall when they shift from problem-solving to value extraction. Prominent examples that come to mind are IBM, Kodak, Nokia. Do you have any other examples?
Amazon is currently showing this shift in mindset but I don't think it's inevitable with scale.
Toyota is a great example:
So what is happening?
B2B companies often maintain their problem-solving focus because:
B2C companies often drift because:
What can you do?
Mission Focus
Customer Understanding
Innovation Strategy
Business Culture
Growth Approach
Scale by solving more problems or solving them better
Avoid the temptation to maximize short-term profits at the expense of customer value
Study the market for signs of customer problems being underserved
Let me know your thoughts and let's have a productive discussion^^
Your opportunity to thank the /r/Entrepreneur community by offering free stuff, contests, discounts, electronic courses, ebooks and the best deals you know of.
Please consolidate such offers here!
Since this thread can fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.
Hey guys, I've spent some time building the idea that I find interesting for myself but then I read one of the recent tweets by Pieter Levels where he mentions focusing on finding the pain, and then building the solution. So I thought to ask to roast my idea.
Idea:
Newsletter about Asian business, politics and tech news under 10 minutes.
Who is it for:
- People who have business interest in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong or Malaysia.
- Expats who live here
- People who are planning to invest in one of those countries
My concern:
I live in Bali and visit Bangkok and Hong Kong often so for me, it looks like there are tons of foreigners interested in having or running business here and living here. But is it the same from outside perspective?
That's where I need your input guys. Appreciate any positive or constructive negative insight. Thanks!
I've seen so many posts here from non-technical founders trying to build a SaaS, app, or platform. Often, they go straight to Upwork or Fiverr, immediately start the project, and begin paying. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make, and I say this as a developer with 7 years of experience.
Those early missteps can end up costing you 4x the time and money in the long run. Here’s how you should approach things to avoid that, and you can use tools like ChatGPT along the way to help, without needing to spend money in the initial stages:
now all these documents in hand, hire a good developer—don’t go for the cheapest option. A quality developer, even one overseas, will cost at least $25/hour. Skimping on development will only lead to more problems down the road.
and when you pay a developer pay as you go and the least in the beginning - and pay as milestone as they start to show results and don't try to skim or lower budget as you go in the end your product is in their hands and it is extermely hard and difficult to change develops mid way
and lastly hire a tech/cto per hour that can actually code to keep the developer at bay
Edit: also i forget making the app is easy and cheap - the hard part is marketing and getting customers/clients so make sure you either have a marketing plan or funds to go for ads
and the most important thing is 100% of 0 is 0 so your idea is worth zero - even if it is great the thing more important than the idea is the implementation
If you google just a basic google will tell you this about cooking in brass side effects
When a metal reacts to Salt, can't be used for frying, can cause poising of food is stillbneing funded and promoted, why ?
Health over money for VC
Why would a VC or a buisness care about your health.
Coming on the website
Website states things like - MasterChef Approved Unlock discount Fancy photoshoot Influencer marketing Gifting
Instagram - there are so many customers saying it going black, Roti sticks on Tawa The response is hilarious - they are asking customer to use Pitambari powder for washing utensils, make a salt and ata paste and more things.
The brand is just spending a lot of creative writing filling the internet with th good things about them, where as no one is seeing how they are spoiling it for other small business.
When a funded brands spends money on rigorous marketing to make their products look good cost of marketing for other brands go up Influencers cost go up Seo and website maintaining goes up Photographers start charging more after working with them
These are just a few things on how some bad business are run for years and spoil a lot of other business which are non funded have a good product but still can't reach customer due to high cost of customer acquisition.
So, I know that reading books about business, marketing, sales etc. Is essential. But for me I kind of have to be carefull when I read which book. Otherwise it happened in the past that I have a nev epiphany and throw over my routines, or my weekly plan or whatever trying to implement the new stuff I read. This then, leads to me neglecting the day to day business and stuff. Does anyone have experienced the same? How do you read? Are you just reading no matter what or what's your strategy? And how do you implement what you read in a beneficial way without overthrowing the daily business?
A few years ago I took over a Facebook group with a friend. We were able to monetise immediately and increased engagement, got the group active and a solid reputation for a strong handle on not allowing spam, unsolicited DMs etc and generally a pleasant place to be.
The group has about 22k members and is for U.K. business owners - NOT a buying/selling group.
Due to personal reasons we let it lapse and as much as I thought we'd return to it, we haven't and we're now open to offers for someone else to take it over (or perhaps we continue to own it and someone one else takes over managing it and monetising it in return for us having a cut - we are open to ideas).
Mostly testing the waters at this stage but happy to answer questions and serious parties are welcome to DM me.
I’m planning to start a brick-and-mortar store for beauty and cosmetics. I’ve found a location that’s about 10 minutes outside of town, in a business square with multiple small shops under one roof. It’s not a high foot traffic area, but my store will be facing the entrance, which could help attract customers. Should I dodge the bullet?
I have 200,000 followers on TikTok, where I show athletes how to make healthy food. With the traction I've gained on the platform, I'm eager to launch an online store that sells fresh meals to athletes. As a young entrepreneur, I’m unsure how to begin this venture, so any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I'm in the process of starting my one-person-show email marketing agency.
I have experience in ecom, copywriting, and the skincare industry, so I am planning to niche down and target skincare brands.
My main concerns are showing my experience without case studies, setting up a pricing structure (i.e. fixed vs performance-based - what are standard rates on each model?), where to find leads to pitch this service to. Any other important bits are much appreciated as well!
Looking for a prototype engineer who has worked on sports / camping equipment.
I have an idea and would like to discuss what it would take to move it forward.
How do you find good sales jobs? I’m looking through Facebook, seems most don’t end up true. I look through LinkedIn, and seems most don’t even hire anymore.
What would you do in this case?
Edit: If you know of any good offers, let me know.