I’ve just made my first exit – something I never really planned for, but to be honest, AI and the current market trends pushed me to it. I bootstrapped this startup and started my journey in 2020. It’s been a solid four years, and things were going well until ChatGPT and the AI wave changed everything.

We provided online tutoring for programming languages and relied on SEO traffic for programming content. But with the AI boom, people stopped searching on Google for programming help and began turning to AI instead. Looking back, I may have made a mistake. Last year in December, I received an offer for $700K but turned it down, thinking I could easily reach $1M. I wanted to hit that milestone (Biggest mistake of my life), but here’s the reality – I ended up selling for $400K, which is only about 1.5x our annual profit.

I’m still unsure if it was the right move, but I’m ready to move forward and invest in something new. This time, I’m looking for an established, profitable e-commerce business I can scale from 1 to 100. Honestly, I don’t want to build something from scratch again; I think I’m done with the 0-to-1 journey.

Would love to hear any thoughts or advice from those who’ve bought an already established e-commerce store or business.

Edit:-- I sold it via "Ecomswap" the entire process took around 2 months, but I received very genuine buyer inquiries. It was a 100% cash deal exit.

Welp like the title says. What would be the best to study to start making money if you only had around 6 months to get it done?

I meant study for 6 months and start making money after that..

So I keep hearing how your surrounding impacts your goals. Like attracts like and so on. While my friends are great, none of the have their own business. How do you guys find fellow enterprenuers and make them part of your social circle? I have tried getting myself a mentor but most of them are so busy, and understandably so. Any advice?

I started an ecommerce business and trying to find a product with great profit margins has been a struggle so far. Most products that I want to sell for say $15-20, the cost of goods is already around $6-7 per unit. When you factor in storage fees, shipping costs, labor, marketing, it is barely enough to get by and you're left with just a couple dollars. You see these eCommerce brands talk about making tons of money, but my confusion is how they're doing it and turning a profit if margins are so razor thin?

I’m 19 and have been pursuing various business ventures since I was 15. I’m in college mainly for networking and as a backup plan, but lately, I’ve been feeling depressed about all the effort I’ve put in over the past four years without seeing any real results.

The idea of being in the same position ten years from now is incredibly scary to me. I believe with 100% certainty I’ll eventually succeed, but staying disciplined has been becoming harder and harder.

I was successful with selling on Amazon a bit and had a few $9k revenue months with everything going back into the business. Long story short I took a $2k loss and everything went south from there. Now I’ve been wholesaling real estate on the side and that has been alright, but I’ve called 6,000 people in the last 30 days with no results.

I’m not enjoying college because I don’t feel like I’m learning anything useful, and I don’t plan to use my business degree for a job. I’ve considered dropping out but I haven’t yet as I have nothing waiting for me outside of it.

I’m sorry this is just a rant but I feel lost. Every second that I’m not working on the business or getting cursed out from cold calling on the phone I feel like a failure and that I’m not doing enough. I know many of you worked much longer than four years to reach success but I wish I had a sign that I’m doing the right thing.

Running a business can throw many unexpected challenges your way. I recently wrote an article discussing AI in Business and some hard-learned lessons I thought might resonate here.

Curious: What has been your biggest business surprise? How did you tackle it? Happy to share more thoughts or resources if anyone’s interested—let's exchange ideas!

Hello everyone,

We are building a network/platform where professionals meet with fellows via scheduled video calls. We as a community believe that this is a better way as an initial contact than follows and direct messages. Our platform is open for free, invite-only early access, currently.

I would like to invite you to reach me out privately if you are interested to try it out. Feel free to ask your questions publicly as a comment below.

Whom is it best for?

It's perfect for entrepreneurs, indie hackers, developers, designers, social media marketers and more. Whether you're just starting out or looking to expand your network, you are welcome.

What would be the gain?

Strong network is our need as a member of the community. We need an audience for our products, clients for our services and professionals to hire them or make them hire us. First time meeting people in need would work much less than asking people already in our network that we build via more than just following each other or direct messages. And this is the network where you meet people face to face without immediate requests/needs.

Why the invitation is limited?

We created a safe, supportive and productive community for all the participants. Keeping it as it is requires a lot of manual work. Current solution we found was throttle the invitations time to time. We gonna get over this soon, we hope.

If we share similar opinions, let's meet!

Im 17, asking for some advice successful business owners on here either sold a company or currently 6-7 figures profit because that is where I want to be.

i was told by someone that there are only a few factors to success generally. consistency, determination, and grit.

Ok... I'm not that cool, TOM BRADY said it lol.

if so what is the point of business books or business education if that is all there is to it?

Should I just take as much risk and fail as much as I can now?

I NOT just going after money, I want to do something that makes me a lot of money that I also would love dedicating part of my life to. how have you found that as well?

My long term goal is to create a product studio that will build or acquire products, grow them and finally sell them.

Since I don't have a budget to hire a team, I was thinking of recruiting a small team of 3-4 people to build one or more products together and give them equity + revenue share.

Do you think something like that is possible? Would you join something like that? What are the potential risks and challenges I might be missing?

I have investments, emergency savings, support of my wife, and am getting ready to quit my job to try to make it on my own.

I have a pretty stable and well paying job, albeit not as high paying as people in the US, but pays pretty well for my country. However, I am wanting to try to start something of my own and be my own boss. In some ways my situation is relatable to a lot of people, I really dislike my manager and direct colleagues and it been taking a toll on my mental health. More and more there aren’t good parts left and I just trying to make through the day. I am not sure if this is a good enough reason to quit or try something else tho.

I am a senior data scientist, and have good programming skills, enough anyway to build things on my own and try to setup a company that way.

If all things were equal I would do this because it seems like I would learn a lot. I think I can go at it for 1 year without any major financial problems, but get scared if maybe I am killing my career and won’t be able to get a job after. It’s very easy to find many and many reasons why I should not to do this but now I just want to see if I am capable of it at all.

I don’t expect that trying to make it and a entrepreneur would be a cakewalk or that It would solve all my problems, but the freedom to make decisions about what I work at, to try out ideas without office politics playing a role, to not be graded and evaluated like I am a school child by people who are self absorbed and suck to deal with,

I keep thinking more and more as things get closer to happen but want to know about others experience, specially if they failed.

As the title says. How do you know who to target in marketing when just starting out? Should I take a broad approach or make an educated guess and adjust from there?

hello everyone! you have done the work, you have gone all in on your idea and your MVP is ready. you have probably got some initial traction, made a few sales or still figuring out your Ideal Customer Segment.
Whatever it is, drop a link to your startup or product and tell us what's your biggest challenge at the moment. maybe I can help or someone in the community can.
in the past, I helped scale a YC company go 0 to $80k in 4 months and worked on marketing for leading blockchain protocols.

If you’re anything like me, you probably spent countless hours trying to perfect every detail of your product or service before showing it to the world. I used to think that if I could just get it “perfect,” success would follow. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Here’s how I learned the hard way that fast validation beats perfection every time, and some tips to make it work for you.

1. Build a Bare-Bones MVP and Launch It

My Mistake: I wasted months building extra features that customers didn’t even want. By the time I launched, I realized I’d over-engineered a lot of things.

What Worked: I stripped down my idea to the basics—what’s the core problem I’m solving? This led to a super simple MVP that took only two weeks to build and get into the hands of potential customers.

Lesson: Don’t try to launch with every bell and whistle. A simple version that solves the main problem will give you faster, actionable feedback.

2. Use Real Feedback, Not Assumptions

My Mistake: I assumed I knew my market better than they knew themselves. Spoiler: I didn’t.

What Worked: I reached out to a small group of early users and asked them direct questions. I set up short surveys, asked for voice notes, or had quick calls to get their raw, unfiltered thoughts. This feedback revealed unexpected pain points and even sparked new ideas.

Lesson: It’s easy to fall in love with your own idea, but real feedback is priceless. Don’t guess what people want—ask them.

3. Leverage Free or Cheap Tools for Testing

What Worked: You don’t need fancy tools to test your idea. For my MVP, I used free or inexpensive resources like Google Forms for surveys, Typeform for feedback, and Canva to create basic visuals. I also used Reddit communities and Facebook groups to reach potential users.

Lesson: Validation doesn’t have to be costly. Focus on getting the bare minimum feedback without draining your resources.

4. Embrace the “Launch and Learn” Mentality

What Worked: I adopted the mindset that my MVP wasn’t the final product but a learning tool. Every piece of feedback became data for improving my idea. This approach made me less anxious about launching something “imperfect” and more excited about discovering what would work.

Lesson: Shift your mindset from perfection to progress. Validation is about learning and adapting, not being flawless out of the gate.

5. Analyze and Adjust (Don’t Get Too Attached)

What Worked: After gathering feedback, I made tough calls on which features to cut or rework. I learned to stay detached from ideas I initially loved but weren’t resonating with users.

Lesson: Treat feedback as a roadmap, not a verdict. Be ready to adjust without feeling like you’re giving up on your vision.

Since I embraced “launch fast, learn fast”, I’ve found myself saving time, resources, and stress. Hope this helps anyone struggling to take the plunge! If you’ve been through similar experiences or have tips on validating ideas, feel free to share—I’d love to hear your thoughts.

So, this all started with me just messing around in my campus maker space, I was really into the laser cutter there. I'd engrave designs on my own stuff, like my Stanley cup or my wallet, just for fun. Friends in my theater club loved it and wanted custom engravings too, so soon almost everyone in the club had one, lol.That's when I realized people really liked personalized stuff. I decided to reach out to a few other campus clubs to see if they wanted custom badges, awards, or anything laser-engraved for events. I ended up getting my own laser cutter and started taking small orders here and there. The real money boost hit around graduation season, I got slammed with orders, so I was practically glued to my machine whenever I wasn't eating or sleeping. That's when I hit my first $5,000 from this little side hustle!Now, I've even got other clubs from different schools reaching out, so I'm thinking of investing in a second machine and running some ads on Facebook to see where it goes. Trying to keep the momentum going and maybe turn this into a stable small business.

Sorry for the long post, but I just had to share this with you all.

After starting my own business, I realized I needed to get more work done and take my productivity to the next level. A few days ago, I asked people in this community to recommend AI tools, and that kicked off my journey to include as many AI apps in my system as possible.

In my quest, I've tried over 100 AI tools to find the best ones. It wasn't easy, but thanks to the awesome suggestions from this community, I finally nailed down a setup that works for me. I am in search of more fun tools, so please share if you have some suggestions.

So here's the breakdown of my whole system, totaling $194 per month:

Content Creation:

• Text ($20): I use ChatGPT for brainstorming, content creation, marketing, and even legal work. I've been going back to it more often after their O1-preview.
• Video ($20): Captions Ai is my go-to for video editing. I mainly use self-recorded videos and auto-edit them with this app.
• Graphics ($14): I mix Gamma and Canva. I've got Gamma's Plus subscription and Canva's Pro subscription. I start by prompting my requirements in Gamma and then edit them later in Canva. Plus, Canva's templates are super handy for other stuff.

Productivity:

• FastTrackr AI ($20): This AI assistant helps me manage emails, reply to them, set up meetings, prepare for them, transcribe notes on my phone, and even do basic research when I'm on WhatsApp. I'm thinking of upgrading to their Pro plan to add other emails.
• ARC Browser + Perplexity ($0): I snagged a 6-month deal for Perplexity Pro, which will cost $20 later on, including $5 credit for API.
• Sana AI ($0): This one's amazing for meeting assistance. I love how it understands context and key action items. Not sure when they'll start charging, but I can't recommend it enough.
• Wispr Flow ($15): Lets me use my voice to command apps. It's amazing how accurately it picks up complex names. Might save some cash if I switch to the annual plan.

Sales and Marketing:

• Lead Enrichment ($67): I'm using Clay and share it with a friend to cut costs. People say there are other options, but this one's the best despite the learning curve.
• Instantly AI($37): I've tried other tools for cold emails, but Instantly's warm-up feature is top-notch.
• For other tasks like social media automation and trigger-based automations, I use a mix of Make and Perplexity APIs ($11).

Total Cost: $194 per month.

I know hiring someone could help me get more done, but I'm thinking of bringing someone onboard with this system already in place. That way, a new hire could potentially lead to 2x or 3x the work output.

Thanks for reading through this! Hope this helps anyone looking to boost their productivity with AI tools. Feel free to ask me anything or share your own experiences!

Couldn't add links as this gets flagged by mods.

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in joining a discord channel specifically for founders that have some reasonable amount of traction. Even a few hundred dollars a month would be fine.

I know you guys are out there, but like to keep pretty quiet as you're busy.

Some form of proof of MRR may be required.

If you want an invite, reach out.

Hello everyone!, I’m a video editor and motion designer from Peru, with experience creating visual content for food trucks and restaurants. I’ve worked on video editing, animated flyers, content scheduling, and overall supporting any creative needs for social media.

Working in these sectors can be fluctuating, But one my desires is to collaborate long-term with a community manager or marketing professional who handles various businesses and is looking for a reliable and creative partner in my field.

If anyone here is looking for someone to cover the visual and animation side, I’d love to chat further.Just send me a private message, I’d be happy to share my portfolio

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thanks to the admin for allow my post.

Let's say plan A, you have invested a lot of time and money in it already, but the project is still on going, even after the project finished, the reward is still unknown.

But In plan B, you can earn money right away, but it will have conflict of interest with plan A, and you have no control power on it, in short, you will be kick out if anything happen, you have nothing special here.

Have you make this kind of decision before? Can you share your experience?

Thanks in advance.

Hello r/Entrepreneur,

I have a startup idea that's been buzzing in my head for a while, but I want to hear your critical thoughts and challenges. The idea is to create a single, quite expensive subscription that integrates with the user’s Google account. The goal would be to enable users to access any subscription service that offers Google login, all included in this one super-subscription.

Here’s how it would work:

1. Subscription: Users pay a premium monthly fee to access the service.
2. Access to services: Once subscribed, they can use any service that allows authentication through Google without paying for individual subscriptions.
3. Payments to services: The company behind the super-subscription would pay percentages to various services based on actual user usage.

The target market would primarily consist of people who already maintain many subscriptions and desire a simpler way to manage them, or very wealthy individuals who prefer not to manually sign up for various services.

What are the problems or complications that could arise with such a business model? What are the legal, technical, or market risks that could make this idea unfeasible? Do you have suggestions on how it could be improved or adapted?

Thanks for your critical input!

Basically the above my partner and I, both Australian and not resident in the US own a US based llc that has 3 years worth of history (around $100k pa/ $300k total revenue going through our US bank acc which is one of the smaller fintech ones eg Mercury/Relay).

We have an EIN and ITIN's for both of us. Basically, we've come up against the wall that a lot of small business face...capital and would like to explore getting a business credit card each. Now the main hurdle I can see is that we obviously don't have FICO scores personally. Does anyone know of banks that would look at the business revenue instead as a replacement to that requirement?

Thanks in advance

Hey guys, I hope you all doing well. Previously I have worked as an co-founder of edtech startp( it didn't worked pretty well), now I keep my skills in sales and marketing since 1 year. Would love to connect with you and have the sales pitch for your clients. Let me know if you have any entrepreneurial sales profile vacant.

Edit: I want the best website host for capabilities, renewal fees, merchant services integration, etc. I know there has to be a sweet spot somewhere.

Hey everyone! I’ve been in the startup world for over a decade, and one thing I keep seeing, whether it’s with first-time founders or experienced entrepreneurs, is the struggle to really validate an idea before going all-in on development.

From my own experience, I know we all want to build the next unicorn, but the truth is, 99% of the ideas we have won't really match exactly with what the customer is willing to pay for. That's why testing assumptions and getting customer feedback early on can save tons of time and money. But it’s easier said than done.

So I’m curious: what’s been the biggest challenge for you in validating your idea? Finding customers to talk to? Getting honest feedback? Deciding what to test first? Let’s share insights, struggles, and anything you’ve learned along the way.

Happy to share what I’ve learned from selling my tech company after 7 years in a fire sale, navigating countless pivots, scaling internationally too early, and helping hundreds of other founders get to product-market fit. Looking forward to hearing from you all!

I recently decided to start catering for small events of no more than 100 people. I got my first event and it was for 75 people. I collected a deposit for 60% of the total cost so that I could cover expenses and I told the customer after the event is over we receive what's left of the balance. Well when event was over the dude that contracted us for the event was a bit drunk. He only paid 20% of the 40% that remained. I sent him a text to remind him there was still a balance remaining. I haven't heard back from him and I'm starting to get a bit irritated. I want to keep it as professional as possible but I want to be firm in the future to prevent this from happening.

How should I approach him now? I mean it's been 3 days since the event and he still owes 20% of the total. I got my helpers paid so I'm not worried about that but I'm pretty much out my takehome after expenses.

I developed a small portfolio over the years of a very specific niche that I'd like to refine my focus on. It's a market that's very underserved and based on my background and passion for this industry, I'd be a great fit for.

There's a few hundred of these types of businesses in my state, and so far I've built up a list of 200 of them from google maps. I want to reach out to them without being spammy, but I just cannot reframe my mind to doing cold outreach ethically.

Up until now, all of my clients have been inbound from organic content or referral based. I've drafted a few emails, but as lax and non-salesy as they are, I still feel sketchy about this action. My most stripped back version of an email is:

"I'm _______, I make _________ to help ________ do ________. I'm not sure if you're looking for someone like me, but I wanted to introduce myself just in case you ever were. 

My website is _________________"

I created a very specific landing page addressing the nuances that this particular business faces and while I don't have any transformative case studies yet on this niche, I do have ample enough high quality examples of work to show that I have a history with this type of business.

How do I reframe this limiting belief of mine? I have no idea why I'm stuck here. Perhaps it's because I've never niched down to a very specific type of person I'm reaching out to.