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I launched 3 products solo, all dead, What the hell am i missing?
r/Entrepreneur
7/8/2025
Content Summary
A solo developer shares frustration after launching three SaaS products that failed to gain traction despite functional builds. Key issues included lack of pre-launch validation, ineffective marketing/distribution, and building without established audience. Commenters emphasize the importance of preselling, targeted outreach, and understanding customer pain points over product perfection. Many suggest partnering with marketing-focused collaborators and treating early users as co-founders.
Opinion Analysis
Mainstream opinions focus on marketing/distribution being the critical missing element:
- Preselling validation before development is essential
- Solo founders need marketing co-founders or agencies
- Early user acquisition through cold outreach outperforms passive launches
Controversial viewpoints:
- Some argue AI lowers development barriers but increases security risks
- Debate exists about whether to build first or sell first
- Conflicting opinions on targeting SMBs vs enterprises
Emerging perspectives:
- Unexpected enterprise adoption may require product pivots
- Marketing should be treated as engineering problem requiring systematic testing
- Founder resilience through multiple failures is necessary for eventual success
SAAS TOOLS
| SaaS | URL | Category | Features/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter.io | http://Hunter.io | Lead Generation | Email scraping for outreach |
| Savio | Not mentioned | Feedback Management | Tagging user feedback |
| Pulse for Reddit | Not mentioned | Community Monitoring | Flagging relevant user threads |
| Retention.com | http://Retention.com | Customer Retention | Pre-sales validation via calls |
USER NEEDS
Pain Points:
- Difficulty finding initial users/audience
- Post-launch silence and lack of traction
- Building products without market validation
- Marketing/distribution challenges as solo founder
Problems to Solve:
- Validating product-market fit before development
- Effective user acquisition strategies
- Maintaining product viability with limited resources
- Identifying correct target audience
Potential Solutions:
- Pre-selling through landing pages/early bird offers
- Cold outreach to identified pain points (LinkedIn/email)
- Partnering with marketing-focused co-founders
- Pivoting based on unexpected user segments
- Using case studies from early adopters
GROWTH FACTORS
Effective Strategies:
- Preselling before development to validate demand
- Building distribution channels before product completion
- Focusing on first 10 users as co-founders
Marketing & Acquisition:
- Targeted cold outreach via LinkedIn/email scraping
- Creating case studies from early adopters
- Paid influencer marketing for credibility
- Industry convention participation
Monetization & Product:
- Sweetheart pricing for founding members
- 4-6 week MVP development cycles
- Core feature focus over feature creep
User Engagement:
- One-on-one user feedback sessions
- Community monitoring via Reddit/forums
- Direct DM engagement with potential users