I’m building a tool for small businesses and currently in the proof of concept stage. We’re testing ideas with a few early users and learning a lot from their feedback.
One thing I’m struggling with is finding the right balance between user discovery and community rules especially on platforms like Reddit, where research or feedback posts can get flagged.
For founders who’ve gone through this, how did you manage to talk to potential users and validate your ideas early on, without it being seen as promotional?
Would really appreciate hearing how you approached it.
How do early stage founders learn from real users without crossing into promotion territory?
byu/Potential-Store9671 inEntrepreneur
Posted by Potential-Store9671
4 Comments
I’m currently in a similar stage and am interested in hearing what others have to say.
Where I’ve had the most success is reaching out to people in my network who fit the ICP we put together. Cold outreach hasn’t been very successful
Good luck on your journey!
Let’s do it
Focus on joining discussions as a genuine member, share your thoughts and ask thoughtful questions related to your problem space rather than your product. Listening without immediately sharing your project builds trust. I found that using ParseStream helped me track relevant conversations quietly, so I was able to connect with people who were already talking about issues my tool solves.
In my experience, talking to them about their problems and how they attempted to solve them without even mentioning my solution has been the best. I get the best insights while respecting non promotion rules.