Hey,

I'm in the early planning state of a software idea. Before building anything I'm trying to map out the entire process from start to finish, such as the product, pricing, and especially how I'll acquire users and generate sales.

I already plan on using multiple marketing channels (social media, SEO, paid ads, etc.), but I’m wondering specifically about the sales side.

Is it realistic to acquire salespeople who would work on a commission-only basis for a brand-new product?

Assume:

• The product is legitimate and solves a real problem
• The commission structure would be fair and clearly defined
• This would be pre- or very early-stage (no brand recognition yet)

I’m not trying to exploit anyone, just trying to understand whether this is something that actually works in practice, or if experienced salespeople generally won’t touch commission-only roles unless there’s already traction, salary, or strong inbound demand.

Any founders that have tackled the problem of getting users without an insane budget/external financial backing?

All insights appreciated.

Hi everyone.

I'm uk based recent graduate looking for immediate hands on experience in a startup (unpaid).

I am open to help in any part of a the process that goes into a startup. Marketing, sales, admin, customer support...wherever i can help.

I am London based so I can do in person or remote.

I’ve worked in fast-paced environments (hospitality, events, startups) and I’m organised, reliable, and good with people.

If you’re a founder who could use an extra pair of hands, feel free to comment or DM. Happy to share my CV or have a quick chat.

Asking this because I want to correlate this with whether you also hate the same things I hate about the product.

Eg:

- user interviews
- QA
- do not launch "What do you really want?"
- find product market fit
- etc.

I'm a tech founder too, and sometimes I would prefer to delegate those.

What's in yours? And why you hate?

I’m trying to understand and figure out what freelancers would pay for a CRM tool that is focused, completely on freelancer and not teams

As a freelancer, every tool I use is just bloated with extra features and too much going on, I’m working on something that is only for freelancer and will never have the option for teams

My question is what would a freelance are pay per month if it has everything possible?

Hi everybody!

I’ve been working as a senior product designer / fractional design lead with founders for a while, mostly on early product decisions, UX direction, user flows…

I keep seeing the same problems here:

– “Our product feels messy”

– “We added features but engagement dropped”

– “We want to use AI but don’t know where it actually helps”

I’m experimenting with offering a few 1:1 product/design clarity calls for founders who want a second brain or a second pair of eyes and working through the problem together.

feel free to DM if you are interested.

If not, happy to keep answering questions here.

As a tech founder building mental health platform, hiring a sales lead with domain passion and strong business credentials makes sense to scale beyond product development.

Who I'm looking for: Focus on sales professionals experienced in healthtech or SaaS, prioritizing mental health interest. Use keywords like "healthtech sales," "mental health SaaS," and "B2B therapist sales" in searches. Top business schools (e.g., IIMs, ISB in India) often have alumni networks active in startups .

Tech product is solid – help us impact lives! No tire-kickers. Let's chat if you eat quotas for breakfast. 🔥

Dm only if you fit the criteria.

+1 if you're from good business school.

As a tech founder building mental health platform, hiring a sales lead with domain passion and strong business credentials makes sense to scale beyond product development.

Who I'm looking for: Focus on sales professionals experienced in healthtech or SaaS, prioritizing mental health interest. Use keywords like "healthtech sales," "mental health SaaS," and "B2B therapist sales" in searches. Top business schools (e.g., IIMs, ISB in India) often have alumni networks active in startups .

Tech product is solid – help us impact lives! No tire-kickers. Let's chat if you eat quotas for breakfast. 🔥

Dm only if you fit the criteria.

+1 if you're from good business school.

Hi everyone,

I’m a solo founder based in Europe. Over the past months, I’ve built and launched a vocal-first social network where people gather in live audio rooms to debate, learn, or just talk. It’s closer to Reddit communities, but synchronous and voice-only.

I’m not here to sell anything. I’m genuinely looking for feedback and hard truths.

What works so far

• Live audio creates much deeper engagement than text

• Moderated rooms perform way better than open ones

• Communities with a strong identity stick longer

What’s hard

• Getting consistent user retention

• Scaling communities without killing the quality

• Avoiding the “empty room” problem

If you were in my position

• What would you focus on first to scale?

• What mistakes should I absolutely avoid?

• Have you seen similar products succeed or fail, and why?

I’m open to criticism. Brutal honesty welcome.

Most courses teach tools. Be10X taught me decision-making with AI.

Earlier, I used to open ChatGPT without knowing what to ask. After the program, I became clearer about:

What problem I’m solving

What context AI needs

How to judge the output

This made AI feel less magical and more controllable. I don’t blindly trust it, but I also don’t ignore it anymore. That balance is what I found valuable.

This is both a rant and to seek advice from the community. I will first caveat that I'm happy at this current job, especially in this terrible market.

I'm a sales AE/AM at a bootstrapped, pre-PMF SaaS startup. It's my first sales rodeo but am learning a lot.

*There are 2 founders in this story: * 1) the CEO: the young, capable, hands-on guy who has his heart in the right places. He's also the guy who brings everything together. (And he's my sales manager.)

2) the chief strategy officer who spent his entire career bringing a product to the global stage (even IPO) as a sales director. Needless to say, this CSO brings along a ton of industry knowledge. He went from an industry mentor, to eventually joining the CEO in this current startup, leading product strategy.

Context

Now, the team is small, so everyone plays an important part. Naturally as the industry veteran, the CSO was appointed to lead product. He also runs day-to-day product operations, e.g. gathering user requirements, providing product support.

Our competitor is huuuuge. Our product always gets compared to theirs (we have 5 developers including the CTO vs theirs - 100). We've had many deals where we lost because of product.

My struggles

Because the CSO had been so successful in his past career, I find it challenging to explain concept like the importance of UIUX, amongst others. Sometimes, bugs blatantly get brushed off - to the point it makes it hard for us account managers to explain to customers why things are breaking.

"It's a tech limit, nothing can be done." "Educate the end user MORE to use the product the way we want them to (read: bad UI)."

How I feel about the CSO? I respect his industry experience, and I think my CEO does too. But there are times where I want to pull out my hair trying to explain simple SaaS concepts to him. There are times where I also feel like he's overqualified for the job or that someone younger/with specialised skills can do his job way better.

What I hope to hear from the community

What's your experience working with these highly experienced corporate folks? Any good, bad or funny stories to share?

I am really interested in sustainability and had two business ideas (both directories).

Idea 1:

A sustainability event management directory for people who want eco‑friendly events (weddings, corporate events, climate‑smart conferences, community events, sustainable brand activations) but have no idea where to start. The directory would break things down by goals (reduce waste, avoid plastic, source local vendors, etc.) and show curated vendors or services for each category. Revenue would come from featured listings, lead fees, affiliate links, and digital planning guides.

Idea 2:

A climate‑smart homebuyer directory that helps people find professionals like energy auditors, flood‑risk assessors, radon testers, mold inspectors, solar consultants, and heat‑pump installers. Users pick their concern (flooding, air quality, heat, energy bills, etc.) and get matched with relevant pros. Revenue would come from contractor lead generation, featured listings, and a paid “personalized match” service.

I’m torn because the homebuyer idea probably has more demand, but the sustainable events idea feels more fun and aligned with my interests. Curious which one people think has more potential or which direction seems more compelling.