From failed SMMA to first paying customers with Letterly

In 2022 I tried starting an SMMA. It went nowhere and just drained money and energy.

At the time I had long commutes on public transportation, which gave me a lot of free time. I spent it reading two business books a month. That habit pushed me to start a newsletter at the end of 2023 called Success Stacks, where I shared lessons from the books I read.

But growing a newsletter organically was harder than I expected. Writing was fun, but turning each issue into more content felt slow and repetitive.

By the end of 2024 I hit a wall with my newsletter. That frustration became the spark for Letterly, an app I am building to help creators grow faster without burning out on content repurposing.

I built the MVP in a month with no coding experience. Seven months later, after plenty of late nights, I am proud to say the beta is live and I got my first paying customers this month.

I am still a full-time architecture student handing in my master’s thesis next year, but Letterly has become my obsession on the side.

👉 letterly.pro

Would love any feedback, ideas, or just to connect with others who have felt the same newsletter pain.