3 weeks building NicheRadar: auth live, Stripe next, traffic dropped — here's what I learned
Three weeks ago I posted here asking for feedback on NicheRadar, a tool that finds niche communities for your product. You roasted me (nicely). Here's what changed.
What shipped:
— Supabase auth (sign up / log in, plan-based rate limits)
— Confidence scores + B2B/B2C filter on results
— Static example results on the landing so people see value before scanning
— Welcome email on signup
— Stripe integration (finishing this week — first paying customers incoming hopefully)
What I learned the hard way:
— Reddit API rejected my access request ("lacks details"). Working on resubmitting with more specifics.
— Show HN got flagged on day 1. Still flagged 13 days later. Mods didn't reply.
— Traffic is directly correlated to posting. Week I post = 100+ visitors. Week I don't = 20.
— Bounce rate went from 83% → 72% just by adding visible example results above the fold.
Honest question for IH: for those of you who've gotten your first 10 paying customers — was it mostly outreach, content, or just luck of a viral post?
Demo still free: trynicheradar.com
The traffic lesson is important: distribution is not a launch-day task; it is part of the product routine. Adding visible examples and reducing the bounce rate from 83% to 72% is real progress. Before Stripe, I’d focus on getting a few users to return repeatedly—repeat usage is a stronger buying signal than initial traffic.
The bounce rate improvement is encouraging, but I think the bigger question is whether NicheRadar is solving a discovery problem or a customer acquisition problem. I'd keep validating whether people pay because they found more communities, or because those communities consistently turn into customers.