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$36K in 7 days: Why distribution beats product (early on)

Last year, we launched another product on AppSumo.

Honestly, it felt like a life potion.
Not just revenue — distribution, feedback, visibility… everything accelerated.

So we decided to do it again with our new product: Visby.

We launched last week.
And we’ve already passed $36K in revenue.*

And if you want to get the life-time deal → it’s live on AppSumo.

What I’m seeing this time (very different from before)

The biggest realization:

👉 Distribution > product (at least in the beginning)

You can build something great, but if nobody sees it, it doesn’t matter.

AppSumo solves that part instantly.

But there’s more…

Why Visby worked (so far)

We’re building in a space that’s:

-New
-Painful
-And already in demand

AI Visibility (GEO / AEO) is becoming a real problem.

People are starting to ask:

“Why am I not showing up in ChatGPT?”
“Why are competitors getting recommended instead of me?”
“How do I influence LLM answers?”

And here’s the interesting part:

👉 LLMs don’t just look at content
👉 They look at signals

-Mentions
-Consistency
-Reviews
-Authority
-Social proof

So when your product starts getting traction, reviews, and real usage…

It actually feeds back into your visibility.

AppSumo is risky (let’s be honest)

Lifetime deals are not perfect.

You’re basically:

-Selling future value today
-Taking on long-term support
-Potentially hurting short-term MRR

But…

If you think long-term:

👉 It’s a distribution engine
👉 It’s social proof generation
👉 It’s market validation at scale

For us, it’s a kickstart, not the business model.

My current thesis

-AI visibility is not a trend → it’s a new layer of marketing
-Reviews & real usage matter more than ever
-Early traction compounds faster because LLMs amplify it

And AppSumo helps trigger that loop.

-If you’re building right now
-Don’t underestimate distribution
-Don’t wait for “perfect product”

Launch where your users already are

If you’re curious about:

-AppSumo launches
-AI visibility (GEO / AEO)
-Or how LLMs “decide” what to show

Happy to share everything I’m learning.

And if you want to check Visby → it’s live on AppSumo.

Hope it helps some of you 🚀

posted to Icon for group Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
on March 18, 2026
  1. 2

    The moment before the big bang 😎

  2. 1

    This hits home. We built 132 blog posts and 3 products before seriously thinking about distribution. Revenue still zero. Your framing of AppSumo as a distribution engine rather than a business model is the right mindset for LTDs.

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