Built EdgeDigest, it's live, making $0. What actually gets first users?
I launched EdgeDigest last week. It's a tool that summarizes tech news from feeds you actually care about, saves you time scrolling through garbage. The idea came from me being tired of missing stuff that matters while drowning in noise.
It works. The tech is solid. I've got maybe 40 people who signed up, but exactly zero have paid anything. I put it on a few indie boards and that's it for distribution so far.
Honestly, I'm stuck on the user acquisition part. I built something I'd use myself, but that apparently doesn't automatically mean other people want it. I've read all the typical advice about finding communities and providing value, but I'm wondering what actually moved the needle for you guys.
Did you launch with an audience already? Cold email? Get lucky with a comment somewhere? I'm genuinely curious what the difference was between your first launch that flopped versus the one that got traction.
Also open to blunt feedback on the product itself. What's broken about it? What would make you actually use this?
Anyway, if you want to poke at it and tell me what's wrong, it's here: https://edge-digest.vercel.app
Blunt take since you asked: at 40 signups and 0 paid, this probably isn't an acquisition
problem yet — it's that "saves time scrolling" is a nice-to-have, and nice-to-haves don't
convert. The people who pay for a news digest are usually doing a job with it: analysts,
founders watching competitors, someone who has to brief a team every Monday. I'd look at which of your 40 are closest to that, ask them what they'd miss most if it vanished
tomorrow, and build the paid tier around that answer.
Product-wise, the thing I'd need before paying is trust that it won't miss the one item
that matters — so show me what it filtered OUT and why, not just the summary. A digest I
can't audit, I'll still double-check by hand, and that kills the time it's supposed to save.
Vibe coded app without a custom url, no SEO, no marketing strategy
Reading this, I found myself less certain that user acquisition is the thing you're actually stuck on.
You have people signing up.
You have nobody paying.
Those observations seem to point toward acquisition, value, willingness-to-pay, positioning, and a few other possibilities simultaneously.
What caught my attention is how quickly acquisition became the leading explanation.
$0 with a live product usually means traffic ≠ conversations with buyers yet.
What moved the needle for others at this stage: find 2 subs where people already post the problem EdgeDigest solves, reply helpfully on those threads before any pitch. Launch posts and PH rarely are buyers.
What's EdgeDigest solve in one line, and have you tried Reddit/community replies yet?