I built a freelance OS for over a year. Today I start the hard part: finding users.
I'm Akeem — Systems Architect and solo founder of Regulus (regulus.com.ng), an automation-first client management portal built on React, Node.js, and Supabase.
The product is stable. Onboarding takes under 10 minutes. Proposals, invoices, and payments run end-to-end without manual intervention. Zero active users.
Building was the solvable part — I know architecture. Distribution is where I'm starting from scratch. So I'm documenting it here.
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Why Regulus exists
Every freelance tool I tried had the same problem: it moved the manual work, it didn't eliminate it. You still re-entered client data in three places, manually chased invoices, and tracked project statuses in your head.
Most "client management" tools are just glorified spreadsheets with a UI coat of paint. I wanted a system where onboarding a client once cascades downstream automatically — contracts, invoices, payment tracking, all of it. I couldn't find that, so I built it.
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The next 30 days
One goal: 10 active users. No revenue target yet — just 10 people who find it useful enough to keep coming back after the first week.
I'm running outreach on Reddit, LinkedIn, IndieHackers, X, and a few Facebook communities. Two hours a day. Channel by channel. I'll post the actual numbers as I go — what's working, what's not.
If you're a freelancer, dev, or agency operator drowning in client management chaos, I'd like to show you what Regulus does. Drop a comment or reach out directly.
Let's see if 10 is achievable.
This is the most honest framing I've seen in a while. The product being done is actually when the hard work starts. What's your plan for the first 10 users, cold outreach or waiting for organic?
Cold outreach, not organic. Targeting freelancers and small agency owners directly — Reddit, LinkedIn DMs, IndieHackers. Aiming for 10 active users before any monetization push. Organic discovery is a nice-to-have later, not a strategy now.
That's exactly the right sequencing — 10 active users tells you more than 1,000 signups. IH has been the most responsive channel for us too, probably because people here are already in builder mode. Good luck hitting the 10. Post an update when you do.
Yeah, I realized that too. And surely i will post an update, had 6 already, no feedback yet.
Hello Akeem. I'm interested in your product but I'm having some issues using it. Do you mind sending me a message so we can talk more? I think we can do great things together.
Happy to help — what specifically isn't working? Drop the issue here first so I can see if it's something quick, then we can take it to DM if needed.
I'm having issues setting up my profile. specifically, uploading a resume doesn't seem to work and always returns an error even though the file format and size are correct.
API: /api/users/upload-cv
I will check this our and fix it in an instant
Thanks for flagging this. We traced it to a backend resume parser dependency that changed behavior after an update, so valid PDF resumes were being rejected during processing. We’ve patched it and are redeploying the fix now. Please try again shortly, and sorry for the friction while setting up your profile.
I like the distinction between moving manual work and actually eliminating it. A lot of tools stop at organizing tasks, but the bigger opportunity is reducing the number of decisions users have to make after onboarding a client. That's where the real time savings come from.
Exactly the distinction I built around. Most tools digitize the task list but leave the decisions to you — what to bill, when to follow up, how to structure the invoice. Regulus collapses those decisions into the workflow itself (the WhatsApp invoice flow is the clearest example — no dashboard, no decisions, just output). Curious what tools you've used that stopped short of that — would help me sharpen the positioning.
I've seen it across a few tools, but I think the more interesting question is where the boundary should be.
There's a strategic decision every product has to make about which user decisions should remain intentional and which should disappear into the workflow.
I've got a few thoughts on that which are easier to explain over email than in a thread.
What's the best email to reach you on?
Good question to sit with. Drop me a line at omoleakeem666@gmail.com — happy to hear your thinking on where the boundary should be. I've made deliberate calls on that in Regulus and I'm sure there's more to debate.
Thanks! I've just sent it over.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts whenever you have a chance.
Alright, Great