I just quit my job to build a rock climber product

I just quit my Silicon Valley job to chase an idea!

A lot of thought, preparation, and motivation from places like IH have gone into this.

The Idea

I’m building a community for indoor rock climbers, where they can train to improve and reach out to their local climbers for climbing-related topics. Kind of like Strava for climbing.

Why I Quit

My job was awesome, but I’ve been craving a lot more from my career. At some point, the money wasn’t justifying the distraction of not working on my passion. I was also burning out hard trying to do both.

The Product

The product is called Cling.
I’ve launched a couple of times on iOS, focusing exclusively on training.
I found that most climbers expect to share their activity to an audience, and few find value if that’s not possible.
Adoption rate is low, but the 30-day retention is relatively high for people who do register.
So my vision going forward is to deliver value to more climbers, equally in training and community.

Finding Cofounders

I had a friend help me with organic marketing initially, but he’s departed from Cling since.
I’ve been searching through YC Founder Match, Reddit, flyers in gyms, etc.
I looked for biz-dev folks, engineers, then expanded to anyone passionate about the space.
Lots of conversations, still no catch. I’ve been told that I don’t need a cofounder currently, yet it undeniably increases momentum. Any ideas here?

Growth

I have my ideas for growth – giveaways, local non-scalable strategies, partnerships, etc. I’d love to hear about everyone’s experiences in this aspect.

Has anyone here tried building fitness communities, or any other types?
What did you find out?
What are your thoughts on what I’m doing?

I’d love to hear from you!