I'm 19, built a startup guidance platform, have 300 waitlist signups and 0 paying customers. Roast me
I'll go first.
At 17 I filled a 300-page notebook with business ideas and executed zero of them. No research, no technical knowledge, no direction — just overthinking and self-doubt for 7 months straight.
The problem I kept running into: nobody helps you figure out which business model actually fits you. Validated it on Reddit, LinkedIn, communities across India. Thousands of people stuck in the exact same loop.
So I built Bexra.
Take a quiz → get matched to the right business model for your mindset, skills, and goals → get a full startup plan: monthly roadmap, weekly tasks, progress tracking, AI chatbot, tool recommendations marketing tools to get audience and many more. Already have a business? Growth Plan gives you auditing, marketing strategies, and audience growth plays and much more.
The honest numbers:
300+ waitlist (built over a year)
Launched 3 days ago
0 paying customers
Instagram comments saying "I need this" every day — nobody's clicked pay yet
I'm a CSE student, 18 doing 1:1 outreach to every waitlist person right now. I've closed deals before — 85% conversion rate at my last sales internship. But converting strangers who already said yes? Apparently different.
So roast it:
Is the idea flawed?
Is the positioning wrong?
Is "AI guidance platform for founders" too vague?
Would you pay for this?
I want the hard feedback, not the encouraging kind.
[bexra.co]
I built a private platform to sell completed and 80%+ developed software products from my portfolio
Over the past few years, I have built a growing portfolio of software products.
Some of these applications are completed and functional. Others are already substantially developed—typically between 80% and 95%—with their architecture, user flows, core functionality, and business model already established.
I realized that many of these products could provide more value in the hands of a company, founder, agency, or operator capable of launching, adapting, or integrating them.
That led me to build ProjectApps™.
ProjectApps™ is a private platform for discovering, evaluating, and requesting completed or advanced enterprise software assets before investing in building a similar solution from scratch.
It is not an idea marketplace, a template store, or a collection of unfinished prototypes.
Each listed asset must have a verifiable development status, such as:
• Completed
• Production Candidate
• Advanced Build — 90%
• Advanced Build — 80%
• Requires Final Integration
• Requires Buyer-Specific Customization
The asset profile explains what is completed, what remains, the infrastructure used, and the current status of the backend, authentication, payments, deployment, documentation, external dependencies, and transfer conditions.
A potential buyer can then decide whether to:
• Acquire the software as it currently exists
• Complete the remaining development
• Customize it for a specific market
• License it
• Integrate it into an existing organization
The evaluation process exists to protect both sides and provide transparency before an acquisition request moves forward.
I would appreciate honest feedback from other founders and software builders:
Would you consider acquiring an application that is already 80–95% developed?
What technical information would you need before requesting an evaluation?
Would you prefer a full acquisition, an exclusive license, or a customizable version?
ProjectApps™: https://www.projectapps.pro/
不如做成一个社区，通过教别人创业来收费
Roast: 300 waitlist + 0 paying usually means waitlist ≠ buyers. Builders sign up; people with the pain today don't.
What's worked when it worked for others at this stage: find where your ICP already asks for help (specific subreddits, niche forums), reply to those threads with the problem solved — product link last or never in the first reply. One engaged thread beats 300 passive emails.
What channel have you actually tried beyond the waitlist? Happy to suggest 2 subs if you share what the platform does.
so I just feel stuck atp
I tried Reddit groups and Indie hackers, but they didn't work and reddit keeps getting 1 view comments and discord needs invite links so its not working has well
Feel stuck makes sense — 300 waitlist + 0 paying usually means the waitlist signed up for "interesting," not "I have this problem today."
On Reddit 1-view comments: often it's (a) replying on launch/self-promo threads where nobody's buying, or (b) a young account that Reddit filters. The move that works better: find posts where someone is already asking for startup guidance / first customers / "what should I do at idea stage" — reply to their question, no link in the first reply.
IH and Discord are slower but higher intent — you're actually talking to builders here, which is better than Reddit views.
What's the platform URL and who is the one user you'd want to pay first? Might suggest 1–2 tighter places to look (not another 300-person waitlist play).
Entrepreneurs don't need roadmaps. A roadmap is simply a list of new work the founder already has more than enough to do. They need results (clients, code, integration) or automated solutions. For a serious B2B tool that promises to analyze databases and find revenue leaks, $5 is suspiciously cheap. Businesses won't trust their data (Stripe, HubSpot) to software that costs the price of a cup of coffee.
Layer for Business (Premium): This is real value. This feature should be released as a separate Growth/Pro Plan and the price raised to at least $49–$99 per month. Companies pay for security and leak detection with their own money, not for $5 quizzes.
In pre-launch marketing, there's a clear rule: the shelf life of a hot lead is 30–45 days maximum.
You're right — I've been building for 'founders' as a generic group, and I'm realizing that aspiring founders and existing business owners are completely different customers with completely different problems.
The roadmap/tasks/tracking stuff made sense to me as a student building my first product, but I can see now that someone with an actual business doesn't need another to-do list — they need results.
Quick follow-up question for you:
If you had to pick ONE specific problem that a tool could solve for you right now — something that would actually save you time or make you money — what would that be?
Not a general 'founders need marketing' answer, but something specific. Like 'automate my client follow-ups' or 'find where I'm losing revenue in my pricing' or 'help me write better cold emails that convert.'
I want to build ONE thing really well instead of 11 things poorly. Your answer would help me figure out which ONE.
Thanks again for the brutal honesty. I actually needed it.