Solo technical founder building Instagram automation. The code works great. Everything else is chaos.
Hey IH,
6 months into building IceKulfi (Instagram comment automation) and I'm learning that writing code is the easy part.
What I've built:
Auto-replies to IG comments
Converts comments to DMs automatically
AI responses for common questions
Meta-verified, fully compliant with Instagram's policies
What's working:
Product actually saves businesses 10-15 hours/week
Users love the simplicity (2-minute setup)
Zero downtime since launch
30% comment-to-DM conversion rates for users
The chaos part:
Feature requests hell: Every customer wants me to build THEIR workflow. "Can it also post stories?" "Can it analyze competitors?" "Can it make coffee?" I say yes too often.
Pricing paralysis: Charging $5/month. ManyChat charges $20. Am I undervaluing or being strategic? No idea.
Marketing is alien: I can debug code for 10 hours straight. Writing one LinkedIn post gives me anxiety. Currently just DMing businesses manually - it works but doesn't scale.
The loneliness: Building alone means every decision takes 3x longer because I'm overthinking without anyone to bounce ideas off.
Current status:
Growing through manual outreach
Profitable (barely) but only because my costs are minimal
Spending 70% time on code, 30% on everything else (should probably flip this)
Questions for solo founders:
How do you decide what NOT to build when every feature request seems reasonable?
When did you stop coding and start focusing on distribution? Or do you still split time?
How do you validate business decisions without a co-founder to argue with?
Is manual outreach (LinkedIn DMs, Reddit posts) sustainable or am I delaying the inevitable need for "real" marketing?
Currently at the stage where it's too real to be a side project but not big enough to be a company. The messy middle is real.
P.S. If you're also building in the Instagram/social media space, would love to compare notes on what's working.
