The hardest part hasn’t been building — it’s figuring out how to reach people

I’ve been building my product, Flarelight, for the past year in my spare time — nights, weekends, whenever I could.
About a month ago, I finally launched it publicly on my website and on the Microsoft Marketplace. This week I also put it on Product Hunt.

And what I’ve learned so far is this:

The hardest part isn’t building the product.
It’s getting anyone to see the product.

Building the app, the infrastructure, the onboarding, the features — that part I can handle. But distribution is a completely different skill set. I’m posting consistently, writing content, publishing tutorial videos, showing the app in different communities, and listing it anywhere it makes sense.

As a founder, it’s a bit surreal:
You spend a year building something you know solves real problems — and then struggle to put it in front of the people who would benefit from it most.

I’d love to hear from others who’ve been through this early stage:

How did you get your first meaningful users?
Were there any low-budget channels that actually worked for you?
What finally started the momentum?

Any experiences, advice, or encouragement appreciated. 🙏