costonks
Finally know if you're actually a good investor.
A handful of strangers signed up for costonks this week. Some might be throwaway emails, they're not super active yet, but better than zero 😀
The reply guy thing I built (Python + Gemini, scans subreddits, scores posts, drafts comments) is working pretty well. I always edit the draft, sometimes throw it out completely and just give honest advice. Weird side effect: I'm actually learning a ton just from reading what investors complain about.
Also rebuilding the data pipeline in the background. Currently at ~800 tickers which feels too limited (imagine new user signing up and not finding the tickers they would like to track). New setup will handle more tickers faster.
One thing I still doubt about: do I just push to the App Store now, or keep iterating on the web app first until I actually know what's working? Feels too early but also feels like I'm postponing.
Hey IH,
Two weeks ago I launched costonks. Costonks is a free social (virtual) investing tracker.
The numbers
- Signed up users outside my friend group: 0
- Website visitors: 1 visit a day
- Reddit bans: 2 accounts
Not exactly what I imagined after 2 years of solo development.
What I tried
Reddit seemed like the obvious place to reach investors. I posted in a few subreddits, got banned almost immediately for self-promotion. Fair enough, I didn't read the rules carefully enough.
Launched a public testflight url of my app. Limited clicks on it, 0 logins (my app required login at the time).
So I built a reply guy setup instead. Python scraping + Gemini that scans relevant subreddits, scores posts for relevance. I then comment on truly relevant posts.
Then I got banned again. Turns out posting in a subreddit you were previously banned from even with a different account is ban evasion. Didn't know that. One account is permanently gone, the other has a 7 day suspension lifting soon.
Lesson learned the hard way: I completely underestimated how strict Reddit was on this.
What I'm doing now
- Set up proper analytics — Umami on the marketing site, GA4 on the web app & IOS app
- Posting on IndieHackers and building in public (see post below)
- Build a complete guest onboarding flow, no login required, you can try out the app, buy a virtual stock, add it to your portfolio, try for yourself app.costonks.com
- Waiting for ban to lift on reddit, will still make posts but be more careful and less promotional
What I am considering to do next
- Targeting Belgian investors have a concrete reason to use Costonks right now because the Belgian government introduced a new capital gains tax with an annual 10K exemption on realised gains.
-I already briefly considered makings post on TikTok (of all places) but I don't even have the app installed. I like building, not filming.
For those who've been through this phase, any advice?
Hey IndieHackers,
After 2 years of evenings and weekends, I just launched Costonks. This is my first public post about it.
Why I built it
I invest across multiple brokers. Tracking everything was a mess — spreadsheets, switching between apps, no single view of my full portfolio. And every time I wanted to share my portfolio or discuss ideas with other investors, there was no good place to do it.
Brokers will never solve this. They don't want you seeing your full picture across competitors. So I built it myself.
The stack
Flutter, Firebase, Firestore, GCP. Built entirely solo.
Where it is today
- Web app live at app.costonks.com — no signup needed to explore
- iOS beta via TestFlight
- Android coming later
- Marketing site at costonks.com
What I'm hoping for
Honest feedback from people who invest. Does the social angle make sense? Is this solving a real problem or have I been building in a bubble for 2 years?
If you invest and have 5 minutes — app.costonks.com, no account needed.
Some screenshots
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Building this solo for 2 years is a huge grind—congrats on finally getting it out! The problem of fragmented brokers is real, but the 'social angle' you mentioned is where the real challenge lies.
In the investing world, nobody wants to be the first one to share their portfolio on a new platform. People only share their financial data where they feel a sense of 'Institutional Trust.' If Costonks isn't being discussed or featured in top-tier financial media or major tech publications, it’s going to be seen as just another 'bubble' project.
Without high-level media validation, how do you plan to convince serious investors that this is a secure and authoritative place to build a community? In this niche, if the reputable press isn't vouching for your mission, the social loop simply won't start because the trust factor just isn't there yet.
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Fair point and honestly one I think about a lot. Worth noting though that portfolios are virtual by default on Costonks and users choose to share, nobody's forced to expose real holdings. I hope this lowers the trust bar.
I'm currently exploring the Belgian market as a starting point. Belgian investors have a very concrete problem right now, there's a new capital gains tax where optimizing the €10,000 annual exemption across brokers is genuinely painful without a tool.
Curious if you think that kind of local approach could work or if you still see it as a dead end without media validation?
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Focusing on the Belgian tax exemption is a brilliant tactical move. It's a 'painkiller' product rather than just a 'vitamin,' which is exactly how you get early traction in a specific market.
However, even with a local focus, don't underestimate the power of Global Authority. Belgian investors who are serious enough to optimize a €10,000 exemption are usually the same people who follow international financial news and tech trends.
Think about it this way: when a skeptical investor Googles 'Is Costonks safe?' and they see your tool mentioned or cited in top-tier Western media or major tech publications, their fear instantly disappears. It creates a 'Halo Effect'—to a Belgian user, it makes Costonks look like a global standard that has 'landed' in their country, rather than just a solo experiment.
That high-level validation bridges the trust gap far faster than any local marketing could, especially when users are sensitive about their financial data. Have you considered leveraging that kind of international institutional trust to back up your local growth?
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Fair points!
For now I'd rather get 20 real users who actually need this than chase press coverage. Validation first :)-
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Makes total sense, Jake. Lean and mean is the way to go for early-stage validation. I won't push it further—get those first users, nail the product, and when you feel it’s time to bridge that 'Trust Gap' to go global, feel free to reach out. I’ll leave my Digital PR Portfolio here just in case you want to check some of my work later.
Good luck with the Belgian launch!
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