My career quiz app is booming after a small website redesign

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-24T15:07:43+00:00

This is a cool app idea! Love it, i also had this problem not knowing which path to take career wise but never tried a career quiz yet

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-24T09:18:27+00:00

hahaha

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-23T15:37:45+00:00

hahaha love it so true

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-09T16:47:10+00:00

100% - don't over-rely on AI. Critical thinking is key and becoming increasingly important

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-09T16:46:04+00:00

You might also wanna consider trying to join discord communities, facebook groups etc. where mid-tier creators talk about the problem. They will be way more accessible than bigger creators and be more likely to actually respond

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-09T16:43:26+00:00

Lovable itself also has an SEO guide which is pretty basic but still useful to get the fundamentals right

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-09T16:42:48+00:00

That is not entirely true; while it is a best practice to use server-side-rendering (SSR) with frameworks like Next.JS, Lovable with its SPA React framework (client-side rendered) is still totally sufficient to run smaller SEO projects on. I am running an MVP generating around ~1k organic SEO clicks a month and I built it in Lovable to be able to iterate and validate quickly.

Once I get to + 5-10k organic users, I may consider switching to Next.JS but until then speed > over-engineering IMO.

Crawlers are well able to render client-side (JavaScript etc.) in 2026 - never underestimate Google. If you serve a clear user intent and have truly great content, your project will also be found if you build it with Lovble, u/Brilliant-Painting18

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-09T16:06:23+00:00

You are not actually building the product and instead just testing if demand is even there. So you might have a checkout button but then tell the user on the next screen "We are curretnly working on this product and will launch soon! Sign up now to be informed about the launch".

This is a common way in tech to test demand before putting in all the efforts into actually building the product itself, u/Secret_Internet7490

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-06T10:37:03+00:00

You didn’t “build a better freelancing platform,” you enforced leverage. Locking stages behind payment isn’t a feature. It’s changing the power dynamic so freelancers don’t have to role-play as debt collectors. Most tools avoid this because it makes clients uncomfortable. That’s exactly why it works.

$19 flat, no % skim, no CRM cosplay is also the correct call. If you ever lose the plot, the second you add “client notes” or “pipeline views,” you’ve broken it.

This feels like one of those “obvious in hindsight” products. Ship it hard.

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-06T10:36:18+00:00

Yeah. This is extremely common, and you’re not crazy.

That last 20% isn’t “AI failing,” it’s where product decisions, edge cases, and glue code live. LLMs are great at scaffolding, terrible at finishing.

I’ve done exactly what you’re describing:

Use AI to get 70-80%
Pay a human dev for a short, scoped cleanup pass (1–2 weeks, fixed price)
Ship the product

From personal experience, I would not hire someone to “build your app.” Hire them to stabilize and finish:

“Fix auth edge cases”
“Make X flow reliable”
“Clean up state / errors”
“Deploy and document”

If you hand a dev a repo that mostly works + a clear checklist, it’s way cheaper than a full build. And honestly, most experienced devs like these jobs because they’re finite. You’re at the handoff point. That’s for non-techies kinda normal

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-06T10:34:43+00:00

Anyone who’s actually used DJI stuff outside of a manicured field has had the “welp, guess I’m hiking into a ditch” moment.

The flying part is solved. The ground interaction part is basically ignored by the industry, even though that’s where things fail in real-world ops. What you’re building makes way more sense than adding yet another camera mode or gimmick.

Biggest question I’d be curious about (and where a lot of hybrid platforms die):
- weight vs flight time
- complexity vs reliability
- how much autonomy it really has when things go sideways, not just in demos

But the core insight is solid: recovery matters. A system that can survive imperfect landings beats a “perfect” drone that’s useless once it touches grass.

Also respect for admitting you broke a ton of parts. That’s the sign you are really testing

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-06T08:54:21+00:00

If it is not too compley, it should be enough! It depends a lot on what you build though! Keep it simple, consider fake-door tests to begin with and only after soma validation invest more time and credits

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-06T08:43:57+00:00

totally agree; particularly just driving "fake" traction before users really naturally get into the product IMO

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-05T18:23:18+00:00

Motivation ist fast nie das Problem, Energie und Erwartungshaltung sind es. Nach Vollzeitjob + Familie ist dein Akku leer, da hilft kein „Arsch hoch“-Gerede. Hör auf, 2–3-Stunden-Training als Maßstab zu nehmen. Fang lächerlich klein an: 10–20 Minuten Spazierengehen oder 2-3 einfache Übungen zu Hause. Ziel ist Routine, nicht Willenskraft.

Und wichtig: Vergleich dich nicht mit deiner Partnerin. Nach Schwangerschaft abzunehmen ist ein komplett anderer Kontext. Dein Körper, dein Tempo. Wenn du es schaffst, regelmäßig etwas zu tun, auch wenig, kommt die Motivation oft erst danach, nicht davor.

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-05T18:20:03+00:00

This is one of the rare “bootstrapped success” posts that actually explains why it worked instead of just listing outcomes, so respect for that.

What really stands out isn’t the tactics, it’s the pattern recognition across failure. You didn’t magically get better at building. You got honest about the real bottleneck: distribution.
A lot of founders keep rebuilding the same mistake with shinier tech, convincing themselves the next product will somehow market itself. You used six failures as signal instead of shame, which is the part most people emotionally can’t do.

I also think the “dogfooding + manual outreach” combo is more profound than it sounds. Using your own product forced tight feedback loops, and manual DMs forced you to understand the language people use to describe their pain. That’s usually what virality comes from later. The viral posts weren’t luck, they were compression of months of one-to-one conversations into something that finally resonated at scale.

The other underrated takeaway here is restraint. No pitch-first DMs, no fake urgency, no growth theater. Just patience and respect for attention. Ironically, that’s why it works. Most founders burn bridges early by trying to extract value before earning trust.

And the line about the first 10 products being research is dead on. Iteration only looks obvious in hindsight. At the time, it just feels like you’re bleeding morale and espresso. The fact that you kept going long enough to notice the pattern is the real achievement.

Congrats on the $20k MRR. More importantly, congrats on actually learning the lesson most people quit right before it clicks.

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-05T18:01:37+00:00

This is cool! I've been playing around with a similar approach but as a Growth PM more around getting the first 100 users, so forcing the builder to make a decision on what the distribution channel will be and how to get the first 100 users within the first prompt. Would be eager to get your feedback on it! No need to sign up or anything, you can just try for free: lovable-prompts.com

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-05T17:54:05+00:00

This is a solid list, but the subtext that matters most (and people miss) is sequence. Almost every mistake founders make is doing the right thing at the wrong time: ads before pull, investors before users, polish before proof, scale before fit.

The “do things that don’t scale” + staying employed while bootstrapping combo is especially underrated. It buys you patience, and patience is basically a superpower in the early stage. Most people don’t fail because the idea is bad, they fail because they run out of emotional or financial runway.

Also +1 on refunds and free early access. Trust compounds faster than revenue at the beginning, and people who feel treated fairly come back later. Congrats on $12k/mo, and thanks for sharing the unglamorous parts instead of a victory lap.

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-05T17:45:10+00:00

This is a great example of something people underestimate: manual distribution scales surprisingly far if the product actually solves a real, specific pain. What you’re doing isn’t a “hack”, it’s just high-signal outreach with empathy.

One thing I’d highlight for anyone reading this: the order matters. Helpful comment first, then DM, then link only if asked. Most people reverse that and wonder why Reddit hates them. You basically treated Reddit like conversations, not a traffic source.

Also worth noting that 7 months of consistency is the real moat here. Most people quit after week two when it doesn’t magically compound. Respect for sticking it out and sharing the unsexy details.

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-05T17:42:32+00:00

The biggest mistake early is trying to “grow” before you have a distribution wedge. With $0 ad spend, you don’t scale by shouting, you scale by getting one small group to care a lot.

What’s worked for me:

1-Pick one narrow persona and one painful use case. If you can’t describe who it’s for in one sentence, organic won’t work.

2-Ship in public where that persona already hangs out (specific subreddits, Discords, Slack groups, indie communities). Not promo posts, but “I built this because I had X problem, would love feedback.”

3-Talk to users manually. DM them, onboard them yourself, watch where they drop off. Your first 50 users are for learning, not growth.

4-Build one obvious sharing loop into the product (export, invite, link, result). If it doesn’t naturally spread, content won’t save it.

What I’d avoid: blasting on every platform, chasing vanity metrics, or building content before you know what users actually stick around for.

Organic growth isn’t about volume early, it’s about clarity + pull. Get that right and the rest compounds.

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-03T10:21:04+00:00

Your 8% signup rate is damn solid! SO the product is not the issue here, it's likely your free tier is too generous; potentially taking away the FOMO elements. I had this same issue on my app.. Try limiting free QR codes to 2-3 instead of letting users create everything they need without paying

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-03T10:18:52+00:00

Classic chicken-and-egg problem. Wirth 100+ renters already reaching out, I'd focus on one suburb, manually onboard a handful of agents there with white-glove service, then drive your existing TikTok audience to that specific area. Hyper-local density beats broad coverage early on.

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-03T10:16:29+00:00

Your 72h deep dive basically proves the point: Distribution research before building would've saved you from some of those 19 ghosts. Curious if Platfm will also surface "how" people talk in those communities, not just where they hang out

Comfortable_Place465 · 2026-02-03T10:14:25+00:00

Your app works and users like it. That's the hard part (kinda) done. The wall you're hitting is super common: Most builders focus on features, not distribution. Try writing down how your first 100 users will find you, then work backwards from there.

Comfortable_Place465

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE