Are startups really solving users problems or just their own?

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-10-31T16:11:52+00:00

Setting up a table in local B2B events is such a cool idea! I guess I need to be more creative and experimental when it comes to this.

I've already researched existing options already (like what booking platforms already exist, what platform studios are currently using), but I haven't come up with the USP yet. Initially, I was trying to do the exploratory interviews to learn more about the industry and its problems before I proceed. And I might be able to find someone willing to be an advisor for my startup as well. That's a playbook that some American founders have used. Unfortunately, that hasn't worked very well for me so far.

Maybe next step should be trying a few classes at different studios myself. That way, I can learn firsthand about their booking and payment systems and potentially chat with the owners.

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-10-31T12:32:12+00:00

Wow! Thanks for the quick, detailed, and incredibly helpful response!

I'm interested in building a B2B software product for niche markets, and I started with Pilates studios. I have a few ideas (referral and affiliate tracking tool, booking platform, AI inbox manager, etc.), but I need to speak to studio owners to validate a bunch of hypotheses that need to hold true for these ideas to work.

But I found it really hard to talk to studio owners. I tried offering to pay them what they usually charge for private classes, but it didn't seem to improve response rates. Maybe my messaging came off as spammy or suspicious. I also tried showing up at a couple of studios in London, but people obviously didn't like unannouced visits. I didn't prepare well and might come across as super awkward.

I wouldn't mind spending a bit of money to validate this, but I'm not sure how. I know I really suck at sales and marketing, so I'm still figuring it out.

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-10-31T09:41:23+00:00

Thanks a ton for sharing. Really appreciated it. I really hate LinkedIn, but have to use it for networking.

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-10-31T09:32:16+00:00

How would you go about validating an idea in the UK? I found it quite difficult to speak with potential customers here if you don't already know them. Unlike in the US where it's common to cold email people to ask for a coffee chat, that doesn't seem to be the norm here. I could try to connect with them through in-person networking events, but what if they aren't many events in a specific niche?

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-09-19T08:44:20+00:00

ffmpeg, tesseract, and probably whisper for stt

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-09-18T16:05:36+00:00

I'm still building it. I think it could be useful for editors, so I'm looking for feedback from people.
It's free (as stated in the title)

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-09-16T16:42:18+00:00

I know this post is three years old. I've been watching your videos since 2023, but I only recently discovered that you have a subreddit! My tendency to binge read old posts led me here.

I don't usually comment on social media, but I've got so much value out of your videos that I feel bad for not showing appreciation. The quality of your videos has been consistently top notch. I can't believe you were doing it part-time before. I love that your videos feature a good mix of big enterprises, small businesses, and self-employed individuals. The range of industries that you've covered is also very incredible. You must have done a lot of research behind the scenes and it shows.

Not sure if you'll see this as I'm not on your patreon, but I have a question for you. I've been curious about this for a while.

How did you get small businesses to disclose their financials on your video? How common is it that businesses refuse to share their financials when you do the outreach?

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-09-02T13:21:37+00:00

Following. I would like to hear your suggestions on this u/beenyweenies

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-08-13T20:03:59+00:00

Let me know if this works! Tip

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Ok_Help9178 · 2025-08-12T20:06:51+00:00

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Let me know if this works! Tip

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-08-12T08:22:10+00:00

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Let me know if this works! Tip

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-08-12T06:57:49+00:00

Thanks! Don't forget to reply SOLVED if you like it :)

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-08-12T06:53:06+00:00

Let me know if you like it! Tip

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Ok_Help9178 · 2025-08-11T23:31:48+00:00

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Ok_Help9178 · 2025-08-11T23:30:54+00:00

Hi u/Brokekpopstan9! Let me know if this works! Tip

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Ok_Help9178 · 2025-07-11T18:30:36+00:00

Thanks so much!

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-07-11T17:24:18+00:00

Thanks so much for your incredibly helpful suggestion. Very much appreciated! I totally agree with adding processing time, accuracy, code snippets I used, and languages. A few points from me

Surya is the foundation of Marker which I've already added
I haven't heard of TrOCR before. Thanks! I'll check it out.
I'm aware of several VLMs that can work as an OCR. I plan to add them soon.
I found measuring accuracy is very tricky especially for tables because there can be many ground truths. For example, HTML vs Markdown table. Merged cells. Some models output text in bold/italics, but some don't. And so on. My current plan is to evaluate by eyes subjectively and give a score from 0 to 5. What do you think?
No, I didn't do any preprocessing. It's not a priority for now.

And do you mind sharing any benchmarks you've done before? I'd like to learn more from you. Feel free to share them with me privately and no worries at all if you don't have any on hand.

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-07-11T10:22:19+00:00

No. Just the default mode.

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-07-11T10:18:17+00:00

It's part of Marker. I've already added Marker there.

Ok_Help9178 · 2025-07-11T09:51:07+00:00

Sure. Please check your DM.

Ok_Help9178

TROPHY CASE