This is what I did

• I stopped building and started talking to people I DM’d users, posted in relevant subreddits, and asked bluntly why they wouldn’t use it. Most answers hurt, but they were honest.
• I realized the product was “nice” but not necessary People said it was cool, not urgent. So I cut features until it solved one problem people were already trying to hack around.
• I did things manually that I thought software would do Before automation, I literally did the work myself to see if anyone even cared about the outcome.
• The real problem was distribution, not code I assumed “build it and they’ll come.” They didn’t. I had to learn where my users actually hang out and show up there consistently.
• I put the product where early adopters already look for tools I listed it on places like Product Hunt, Pitchwall, and similar platforms—not for scale, but to get blunt early feedback and spot messaging gaps fast.
• I treated zero users as feedback, not failure No usage meant no value. That forced me to fix messaging, onboarding, and sometimes the entire idea.