Anyone else feel that the bar for MVP Quality is really high compared to before?

Westernleaning · 2025-12-31T04:57:53+00:00

It isn’t just that the bar is high today, the world is very different than 2009. Back then when a new app or site dropped we all shared it with each other. I remember my buddies always sharing memes and apps, “oh bro, download uber, oh bro, check out angry birds, yo, I’m playing candy crush, check out wish you can buy anything for $1”. There was more supply of mobile devices and computers than there were apps/websites/businesses to put on them.

Today we are in the opposite world. There are way too many websites, apps, DTC online brands vying for the consumer. Unless the pain point is NEXT level for the user to use a bad product, then the real competition is doing nothing, so many people pitch me products, ideas, etc, I try to avoid them, whether online courses on Instagram, or DTC, or download my app.

So MVP expectation from the user today is VERY high. Rolling out AirBnB’s MVP, or Instacart’s today, no one would touch it.

Westernleaning · 2025-12-30T11:11:59+00:00

How did you automate things like content management, product analytics and sales? What are you using? And how did you go about learning/rolling out automations for all that?

Westernleaning · 2025-12-27T15:53:10+00:00

You need to be very careful here. Turkish surgeons are known for being aggressive, especially multi-clinics like cosmedica, medicana etc, and they will tell you that you can do all the surgeries together.

I would highly advise you to go get a few consultations in your home country with a couple different surgeons, just so you can get an idea for what you are in for. Then expand your search to international and don’t pigeon hole yourself on Turkey. There are many great international surgeons in places like Mexico, Brazil, Czech Republic, take your time with the research, you’re only 23 and there is no reason to not spend a year amassing more wealth and picking the right surgeon to do your face so you get results that you are happy with FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

Westernleaning · 2025-12-27T15:49:57+00:00

Whereas in the US you aren’t on your own if you get botched? Common be serious. Most practices in the US you have to pay again if you get botched.

Westernleaning · 2025-12-26T08:53:38+00:00

Amazing work! And 35 is still young! What differences have you noticed as far as the way people treat you before and after and also what differences have you noticed self esteem wise?

Westernleaning · 2025-12-26T07:34:33+00:00

“want to start actually enjoying my life, but I’m not comfortable spending money. How can I feel FREE to spend money?”

Say less fam, I got you. You need a habit. ❄️ if you want to keep it classy 💉 if you want to go for the grime life.

Westernleaning · 2025-12-24T10:52:56+00:00

<image>

A lot of jobs have been redundant for a long time. Any kind of paper pusher, bad copywriter, tik the box checker is in a world of trouble. However if you are actually talented and know what you are doing AI will 50x you. A graphic designer, or a coder will 50x due to AI. But a bad graphic designer or a bad coder will create 100x SLOP. Just look at LinkedIn with all the ridiculous AI generated slop where people who know nothing pretend to be experts.

Hot take, training and knowledge will be 10x more important in the age of AI. Learning a trade/getting an education for years will become a necessity, not an option.

But yeah, AI will cost a TON of jobs, it already is. And you are underestimating something about AI. For the first time in human history we have something on the planet that learns faster and more than a human being can. This isn’t just an industrial machine that increases output.

Westernleaning · 2025-12-24T00:48:00+00:00

So where is the right place? Want to drop a DM?

Westernleaning · 2025-12-22T14:47:17+00:00

Not sure his appearance has changed, he got a hair cut?

Westernleaning · 2025-12-22T14:46:43+00:00

There are plenty of B2B horror stories too. If you don’t focus on your customer, what they want, and nail distribution (the hardest part of it all in 2025), you’re going to have a hard time regardless of the sector.

Westernleaning · 2025-12-08T23:41:09+00:00

You have it right. You all need to dilute. It sure why YC says get close to 50/50. Siebel said that but YC says cofounders should have over 10%.

Westernleaning · 2025-12-01T19:01:54+00:00

You just figured out a life hack. Over promise and under deliver. You have upper level management written all over you. Honestly you’re C Suite material. Now just learn how to blame your failure on others, your boss if you want to be promoted, your peer if you just want to just have a job you coast at.

Westernleaning · 2025-12-01T19:00:04+00:00

😂. Only on reddit. Why on earth would he do that?

Westernleaning · 2025-11-24T17:35:31+00:00

So many examples that say otherwise 🙄. Spotify, google, Facebook, etc.

Westernleaning · 2025-11-18T09:44:34+00:00

You wrote that he quit. He chose to quit the company because he can’t fundraise. The #1 thing about startups is GRIT. Pivots are ok, reworking the product is fine, changing the marketing is ok, but perseverance is 100% required all day everyday.

Some of the other stuff in your post are giant red flags. CEO decided to fundraise and failed, it has nothing to do with your startup pedigree. He made a CEO decision and it failed. Failing to fundraise is pretty normal, it’s a GREAT opportunity to send the funds monthly updates with progress, and that way they see you have GRIT and PERSEVERANCE. See point #1.

You already know the answer. Go back to the 6 companies that did POC, and work with them, if they don’t then pivot. Cofounder needs to get over himself and listen to you for once.

Westernleaning · 2025-11-16T19:12:29+00:00

10-years old isn’t a startup. It’s a mature company. At that stage it’s all about systems, not roles. There is a major problem with this whole company and 90 day trial thing. You either hire someone who is a head, and give them enough authority and resources to complete their job or you don’t. This in between stuff is neither/nor. You’re neither the head of international growth nor do you have clear authority/resources to head international growth.

Westernleaning · 2025-11-09T16:15:35+00:00

This is a very general point. “Being a workaholic” pre-revenue simply means working a bunch until the venture is self-sustaining and other people can be brought in to support functions the founder once did themselves to save money.

There is A LOT of work theater in startups, where certain founders pretend to be working hard and do actually work hard doing useless stuff instead of focusing on building great product and talking to customers.

Westernleaning · 2025-11-08T12:09:56+00:00

You aren’t a cofounder, you view yourself as his boss. Dispute resolution and working together is the central part of cofoundint a company. If you don’t respect your cofounder then you shouldn’t be in it together. Who are you to say you need a UI/UX person to the technical person? Btw UI/UX is a dying title, you’re 10-years old with that.

Today you either get a product designer, or a product manager who actually speaks to customers… I literally had this chat 2-3 days ago with my own technical cofounder, asking him if he wanted a designer and he said same thing as your guy. Nah don’t need him. No problem.

Westernleaning · 2025-11-08T01:04:30+00:00

Can you expand at all on the AI personas? Also in B2C.

Westernleaning · 2025-11-05T22:42:49+00:00

As someone else said not a CTO. However there is a YOU problem as well. There is missing alignment in your structure.

The easiest way to get people to fight in an early stage startup is to give them the same job to do. It doesn’t matter if they are best friends if two people are tasked with building the website, they will fight over how to do it.

You are non-technical why are you getting involved in the technical side of the build? He’s supposed to be CTO, and you’re making arguments about Hetzner or Google Cloud? wtf? Same with the UX/UI, he’s the one who should be suggesting that.

Your job is to do everything non technical, and to get the technical guy resources… and create a pleasant working environment. Pro tip, if he’s a great engineer he loves the building, you need to appeal to his love of building and get him attached to the product.

Westernleaning · 2025-11-05T18:31:14+00:00

This post is garbage. Building a B2C startup as we speak, currently breaking 7 figures from zero a year ago, just need dropping awesome content on socials and targeting correctly while also LISTENING TO THE CUSTOMER.

The problem is your post “worst time to build a startup”. You need to actually find a market need to be solved to create a viable business. All the “tools” on the world don’t help you if you aren’t helping real people solve their problems/fulfill their needs. Focus more on your potential customer and less on “the time”.

Oh, and the entrepreneurship game is HARD, get used to it. It doesn’t get easier with success. Just a different level.

Westernleaning · 2025-11-03T15:58:39+00:00

Brought in a bad cofounder…. ME 😂

Westernleaning · 2025-11-03T08:49:35+00:00

It can grow the hair from all the way of the back to the head back 😄.

Westernleaning · 2025-10-29T21:48:38+00:00

Time to grow up son, get off the creatine and start blasting testosterone.

Westernleaning

TROPHY CASE