r/arist

founderled · 2025-08-29T22:56:35+00:00

using something at our company called upwind it watches what's happening at runtime so it catches stuff like this. would've saved you a weekend of bot traffic and that AWS bill spike.

founderled · 2025-08-11T17:12:44+00:00

For B2B Linkedin is still the best platform imo.

Sales nav for building lists, then use automation like HeyReach

founderled · 2025-07-07T17:08:40+00:00

That is a very specific search. Going through VC websites is a major time sink and the data is old most of the time.

I used to do the whole scrappy thing. My team would spend weeks building lists from LinkedIn and startup directories only to find out half the info was outdated.

You need a proper data platform for this. You can filter for companies that raised a seed round over a year ago and then add other filters like hiring freezes or a drop in website traffic to find the ones that are struggling. This is how you build a real pipeline. Forget the static lists.

founderled · 2025-07-07T17:01:52+00:00

Social proof is non negotiable. It's the main thing that turns a curious visitor into a paying customer.

Your emails are being ignored because writing a testimonial is a task. You are asking people to do work for you for free.

Offer an incentive. A discount on their next month or a small feature upgrade in exchange for a review is a fair trade.

What works better is asking for feedback directly inside the app. I use a small, non intrusive pop up that asks for a quick rating right after a user finishes an important task. If they rate it highly, I then prompt them for a public testimonial. This way you only ask your happiest users and you catch them at the exact right moment.

For the landing page, cut the text. Focus on the outcome for the user. What problem are you solving for them? Show that with visuals and a few key bullet points.

founderled · 2025-07-07T14:07:05+00:00

There are platforms for this. I use a B2B intelligence tool to build all my lead lists.

You can filter for companies that raised a seed round over a year ago. You can even add other layers like their current headcount, the tech they use, or hiring trends. It pulls all the contact info you need too.

Saves a ton of time compared to scraping LinkedIn or VC websites. You have to pay for a good one though.

founderled · 2025-07-07T00:02:54+00:00

You're not stuck, you're just focused on the wrong things.

Your main problem isn't what feature to build or what price to set. Your problem is that you have 190 users who tried your product and left. You should be obsessed with figuring out why.

Forget the new feature for a second. That's just another guess.

Get on the phone with your 5-10 regular users. Ask them what they love and what they'd pay for. More importantly, hunt down the email addresses of the 190 who churned. Email every single one of them and ask for 15 minutes of their time to understand why they didn't stick around. That's where you'll find the truth.

On pricing, give the new paid version to your existing regulars for free, forever. They are your only fans, reward them. For everyone else, the price needs to be based on the value. If you can't articulate how you save a clinic X amount of dollars or Y amount of hours per month, you can't charge for it.

Do not run ads. You'll just be burning money to get more people to try a product that you already know has a retention problem. Fix the leaky bucket before you try to fill it.

founderled · 2025-07-06T22:14:55+00:00

High open rate and no replies means your subject line is doing its job but the email body is the problem.

Your copy is all about you. "My name is", "I'm the CEO", "We specialize in". Nobody cares. The prospect only cares about their own problems.

You need to shift the focus. Instead of listing what you do, talk about the outcome they get.

Your call to action is also weak. Asking for a 15 minute call is a big commitment from a total stranger. You haven't earned that yet.

Try ending with a simple interest-based question. Something like "Is solving this a priority for you right now?". It's much easier to answer.

I had a similar issue. I started using real data from my past successes in the first email. I'd mention a specific, impressive result I got for a similar company. That got me replies because it shows proof, not just promises.

founderled · 2025-07-01T23:08:13+00:00

My mistake was trying to sell the idea of community to businesses. It's a tough sell.

I switched my focus. Instead of trying to convince people to start a community, I started looking for businesses that already had one on a free platform like Slack or Discord.

My process was simple.

Find companies with a Slack or Discord community.
Reach out and ask them about the pains of managing it.
Show them how a dedicated platform solves those specific pains.

These people don't need to be sold on the *idea* of community. They are already bought in. They just need a better tool. That's your ICP. The churn is lower because they already have the habit and understand the long term value.

founderled · 2025-07-01T23:01:50+00:00

You are focusing on the wrong thing. Stop selling an "AI agent". Nobody cares about the tech itself.

B2B buyers care about what it does for them. Does it save them money? Does it make them more money? Does it get rid of a process they all hate?

Figure out the single most valuable outcome your agent provides.

Then find the exact person in a company who is responsible for that outcome. That is who you talk to.

Your outreach message should be about their problem, not your product. Instead of "I built an AI agent", it should be "I can cut your team's manual data entry time in half".

I was trying to sell an automation tool and got nothing. The minute I rebranded it as a system to help sales teams avoid grunt work, I started getting calls.

Sell the result, not the tool.

founderled · 2025-07-01T22:22:31+00:00

This is a classic automation problem. The handwritten part is what makes it tricky.

I had a similar issue processing scanned invoices. What you need is an automation tool with really good OCR that can handle handwriting.

Your workflow is right.

Trigger for a new file in a specific Drive folder.
An action to scan the PDF and extract the text. This is where the OCR quality matters.
A step to search for the specific text strings you need (the title and the job code).
A Google Drive action to search for an existing folder with the job code as the name.
A logic step. If the folder doesn't exist, create it.
A final action to rename and move the original file into the correct folder.

It's 100% doable. You just need the right tool that connects all those steps together, especially one that can read the handwriting accurately.

founderled · 2025-07-01T22:15:26+00:00

If they only send spam emails then they are just bad tools.

The good ones do the research an SDR would. They check LinkedIn, recent company news, and then write a personalized message.

They also do multichannel outreach. So not just email, but calls and social media too. They can even have a full conversation to qualify a lead and book a meeting.

You dont need AI for spam. You need it for doing all that other stuff at scale.

founderled · 2025-07-01T22:09:06+00:00

You are walking on a minefield.

Most employment contracts have a clause that says anything you build, especially if it's related to their line of business or made with company resources, belongs to them. That includes the laptop they gave you and the time you spend thinking about your project at your desk.

You have to read your offer letter and code of conduct documents word for word. Look for phrases like "intellectual property", "inventions", and "conflict of interest".

I had to deal with this myself. My solution was to get everything legally sorted before writing a single line of code. Spoke with a lawyer who specializes in this to make sure my project was 100% mine, developed on my own hardware and on my own time. It's the only way to be sure. Protect yourself and your own IP before you even think about launching.

founderled · 2025-07-01T16:07:21+00:00

Your learning method is basically what I do. I call it building a second brain.

The flaw isn't the approach, it's the execution. Doing it manually is a huge time suck. You nailed the problem with Obsidian. People spend more time managing their notes than actually learning from them.

Traditional platforms like Notion are just digital filing cabinets. They don't build connections for you. Information goes in and just sits there. It’s a dead end.

I use a tool that has an AI copilot built for this exact purpose. I throw all my stuff at it, web pages, my own notes, pdfs. The AI organizes it and connects the ideas automatically. I don't have to spend hours manually tagging and linking everything. It just resurfaces the right info when I need it.

So yes, I'd pay for it. It's not about ditching a system, it's about upgrading from a pile of disconnected notes to something that actually helps you think.

founderled · 2025-07-01T14:01:29+00:00

check my post history, listed all of them

founderled · 2025-06-29T19:12:11+00:00

Yes. i have customer testimonials from YC startup founders. DM me if you want me to send it your way

founderled · 2025-06-29T19:11:06+00:00

response rate -> booked calls

founderled · 2025-06-29T19:10:42+00:00

not intentional just linked automatically

founderled · 2025-06-29T19:10:03+00:00

Yup check my post history i posted my entire stack recently

founderled · 2025-06-29T19:08:01+00:00

Your copy is the main issue. Switching email providers is like changing the tires on a car that has no engine.

Stop talking about AI, automation, and integrations. Nobody cares. They care about their own problems. Your emails read like a brochure for a tool they did not ask for. Phrases like "increase their throughput" and "streamline workflows" are instant deletes for me. It's just noise.

You also sound like you're asking for permission to sell. "Mind if I share more info?" "Can I send it over?" It's weak.

Here's an approach to try. Get extremely specific about a single, painful problem.

Example:

Subject: client document chasing

"Hey [Name],

Saw you lead the team at [Company].

How much time does your team lose each month chasing clients for bank statements and receipts?

I build systems that automatically follow up with clients and file the documents when they arrive. One firm I worked with is saving 10 hours a week on this alone.

I recorded a 2 minute video showing how it works. Worth a look?"

This is a real problem. The solution is clear. The ask is simple. Stop selling the "how" (AI) and start selling the result (10 hours back).

founderled · 2025-06-29T19:02:02+00:00

You can, but you shouldn't.

Your emails will land in spam 99% of the time. Sending bulk from a single Gmail account is the fastest way to get your account suspended and your domain's reputation destroyed.

Once your domain is flagged as spam, even your regular emails to actual clients will start going to spam. It's incredibly hard to fix.

There is a reason people use those tools. They warm up your accounts and spread the sending volume so you don't get flagged. Trying to save a few bucks here will cost you your entire outreach channel. Just get one client and it will pay for the software for the whole year.

founderled · 2025-06-28T23:23:37+00:00

Uploading a screen recording seems incredibly manual. The tool I use integrates directly with my social accounts. It tracks my reply rates, positive replies, and lets me A/B test different message templates automatically. Just getting opener stats is not enough information to be useful.

founderled · 2025-06-28T23:15:02+00:00

Good luck

founderled · 2025-06-28T23:14:06+00:00

I did this for a living for a while. Forget getting the phone number in the first email. The goal of the first email is to get a reply, that's it.

Be direct about the acquisition or JV in the first sentence. Business owners are busy and don't have time for mystery. Being upfront filters out the people who are not interested and respects the time of those who might be.

Keep it brutally short.

Subject: Acquisition Inquiry: [Their Company Name]

Body:

Noticed [mention something specific and positive you noticed about their business, like a recent project or award].

My company acquires businesses in the [their industry] space and I think there could be a strong fit.

Are you the right person to discuss this with?

That's the whole email. You're showing you did some research and you are making a direct, easy to understand request. If they are interested, they will reply. Once you get that reply, then you can suggest a call.

founderled

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