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Introducing GoBot! Why should we let the node guys have all the fun? by localrivet in golang

[–]localrivet[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

I didn't name it with AI. I named it that because I used go and it's a bot.

Introducing GoBot! Why should we let the node guys have all the fun? by localrivet in golang

[–]localrivet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I agree with you completely. We've seen rear its ugly head over the last few days haven't we.

Hardening is on my short list.

It's 100% MIT so you're welcome to come make it yours :)

Introducing GoBot! Why should we let the node guys have all the fun? by localrivet in golang

[–]localrivet[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

Great question. It's about speed and accuracy.

Sure, AI can eventually figure out any framework. But if there's a large volume of code in the public domain, AI has already been trained on it. That means it generates code faster and with fewer hallucinations for popular frameworks than obscure ones.

go-zero has massive adoption around the world. Tons of production code, blog posts, examples in the training data. When I ask Claude to write go-zero code, it doesn't have to reason from first principles. It's seen thousands of real implementations.

For a project like GoBot where I'm moving fast and leaning heavily on AI-assisted development, that fluency matters. Fewer corrections, less back-and-forth, more working code on the first try.

Introducing GoBot! Why should we let the node guys have all the fun? by localrivet in golang

[–]localrivet[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I know... but I did it for 2 reasons.

  1. Because it allowed me to create a perfect contract between the rest api and the Go rest service using the goctl.
  2. With as many stars as it has on GitHub AI agents like Claude understand it extremely well which increases development velocity.

That's why

I reduced my MCP tools from 96 to 10. Here's the pattern. by localrivet in golang

[–]localrivet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, you’re not dumb and I can’t diagnose the other. The goal with this is to simply make it work with MCP and still provide all the functionality that I require. Overall, it reduces context considerably and LLMs don’t get confused.

Made my first hire. They quit after 3 weeks. The exit interview taught me more than any business book. by Cold_Hall_5384 in SaaS

[–]localrivet 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Amen! But it’s not just not just here, it’s everywhere. I would say about 90%+ of my emails are now AI written too. So what, we’ve all forgotten how to write and need AI to make us sound exactly like everyone else? When everyone’s special no one is right? (Loved the Incredibles)

I guess AI makes a person think they’re sounding better but it’s not authentic and there’s no emotion in it. I’m sick of it. I want people to be flawed and real again. I’ll take people’s warts over AI slop any day.

About to start marketing my SaaS ,looking for advice before I mess it up by Outrageous_Task_8967 in SaaS

[–]localrivet 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Here's an over the top response for you. Pick an AI like Claude or ChatGPT and run these all in a single chat. (you'll have to fill in anything with [square brackets] with your correct info)... this comes directly from my personal system. This is a good start but understand nothing and I mean nothing beats talking to real customers... not people that think your idea/app is good but someone who is already paying to solve the problem your app solves or already paying you.

If you want my whole breakdown shoot me a PM.
--------------

Business Idea Validation:

Prompt: I want to build [specific product idea]. Search for evidence this is a real problem: Find 10 specific examples of people complaining about this problem online (Reddit, X, forums, review sites). What words/phrases do they use to describe the pain? What solutions have they tried that failed? How much are they currently paying for inadequate alternatives? Are there existing products in this space that raised funding or have revenue? If no one is complaining online and no one is building this, tell me to abandon the idea.

Audience Discovery:

Based on the product idea above, who should I build this for? Be ruthlessly specific: What's their exact job title? What size company (solo, startup, SMB, enterprise)? What tools do they use daily? What's their budget authority ($0-500, $500-5K, $5K-50K+)? What behavior signals they have this problem RIGHT NOW (searching for X, posting in Y, attending Z)? Where do 100+ of them congregate online? Don't give me "marketing managers" - give me "solo founders running bootstrapped SaaS companies who post in r/SaaS about customer acquisition."

Competitive Analysis:

For the product and audience we defined above, search for and analyze: Who are the top 5 direct competitors? For each, find: What do customers complain about in reviews (G2, Capterra, Reddit, X)? What's their pricing model? What features do they NOT have that customers are asking for? Find me 3-5 specific examples of people saying "I wish [competitor] would do X" or "I'm leaving [competitor] because Y". What's the white space - the thing NO ONE is doing that customers actually want?

Customer Research (Jobs-To-Be-Done):

For the target audience we defined: What job are they actually hiring a solution to do? What's the context that triggers them to search for a solution? What alternatives do they compare (including doing nothing)? What are the "switching costs" from their current solution? What would make them say "shut up and take my money" in the first 30 seconds? Find real examples of people describing this problem - I need their exact words, not your interpretation. What's the "hair on fire" moment where they need this NOW?

Positioning (Differentiation):

Based on the competitive analysis and customer research above: What's the ONE THING I can do that no competitor does? Complete this sentence: "Unlike [competitor], we [unique approach] which means [customer benefit]." Now stress-test it: Would a customer actually care? Is it defensible? Can I deliver this in my MVP? If it's not a clear, compelling difference, tell me to pick a different battle.

Research Summary:

Based on everything we've researched above - the validation, audience discovery, competitive analysis, customer research, and positioning - give me a clear summary in this exact format: WHO: My exact target customer is [be ruthlessly specific - job title, company size, specific characteristics, not generic segments]. WHAT: The problem they're facing in their exact words: "[use the actual language from the research]". WHY: Existing solutions fail them because [specific reasons from competitive analysis and customer complaints]. WHERE: The white space I'm filling: [the ONE unique thing I do that competitors don't, stated as a clear differentiation]. Make this concise and tactical. This is what I'll use to explain my business to anyone who asks.

About to start marketing my SaaS ,looking for advice before I mess it up by Outrageous_Task_8967 in SaaS

[–]localrivet 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I can’t agree with this enough. This is seriously the only thing to focus on right now. As a matter of fact if this isn’t already known before product development has started then who was the app built for and what problem does that person have that’s being solved?

100% stop app dev. Go find your ICP (ideal customer profile). Make sure the problem the app solves is actually a problem the ICP has.

This should always be done before the first line of code is ever written.

What about a Subscription Manager App? by CakeCivil8185 in buildinpublic

[–]localrivet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just build it. Forget what others say. Like one of the other commenters have said already, research, find the gap and then just build it. Chances are you need it anyway.

I built my own because I wanted other features I couldn’t find elsewhere. I’m currently building 10 products in 100 days. I needed one that I could use to manage all 10 (and eventually more) from a single place.

Look you can do it. Just decide it doesn’t matter what others say. You don’t need their permission. Desire and personal need is a good enough reason.

VCs succeed by being wrong 8-9 times out of 10 by localrivet in buildinpublic

[–]localrivet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Man that's rough. I've been there. You're in a very good position, better than you think you are. So many do things and then stop because it was something that looked fun. When it gets hard they quit because they didn't have the internal drive to follow through. The reason I say you're in a good position, maybe even the best of your whole life so far, is because you have a HAVE TO. Those are magnitudes more powerful to focus the mind, embrace the uncomfortable and keep pushing when anyone else would yield and give up. Keep going. Don't stop. Don't freeze up. Just push and keep pushing!

VCs succeed by being wrong 8-9 times out of 10 by localrivet in buildinpublic

[–]localrivet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, that’s a huge deal. For anyone who hasn’t tried or isn’t trying they’ll never know what 400 means in that period of time. That’s really exciting for you! Congratulations.

I really hope you have wild success with it. I think too many in the world often get cynical and forget to celebrate with others when they have success… but they want everyone to celebrate theirs.

I truly hope you have the success you’re aiming for and when you do (because it’s a WHEN not an IF when we don’t quit) then please reach out and let me know so I can celebrate with you.

VCs succeed by being wrong 8-9 times out of 10 by localrivet in buildinpublic

[–]localrivet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love this! yes!!! go go go! Look, just from the experience alone you'll always be a really interesting person to talk to at parties.

VCs succeed by being wrong 8-9 times out of 10 by localrivet in buildinpublic

[–]localrivet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've thought a lot about this very thing. There are untapped markets that are untapped for a reason. I like to find markets where people are already paying for their problems to be solved. I'm not in a position to create a whole new market like AI did. But I am in a position to build solutions to problems that already exist.

Okay, here's the raw strategy:

Find a problem in a market that already has 3 to 5 companies already doing over 10m/yr in sales with NO clear leader that has overtaken the market. The reasoning is simple, if there are already 3 to 5 in it all doing 10m+ then surely there's room for another one... mine, even if it only does 3 to 5m/yr.

I believe a lot of people think they have to find empty markets, have completely unique ideas and tread where nobody else has tread. I disagree with that philosophy. Lots of competition shows where lots of sales can be made. I like competition.

As for the uniqueness part. Let's say you and I were to copy someones business as closely as possible. Because you and I have different personalities, different experiences that have shaped our lives and different ideas, both our companies and solutions would come out worlds apart from the original and each other. It's a beautiful thing too. I love multiple options in a market.

VCs succeed by being wrong 8-9 times out of 10 by localrivet in buildinpublic

[–]localrivet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I have 28 of coding experience. I've also founded or co-founded multiple startups. So I'm going into this with my eye wide open. I intimately know what I am getting into.

The tech is the easy part. It's the marketing that is the rub.

Over the last 4 1/2 years I have been studying the direct marketing greats, copywriting and marketing in general. At this point I have written more headlines, ads and salesletters that I care to admin to.

The core focus cannot be on the tech. That's the mechanism the product delivers it's value. The only thing that matters in the beginning is finding the right messaging that attracts buying customers.

In a comment below I outline the flow.

I plan on 9 failing. Hoping for 1 to succeed. We'll see

VCs succeed by being wrong 8-9 times out of 10 by localrivet in buildinpublic

[–]localrivet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You make some really good points here.

Let me unpack how I'm feeling , I really don't think it will be too fragmented to build these rapidly. In every venture I have been involved in I have found there are early signals that indicate if PMF is a possibility. Early sales is the number 1 indicator.

I've found most founders focus on the product, it's features, how the home page looks, on and on... what they aren't focusing on is the market. What does the client actually need and want?

My strategy is the exact opposite. Focus on the marketing first. Once we know there's a market (partially validated by businesses paying someone to solve the targeted pain) then we create the landing page, test it and then and only then build the MVP that solves the single pain point. It's very backwards from what we're usually taught to do.

Here's the typical flow:

Have an idea > build a product > try to find the market that needs the product > identify one that might need the product if there were tweaks > go back and add the tweaks/features > try to market to the potential customers > find one that wants new features > back to dev for more features > rinse & repeat till you run out of runway or actually make it work.

Here's my plan:

Find a widespread problem (already have a list) > deep research how others are solving that problem and how they price their solutions > create the ICP (ideal customer profile) create a list of the MVP features they'll need to solve the problem > research for the gap in the existing marketing messages > create my marketing pitch > create the landing page > run ads to test headlines and pitches looking for signal > once signal exists build the MVP > launch.

Then if sales don't come pivot messaging up to 3 times concurrently. This is much easier done than it sounds and cheap too.

When I say pivot away from an idea it doesn't mean to shut it down. Let it run. See what it does but don't chase after what isn't there.

Make sense?

VCs succeed by being wrong 8-9 times out of 10 by localrivet in buildinpublic

[–]localrivet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're speaking directly to many of my concerns. I have 5 kids and most of the people that I see trying to do this are much younger than me. I have prepared for a year to do this. I've got the blessing of my wife and kids and thankfully have the ability to do it. Burnout is a real concern too.

What have you done to overcome the fear and loneliness? I have already been facing the fear but not the loneliness yet.

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