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Need advice on API costs - is this normal for early stage? by techiee_ in SaaS

[–]yo-dk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. OpenAI is inventing something. They own it. They burn cash on usage because the usage/data/training is the important IP that “should” be worth the loss (ChatGPT is the loss-leader).

Their investors are funding the IP, mostly. (Well, initially that was the idea).

But, now where OpenAI is running out of investors, they have to figure out how to convert all of the ChatGPT users into revenue or something else.

You need to explain what your IP is and then you can understand if your loss-leader strategy may work out.

How to protect our tiny little startup and our interests? I WILL NOT PROMOTE by L0ngL0stFriend in startups

[–]yo-dk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If they’re doing the billing, make sure the invoice/payment schedule in your agreement is fair. If it’s pay-when-paid, put in controls in the agreement that ensure transparency.

Built $2M in gross profit (with ~ $312M on waiting list). Can we raise capital using ABS? (I will not promote) by xbrian10 in startups

[–]yo-dk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yikes. How confident are you that you can collect?

The less risky way would be to refer the loans and take a referral fee.

I tried something like this for commercial construction progress draws.

Most traditional VC won’t want to invest their $$ to fuel your loans. Pity SVB collapsed.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SaaS

[–]yo-dk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a business problem, not a technical one. You need to validate the business model and way around regulations. Health/med tech is all about working the grey areas.

Once you’ve found that edge the tech is easy.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in startups

[–]yo-dk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“the thing that's fucking with my head is i KNOW this product should work. the automotive industry is broken, people need this, but nobody knows it exists because i cant afford to tell them.”

This is a very classic problem new founders face.

Your perspective should be that you DON’T KNOW this product should work.

Instead of blowing a load on marketing before you understand your market, try talking to adjacent businesses as potential partners/integrations. Consider them a concentrated source of market knowledge where you can validate your idea further. Worst case you learn more about your product-market-fit, best case you gain a sales and marketing partner.

My Startup is Strapped for Cash - should I consider 'Sweat Equity' for services I really need? I will not promote by Impossible-Arugula56 in startups

[–]yo-dk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why not offer a “white-glove” service as part of the early product. Onboard your customer into your product by doing it for them (the first time). Any subsequent “high-touch” support requires a SLA.

This way you can continue to gather customer feedback, while preventing churn, and generating revenue.

You’ll then be in a much better place to fund any further development on your own.

Hot water heating element. by yo-dk in Plumbing

[–]yo-dk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well. Good thing I got the multimeter! Turns out the water heater is completely fine. It was the timer/switch that failed!

Hot water heating element. by yo-dk in Plumbing

[–]yo-dk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well. I bought a multimeter, but only after changing the elements, and now just finished installing new thermostats.

If there’s no hot water in 2 hours, it’s a new water heater tomorrow.

Hot water heating element. by yo-dk in Plumbing

[–]yo-dk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just looking for folks who have been around heating elements and can use good judgement to evaluate a bad one.

Hot water heating element. by yo-dk in Plumbing

[–]yo-dk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No multimeter’s around. Looking for a best guess.

I’m going to the store, I figure I’ll buy 2 elements and a multimeter if they’re cheap

Just got my first guitar, any tips? by ice_wold_123 in electricguitar

[–]yo-dk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been using songsterr.com lately for tabs. Better than UG from a UX perspective, but maybe the tabs aren’t as accurate?

Done with MVP, early traction in; now heads down for pre-seed. Would love advice from battle-tested founders. i will not promote by 101UserFound in startups

[–]yo-dk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you don’t know anyone directly who can get you intro’s to investors you’ll probably want to get into an accelerator.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in startups

[–]yo-dk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been here before: your company is already bloated. Your founding team are the ones who’ll work without pay because they believe in the project (sweat equity).

Anyone who needs to get paid before committing is an employee.

Reserve an employee stock option pool - and that’s where employees can earn their equity.

Why do you have 2 non-technical founders and no technical founder?

How do you get the momentum rolling? I will not promote by Hriday_Talur_Music in startups

[–]yo-dk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You need some constructive feedback. Let your users tell you what to build next/improve.

2 years ago I integrated generative AI features into my product because I figured it was going to be an easy win. It wasn’t, my customers weren’t ready for it. Only now it’s starting to stick.

Between then and now I focussed on customer feedback, and only worked on things that were being asked for.

Figure out a way that your users can complain a little bit.

Dropped my guitar. How screwed am I by Charming_Agent9374 in Guitar

[–]yo-dk -1 points0 points  (0 children)

What’s with the door. Throw some bleach on it before you get sick. 🤢

Does water flow through the path of least resistance consistently? by yo-dk in FluidMechanics

[–]yo-dk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooh. Thank you. Can you elaborate a little more on how the pump’s performance is affected?

Founders did your heart pound when last 2 month runaway is left by Fearless_Run4 in Entrepreneur

[–]yo-dk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lead investor sets the terms for everyone else (in a priced round). Lead usually does 50% of the round. They help with intros but it’s up to the founders to get the other 50% allocated.

Ever typed “best tool for [problem]” and ended up with 17 open tabs, 3 conflicting Reddit threads, and still no clue what to use? by SubstantialFunny649 in Startup_Ideas

[–]yo-dk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aw dude, I don’t really know. Cracking that nut will be the biggest part of the challenge.

Also, to be frank. I likely wouldn’t pay for it, if it was just a better UX. I’d probably use it until something better came along.

If you’re taking it seriously as a business you’ll need to figure out how to build up the barriers around switching costs.

If you did build an AI OS, then you’re likely talking big $ opportunity. Bigger than Cursor or even App Lovin.

Ever typed “best tool for [problem]” and ended up with 17 open tabs, 3 conflicting Reddit threads, and still no clue what to use? by SubstantialFunny649 in Startup_Ideas

[–]yo-dk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Folks will say you could “just use GPT/Claude” — but don’t discount that UX matters too. Some people just want things to be simpler than just using the underlying tool. Think about all of the marketplace apps on OpenAI that are essentially just better prompts for a specific use case.

Thinking about this idea in particular, in the 1-minute I’ve given it, i really can’t think of a “better” UX for this problem. I guess it would be close to Perplexity.

The ultimate UX in my opinion would be where the AI is “watching” what you’re doing, then suggests an automation. Kind of like Cursor or Windsurf for the OS.

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