Pre launch / Validation
Self validation
Identified a personal pain point — paid hundreds of dollars on Upwork for mobile app designs and extra for every revision. Used this firsthand frustration as validation without external research.
→ Decided to build MVP immediately; no paid validation required
Month 1 – Build
AI-assisted development
Built MVP in ~2 weeks using Cursor, Next.js, React, and Firebase. Deliberately chose widely-used libraries (Chakra UI, Ant Design) so AI coding tools would perform better. No new or obscure frameworks.
→ Fully functional MVP ready to ship in 2 weeks
Month 1 – First Reddit Push
Reddit — organic
Started posting on Reddit immediately after launch. Became an active Reddit user first to warm up the account (new accounts get filtered). Studied which post formats performed well on the platform before posting.
→ First $1K MRR achieved purely from Reddit
MRR $1.0k
Ongoing – Subreddit Discovery
Reddit ads tool for discovery
Used the Reddit Ads campaign creation tool (targeting section) to discover relevant subreddits without spending any money on ads. Searched terms like 'no code' to surface communities, then kept adding keywords to build a large list of targeted subreddits.
→ Built a broad subreddit list enabling high-volume posting
Ongoing – Content Strategy
Reddit — organic
Structured every post with: (1) catchy, non-promotional headline, (2) genuine value content first (e.g., a case study on a successful mobile app sourced from Twitter), (3) product link or mention embedded naturally at the end. For strict subreddits, also plugged a complementary product (e.g., Cursor) alongside App Alchemi to reduce self-promotion flags.
→ Posts felt native to Reddit, avoided removal; drove consistent traffic
Ongoing – Multi Subreddit Volume
Reddit — organic
Took each well-crafted post and reposted it across multiple subreddits simultaneously. Aimed for front-page reach on at least one subreddit. Even without front-page success, 10 subreddits × ~10K views each = ~100K views per post cycle. Posted 2–3 times per week to stay under ban thresholds.
→ 1M+ total impressions on product; 20K+ signups; 20K monthly traffic — all with $0 marketing spend
MRR $17k Users 20k users
Months 1–4 – Iteration
Reddit — organic
Continuously tested different post formats — videos, case studies, other content types — to find what resonated best in the niche. Tracked engagement to double down on winning formats.
→ Sustained growth to 1,000+ paying customers and $17K MRR in 4 months
MRR $17k Users 1.0k users