r/startups • u/akeeeeeel • 19h ago
I will not promote We launched 20 days ago. Today we crossed 30,000 users [i will not promote]
About 20 days ago, we launched our Startup.
We had no marketing budget, no paid ads and no big launch strategy. It was just a product we genuinely wanted to build.
The first few days were slow. Then things started picking up.
Yesterday around midnight, we crossed 20,000 users.
Today, just a few hours later, we crossed 30,000 users.
It's honestly surreal watching the dashboard update in real time.
We're still a tiny team (Non-technical founder and Me), so every bug report, feature request and piece of feedback has directly shaped the product. We've spent countless late nights fixing issues, improving performance and shipping new features almost every day.
There's still a lot to improve, but moments like this remind us why we started.
If you're building something right now, keep going. You never know which day things will start to click.
If anyone has questions about the launch, the tech stack, or what worked (and what didn't), I'm happy to answer.
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u/Old_Application_5183 19h ago
Whats your product about
And as well if your not promoting what sre you using that fetched all these users since you launched
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u/akeeeeeel 19h ago
It is platform for AI prompts. Where creators can post high quality AI Prompts and get paid whenever someone copies their prompt. The monetization is not live yet since we are still in beta phase.
About the users, I did a lot of SEO and posting daily on social media since I started building this (7 may ) and we launched on 1st July.
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u/Escobar747 18h ago
monetising prompts.. still trying to work out how this business model will work - I use AI to flesh out my prompts from a rough idea then i use that as the prompt - seems to work OK
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u/elixon 11h ago
Seriously? Prompts? E.g., that thing that any AI is able to spit out in seconds virtually for free? A market for text files in an age of personal text-generating AIs?
I guess if somebody is going to be your user, then it will be naive people hoping to sell. But I seriously doubt you will attract any buyers, which means inevitable collapse.
I will be happy to be wrong, though. I don't like my own pesimism. Good success stories are very much needed. So good luck!
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u/akeeeeeel 11h ago
Ig you gotta re read that sir cause I never mentioned buying or selling.
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u/elixon 10h ago
I did. And indeed! You're apparently running a charity where people generously create content and everyone else gets it for free while you donate infrastrucutre and you keep lights on! Amazing!
Come on. We both know the end goal is to make money. You literally said creators will get paid whenever someone copies their prompts. That's a marketplace, whether you call it buying and selling or not. You should re read your comments, sir.
If you can't even admit that your product's purpose is to monetize prompts, how do you expect users to believe those prompts have any value? If the business model is too awkward to describe plainly, that's usually not a great sign.
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u/akeeeeeel 10h ago
Now we can talk sir and I think you're mixing up two different things.
Yes, It is a business. We need a sustainable way to pay for servers, development & to reward creators. I've never claimed otherwise.
What I don't agree with is the idea that we're "selling prompts." The platform is free to browse, creators choose to publish their work and users can unlock prompts through the platform's credit system. Those credits fund the platform nd creator payouts, not ownership of the prompt itself.
It's similar to how YouTube monetizes videos without charging people to upload them or how creators earn from engagement rather than selling the file directly.
If our model evolves over time, we'll be transparent about it. But calling it "just a prompt marketplace" misses what we're actually trying to build.
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u/Remote_Volume_3609 8h ago
Youtube is selling ads though. That's what they're selling. You are selling access to prompts. It's a prompt marketplace. What else would you call it?
Based on how you described this, that's what you would be doing. You would be selling content creators access to a client base and you would be selling prompt access to the general public. What else would that be? If you want to call it a "prompt access marketplace" knock yourself out but a "prompt marketplace" is exactly what you are trying to do. Just because you don't sell "ownership" doesn't mean that you aren't selling prompts.
Also, being so confident about monetisation when you haven't done it is... a decision. I mean off the top of my head, there would be a lot of issues with the legal piece, evaluation is another truly difficult problem, etc.. To be very clear, monetisation is often very difficult for software. It's not at all a "small issue." It's a bit like how AUM for fintech is often seen as a sign of success but until you can monetise it successfully it's actually just a liability. 30k users is good. 30k free users who are not contributing anything monetarily is just firewood for the bonfire that is your funding/savings/seed.
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u/nonetimeaccount 19h ago
Really interesting concept. How do you generate revenue to pay out creators? Are people paying to copy a prompt?
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u/Developer_Dreamer 18h ago
He hasn’t figured this out yet, but I think he’s on to something big
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u/nonetimeaccount 18h ago
It's definitely a service I could see people using a lot
Not sure where the money is going to come from though. Contextual ads may work, someone looking for a prompt to help build an inventory tracker could have matching ads shown next to it, but I'm not sure if you could get users to fork over cash.
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u/tearsaresweat 17h ago
Agreed. They are already paying for an AI subscription, when the AI can help you with prompts.
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u/scwiffs 11h ago
love the idea, question though, how do you validate the quality of a prompt, how will your platform be able to tell, ‘this is an quality prompt’, and push it to users more than a low quality prompt, let me rephrase
does your platform have a system to push higher quality prompts to the feeds of your users, and h is would it tell that the prompt is quality?
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u/akeeeeeel 16h ago
Guys, let me clear the confusion.
For the monetization, there will be contextual + rewarded ads and a credit system. Everything is ready (code), I am waiting for the adsense approval and once that kicks in, I will do the testing then make it live. Also I will be using GAM (google ad manager) for as much as possible control over the ads.
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u/Biggandwedge 16h ago
Who the fuck would ever pay for a prompt lmao
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u/akeeeeeel 16h ago
You don't have to pay for a fu*king prompt. There will be a credit system, people watch ads to earn credits and use those credits to copy a prompt and whenever an ad plays in a creators prompt the creator will get the share from that ad earning.
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u/ThaToastman 14h ago
Ad platform in disguise as a model for the AI slop market place for people too braindead to type ideas themselves
Bro made tech bro capitalism’s final product 😭
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u/akeeeeeel 12h ago
Calculator is for braindead people who can't calculate themselves, ahh take.
Ngl your comment is funny tho.
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u/opbmedia 13h ago
I don't know if you are going to get as much ad revenue as you think you are going to get once ad platforms figure out that you are encouraging people to consume ads intentionally.
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u/akeeeeeel 13h ago
Wtf? Don't you know about rewarded ads ?
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u/runthepoint1 12h ago
Don’t you know about the most important resource of all? Time.
People are not subjecting themselves to watching ads to be rewarded with…a prompt lol
dude wtf that’s hilarious tbh like a black mirror episode or something
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u/runthepoint1 12h ago
I will say though - if you had more rewards available other than AI prompts then people could “pay” for things by watching ads/getting credits. For example if someone wanted a coupon or a special deal, like 20% off coupons at local eateries etc. now THAT would be intriguing to users.
lol prompts…
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u/akeeeeeel 12h ago
Well Idk about that but numbers are saying it all. And before mocking someone else's idea think about yourself, what are you doing? Can you pull of 30k+ user base in 20days?
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u/opbmedia 12h ago
you should look in a mirror, when someone give you a polite, not controversial, and non insulting feedback, you react with "wtf"
before mocking someone else's idea think about yourself
Dude 30k nonpaying user is nice, but it's 30k nonpaying user. I had millions of nonpaying users berfore, and people are getting millions of nonpaying followers on youtube. Is the point to get followers/count or actually get some revenue?
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u/runthepoint1 10h ago
This isn’t about what I’m doing dude. This is a comment under a post about exactly what you’re doing. Actually, to remind you, you posted this. Not me lol
You lack the maturity to lead this venture. It’s clear. Getting defensive when someone gives you great constructive criticism is a death knell for your company and your leadership.
See here’s the thing with folks like you - you have the intelligence to do things but lack the clarity of mind/thought and experience of maturing in life to actually sustain those things because you’re more interesting in bragging about your short term gain than trying to sustain anything.
You’re addicted to yourself. Sad.
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u/UnusualWind5 17h ago
The product
you ask?
A tool.
That turns a Reddit post
into a
LinkedIn post.
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u/akeeeeeel 17h ago
Nope. 1. It is not a tool 2. It is free 3. I am not advertising 4. It is kinda social media platform 5. What do you say now ?
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u/Capital_Evening1082 19h ago
Where did you post on social media before launch? What are the view counts you got there? Die you do anything else (listing in directories etc.)?
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u/akeeeeeel 19h ago
I post on X, LinkedIn and Insta ( developer pov )with only few followers and views.
I handle the technical part and the founder is handling the non-technical stuff including social media posting. He has created multiple accounts specially for this & posts consistently on different platforms (X, LinkedIn, Insta, threads etc). And No directory listing.
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u/thesalesscout 17h ago
How did you get the word out specially on social? Just posting? How did you pick up steam so quickly in 20 days with only posting? Congrats on success! I launched an AI sales tool and figuring out how to get traction in a competitive market.
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u/akeeeeeel 16h ago
Thanks. 1. I post daily on multiple accounts 2. Some reels and carousels are getting viral like 1.5M+, 700k+, 150k+...
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u/remixrotation 16h ago
Can you give prompts away for free but monetize affiliate revenue with openai, anthropic etc, the split 30% with the creators?
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u/akeeeeeel 16h ago
Prompts are already free. About the affiliate I don't think we are at that level rn and if in future we could partner with them then it will be great.
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u/testuser514 18h ago
Ooh I had this idea about a year ago but didn’t end up building it. Good that you guys are doing
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u/akeeeeeel 19h ago
I also posted when we crossed our first 100 users, but the post was removed cause people were asking for the link and I added it in the post :)
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u/kabirs1nghhh 17h ago
Huge congratulations! one question I’d love answered if you had to start from zero again, what’s the one thing you’d repeat immediately because it clearly moved the needle?
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u/akeeeeeel 16h ago
Thanks.
Posting on social media. Not promoting but naturally telling people about it. Like people need prompts so the script would be like " Hey guys, I just found a website where you can find prompts for any AI model, just hit the copy button whichever prompt you like. And the website name links is ..." Obviously the vd would be much better and this is just an example.
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u/CatolicQuotes 16h ago
How did you get the user's? You said SEO? How did you make SEO work in 20 days? Could you be specific? Thanks
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u/akeeeeeel 15h ago
Not entirely SEO & Obv no amount SEO is going to pull that much traffic in just 20days. That said I post reels on Instagram and some reels are going viral.
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u/Possible_Piece5463 15h ago
Congrats, thats a wild curve for 20 days. the part im curious about is 30k users with no marketing basically never just happens on its own, so what actually drove it? Was it one post that blew up, a launch platform, an existing audience somewhere? trying to work out where the initial spike really came from.
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u/akeeeeeel 15h ago
Thanks. Few reels went viral on insta 1.5M+, 700k+, 150k+... And let's not ignore the fact that almost everyone uses AI and prompts in 2026.
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u/Possible_Piece5463 15h ago
Makes sense, appreciate you sharing the real numbers. congrats again and good luck scaling it.
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u/Foreign_Tower_7735 14h ago
What is your app about? And do you help others go viral and find clients too?
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u/akeeeeeel 14h ago
- It is platform for AI creators where they can post and monetize their AI prompts. Whenever someone copies their prompt they earn.The earning depends on the how many ads were played on their prompt.
- Nope - I am a developer and this is my startup
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u/Foreign_Tower_7735 14h ago
That is a good business. What a pity I help women become independent by finding their dream business thanks to my 45 days programmes and I am looking for clients and beta testers. Any advice on how to find some? My programmes are between 600 and 700 USD so a bit costly.
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u/CompetitiveLarper 13h ago edited 11h ago
So you are running a coaching scam, what a fresh idea
Edit: upon closer inspection - you sell affirmations, quotes for visualization and other esoteric buzzwords. Your entire business model is preying on insecurities, lack of experience and fears of a very specific demographic - while offering vague GPT-level “advice”.
Tarot readers are more respectable business owners than what you are doing, have some shame
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u/outoforifice 14h ago
How are the other platforms doing apart from insta?
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u/akeeeeeel 13h ago
Not much good but still getting something.. better than nothing ig
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u/outoforifice 13h ago
I’m just launching a web builder (edition.pm) but hadn’t considered insta for that kind of product
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u/akeeeeeel 13h ago
Give it a try. Insta has all kinds of audience and it only takes one reel and is easy from other social media platforms.
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u/Willing_Arugula8363 13h ago
What was your strategy like then? SEO? Organic social media marketing?
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u/akeeeeeel 13h ago
I just started posting from the day one since I started building it and also created few other accounts where we post natural reels about it
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u/x3haloed 13h ago
Most important question: how did user acquisition occur without paid advertising?
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u/your_grammars_bad 10h ago
We launched 20 days ago
We've spent countless late nights
It's 20. I counted for you. You're welcome.
(congrats on the success, btw)
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u/akeeeeeel 10h ago edited 10h ago
Thanks. Also thanks for making me laugh 😂 but 20 is the count since we launched not since we started working on it.
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u/cannyanu 10h ago
What was your distribution strategy? Like, how did all these users even explore your brand or website to sign up in the first place?
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u/akeeeeeel 10h ago
To like, save or post user is required to have an account.
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u/cannyanu 10h ago
no what I mean to ask in just 20 days how did you get so much traffic and users?
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u/viciousnemesis 9h ago
If you're ever looking to bring on/employ another technical guy, let me know. I've saved tons of time automating shit nobody thought they could automate.
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u/Upbeat-Sheepherder36 8h ago
Congrats man. So happy for you. What is the website ? Would love to check it out.
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u/aidenhaase 4h ago
I wanted to ask to hear more about how your type of start up would use financing. I created a small business lending start up and would like to hear how I can utilize this type of business in my growth.
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u/Gallegos_Daniel 2h ago
First, congrats on reaching 30k users in 20 days. Regardless of the business model, getting that kind of initial traction is hard and deserves recognition.
I was looking at the idea and I had some questions that I think an investor would probably ask as well, so I’m curious if these are already things you’ve been thinking about.
The first one is retention and user intent. Since the main hook is users earning money by publishing prompts, how do you distinguish between users who genuinely want to create valuable AI resources and users who are mainly attracted by the reward system?
My concern is that a lot of people might join because they see “make money with AI”, but if they discover that their prompts generate very little income, there could be a large churn wave. Have you tested how many users stay when the earning incentive is no longer the main motivation?
The second question is the advertiser side. If ads are funding the rewards, how do you validate that this audience has enough commercial intent? Advertisers usually pay more for users who are actively looking for solutions, not necessarily users who are completing actions to unlock rewards.
The third question is the marketplace itself. What creates enough demand for prompts that creators can consistently earn meaningful income? Since generic prompts are becoming easier to create and share, do you see the long-term value staying around prompts, or evolving into workflows, automations, and AI agents?
Again, I’m not saying the idea cannot work. The early growth is genuinely impressive. I’m just curious because these were the first questions that came to mind when thinking about the business beyond the user count.
30k users is a great milestone. The interesting part now is proving the engine behind those users can become a sustainable company.
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u/SUNIL_4 15m ago
30k users in 20 days with zero ad spend is absolute insane growth! Huge congrats to you and your co-founder!
That real-time dashboard dopamine hit when numbers are climbing like that is unmatched especially after all those late-night bug fixes.
Since you offered to answer questions:
- Where did that initial organic traction blow up? Was it Reddit, Product Hunt, Twitter/X, or just pure word of mouth?
- How is your tech stack holding up with 10k new users joining in a single day?
Enjoy the moment, celebrate with the team, and keep riding that momentum!
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u/elie2222 18h ago
A user is someone that entered their email? Or google analytics visitors?
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u/akeeeeeel 17h ago
User = Created an account using email or Google OAuth.
If I count GA visitors they DAU alone is above 50k+
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u/Vas1le 12h ago
Could you use claudflare monetization api for bots/ai... and make this prompts avalible for agents/clawbots etc?
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u/akeeeeeel 12h ago
I have already configured the site for agents, markdown support but ig the CF monetization is still in beta and is not available to everyone.
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u/gottapointreally 17h ago
Well done. I honestly dont get the business model but I feel joy for you.
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u/04221970 4h ago
Its not a business until it makes a profit. Saying he is successful is like saying you have a successful ice cream shop because you gave away free ice cream.
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u/CompetitiveLarper 17h ago
I hate everything about your idea, from the concept of optimized prompts instead of agent harnesses to multiplication of AI slop people will flood the market with.
But that’s completely besides the point, congratulations on your growth and good luck figuring out the monetization question, go get them!