Nick Slobodinuk

I help founders test a business idea before they bet their savings on it. Launched, failed, learned, built again. Here for the honest side of starting up.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@ClouthierBuilds Congrats on getting close, I'll keep an eye out for the launch. What problem does this one solve?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@ClouthierBuilds 5 quotes in two days is real traction, nice. When the phpshell news fades, where do you think the next leads will come from?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

Day 1 of my startup: changing the world. Day 30: changing the font on the landing page for the fourth time.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@rdominguezibar @trq212 @AnthropicAI Every partnership I've been in taught me a failed company is still great training. What do you think he carried over from the game startup?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@dickiebush In my partnerships, the money problems were always the easier conversation. What's your golden nugget for the no-money stage?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@arvidkahl In every business I've run, the cheapest clients asked for the most. Where did you draw the line between $10 and $50?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@ericwilliamrea Was the second run faster because of the playbook, or because customers already trusted you?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@rcmisk How do you know the people complaining on Product Hunt are the ones who'd actually pay to fix it?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@imlocha What makes you sure teams that aren't ready yet will pay you before they have their first customers?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@braelyn_ai Big leap, congrats. Your first users will teach you more than any roadmap.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@Fresno_Famous 79 videos in a month by hand is real grit. Keep stacking them.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@thejustinwelsh Failing at your own thing teaches you more in a year than a job does in ten.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@AlexHormozi Will beats talent most days. The days it feels pointless are the ones that count.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@AdaInfliq Mostly courage. Naming that one person means you might hear a real no.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

I read ten founder posts today and saw one pattern.

A student demo with zero views. 1,393 site checks and one lead. 65% of Product Hunt launches stuck at 0 or 1 upvote. A $4M seed round with no customers. A company at $20M ARR that's still unfundable.

Almost everyone built first and asked later.

The ones who made it weren't smarter. One team pivoted 8 times before reaching $200M ARR. They kept asking the market until it answered.

Building is the easy part now. AI will edit your clips and write your code. It can't tell you if anyone cares.

Discounting won't fix that either. It just brings you the clients who care the least.

Before you build, find one person who will pay. Then build for them.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@ClouthierBuilds Love that, a real conversation beats any dashboard. Have any of those chats turned into paying customers yet?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@fordsmith Agreed, and it's way cheaper than rebuilding later. What's the first question you ask a customer?

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@IRLifounder Brutal and true. Customers first, ping pong table later.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@alexdanilowicz 8 pivots and a cofounder breakup, then $200M. Stubborn beats smart.

[Nick Slobodinuk @NSlobodinuk]

@webdevcody Zero users, zero breaches. Undefeated security record.