r/Entrepreneur

Intel’s recent decision to lay off 15,000 employees marks a challenging moment for the tech industry. This significant move affects countless lives, reminding us of the uncertainty and rapid changes we face in this field.

To those impacted, we extend our deepest sympathies and support. We stand with you, hoping for swift recovery and new opportunities ahead.

I keep hearing about the need to be innovative or solve a problem.

Meanwhile, there are 2,735 water bottle companies in the U.S. Bottled Water Industry database, and many of them are successful.

How does that even work?

Let me share a real case study of my mobile app, which I launched in 2021 for iOS, targeting a US audience through the Apple App Store.

Normally, I focus on niche apps by researching the market with ASO/SEO tools to find untapped opportunities. But this time, I decided to experiment by launching a series of apps aimed at directly competing with established leaders in their search results. Out of five apps, three survived, and the figures I’ll discuss are from the most successful one.

Here’s how I chose my target for the copycat strategy:

• Strong keywords

• No registered trademarks that could limit my visibility in search results

• Competitive advantages (I may not have top-tier developers, but I can create more appealing product pages than many niche competitors)

I created lists of dozens of potential products, detailing what I could improve for each one. I ranked these based on a subjective criterion: "chance to look better in search results."

The top candidates were apps that had been abandoned by their developers—those with outdated designs, poor monetization, and weak product pages. The least competitive app combined all these issues and was earning about $10K a month, according to SensorTower.

Copy the positioning, not the entire product.

You can create a better product from scratch using standard user stories or SCAMPER frameworks rather than blindly copying a competitor’s features. Economically, a single, well-designed feature can be more valuable to users than ten features from a competitor. I didn’t use the competitor’s product as a reference; I implemented my own vision, which received excellent feedback from users who found the app through keyword searches.

This approach is also crucial for conversion and monetization. Blindly following a competitor’s model can limit your earnings. I didn’t stick to the competitor’s monetization strategy (a paid app). Instead, I made the app free with in-app purchases and a lifetime purchase option, later adding a subscription model to further optimize revenue per user.

In the first year, my app captured about half of the competitor’s market and earned $60K, eventually growing to take 90% of the market.

I’m not advertising the app or selling anything, and I don’t want to lose anything by sharing too much.

Good luck to everyone! I look forward to your comments and messages.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in college and come from humble beginnings, but I have big ambitions of becoming a millionaire. For me, it’s not just about the money but also about proving to myself that I can achieve such a level of success. I’m inspired by the success stories in this community and would love to hear any advice or strategies that have helped others reach their financial goals. If anyone is willing to share tips or personal experiences, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I’m reading that Einstein producef 248 publications, most with minimal impact. Picasso produced +1800 paintings, +1200 sculptures, +12.000 drawings, Maya Angelous wrote 165 poems to have a hit…

Just reading this in a book called “Originals� (I posted thoughts about another section some days ago here too).

Back at the time I created several companies and some of them made quite a few millions per year in revenue and sold one of them. Not bad for a guy from a poor family… also my career is and has been good. But many times I think I’m much less smart, orders of magnitude less smart, than most of my employees. But they limited themselves to be good sons and daughters, get good grades and do an OK job at work.

Everything I did wasn’t extraordinary and I don’t dare to compare myself to those geniuses mentioned in the first paragraph… but it makes me think on the influence that hard work had in their success and ANY success that can transform a person’s life really. Are we over praising “work smart, not harder�?

Thoughts?

• How much I don’t know

• The importance of a solid network

• How quickly things can change

• The necessity of resilience

• Something else

For context, I found an online creator on Instagram who is known for dropshipping and e-commerce. She has about 300k followers on Instagram and certified.

With that background, I got on offer from her to pay $50 a month for her mentorship and to possibly learn about those things (im assuming since that’s her profession). Do you think it would be smart to do so or should I learn from somewhere else?

Hey ,

I operate a content marketing and SEO agency that’s been in business since October 2018, working across various industries and niches, successfully creating and implementing content marketing and SEO strategies for our clients.

We used to give away a “free blog post - no strings attached� to any business operator who booked a consultation with us. This worked well in the beginning, allowed me to network openly with other business operators, and landed us our first few dozen clients.

With so much AI content generation these days, I’m thinking it’d be more valuable to change this offer to give away a free human-written (no AI) blog post to business - no strings attached. I’m wondering if this is enough value though. Would love to hear your thoughts!

This question has been nagging me for quite some time (I've been searching around including this sub), and I understand both sides (why not or why you should).

I guess, I want to hear it from personal experiences now. How did it go? Was it a good or bad idea?

I'm thinking of taking out a loan to "ignite" my business, coz having money would allow me to hire people and invest in something for my business that would either save me time or make me more money. And yes, if I were to take out the loan, it's technically not to start from zero. I already have the basic skills for my business, including 'selling' albeit still a noob.

But enough about me, what's your experience?

When me and my co-founders started our first company, we had these pre-set ideas of how things are done in B2B SaaS. We started with the standard landing page, tested the standard business model, reached out to people through the standard sales and marketing methods (emailing, cold calling etc.).

Of course we learned over time what works for us and what didn't, and we adjusted. But these adjustments took a lot of time, and we burned a lot of investor money along the way.

What I wished we would have done instead, is to treat everything we thought about doing, as an experiment. Startups by definition are all about learning. The more systematically and effectively you try and fail, the faster you will find the things that work.

Moving forward (and what I would do if I could start-over), I will treat every strategy, every sales and marketing tactic, every product backlog as an experiment. By assuming that it might be the wrong, we will hopefully be more eager to test and validate and learn if we should continue or try something else.

Maybe this can help some of you out there avoid the same mistake.

So I love getting my back scratched so I want to start a business where I scratch peoples back, I figured if people pay for massages there’s gotta be people who would pay for back scratches and scalp scratches. How should I go about starting this business?

18F. Only have a hs diploma, start community college in 3 weeks. Just started a part time job making $13 an hour. About to move into own place, and after being homeless for months I want to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Bus and uber are only current modes of transportation. I know how to do hair and nails, although only to an extent and not licensed. I’ve only done hair on myself and nails I’m not that good at and have also only done on myself. I’m an excellent reader and writer, although I’ve never wrote for anyone other than myself (outside of school). Becoming an author is something I have seen myself doing quite often on the side. I have none of my old belongings (old nails supplies etc) so I have a blank slate and will have to invest more money into whatever side hustles I do. I get my first paycheck around my apartment move in, so I want to start with side hustles as soon as I move in. I want to be a lifestyle influencer, but obviously that’s not realistic especially given my situation. Those things take time, and I’d be better off investing money into something I can get guaranteed results in.

Based on everything I’ve stated above, what are some side hustles you think would be a good idea in the long run for me to invest into? I’m not looking for a get rich quick scheme, but I also don’t want something I’m gonna have to wait forever until I get what I want. Something legal so I don’t go to jail. I’ve tried apps such as instawork but there are never any shifts available in my area. I don’t mind putting a lot of work and time into it, and losing a lot of sleep.

Hey everyone

I am a 22 year old with a strong desire to be financially well-off, not just for my own sake, but to help others and take care of my parents in the way they deserve. Currently, I have over £30,000 saved in my bank account, and I’m about to invest £25,000 of that into pursuing a master's degree at a prestigious private university in Spain.

This decision is not just about the education it’s also about the incredible networking opportunities and the chance to connect with high net worth individuals, which I believe will be instrumental in building my future wealth. I have carefully consulted with many people before deciding on this path.

However, I am now considering taking an educational loan to cover half of the course fees. I’ve explored various options, from straightforward loans to those that function like Student Finance England loans with high interest rates but no payments required if I have no income. I believe this could be a good strategy to avoid depleting my savings entirely, allowing me to invest and perhaps travel a bit.

My dilemma is that while I have read numerous financial books and have several ideas, taking the first step is daunting. I am also contemplating finding a financial advisor but am unsure about how to find a reliable one or whether I truly need one.

My family has some knowledge about finances, but they haven't been particularly adept with money, and I don’t want to depend on them.

So here I am, reaching out to you guys for advice:

1. Is taking a loan to cover half of my tuition a wise decision?

2. What should I do with my remaining savings to ensure they are working for me?

3. How can I find a trustworthy financial advisor, or do I even need one?

4. Any other advice for someone in my situation aiming to grow their wealth and secure their financial future?

I am eager to learn and make the best decisions for my future. Any guidance, tips, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I will not be spending much money in Spain as I will be living with family!

Thank you all in advance for your help!

Just curious what type of companies everybody owns! What got you into it, how did it look early on, and where are things now? Let’s hear it I’m sure we’re all over the map.

For those of you looking to become entrepreneurs I just wanted to remind everyone that you don’t need some kind of innovative technology or app to become a successful entrepreneur. I always see people trying to develop something revolutionary in the hopes of building a business around it. Just wanna say that’s great and all if you can do it, but there’s also people doing really well selling construction materials, real estate, house cleaning services, etc. You can build a very successful business selling pet feed if you are good at it. Sometimes effective marketing, efficiency, and good business skills are enough to create success selling anything.

I’m an electrical contractor in year 5. Certainly not getting rich but I’m making a low-moderate six figure income and it’s been life changing financially. I’ve come along way from being laid off when Covid happened and starting my business out of necessity. I started picking up side jobs while looking for a new job but nobody was hiring. A few months later when the job market improved I was already doing well enough to stick with it. It’s a tough business and a lot of work but absolutely worth it. Soon I’ll be looking at starting another business. I’ve got a few idea I’m deciding between. Best of luck to the rest of you! Let’s head your stories.

Recently I came up with an idea of making a soft drink version of a coffee machine. How do I approach this, like where can I find someone who can design and develop (provided that I have limited connections and rely on Internet for everything) the machine according to my needs.

I recently started a real estate consulting business and I want to build brand awareness for my company on Instagram. As a consultant, my role is both acting as an advisor and helping real estate agents get things done (I help with marketing initiatives, brand strategy, hiring and training, analyses etc.).

My intention is to follow agent accounts/pages, engage with them, and post relevant content. What do you think of the following content strategy for my account?

I’m considering alternating my posts between:

• News articles

• Thought leadership / key principles (my services)

• Architecture / design inspiration

I am caught up on getting approvals for reposting inspiration imagery, and how to generate the images for the posts related to my services. I’m also camera shy and nervous about putting out the wrong vibe/message that takes away from the value of what I offer, if that makes sense.

I’ve noticed a trend lately. People in the entrepreneurial forums have a definitive contempt for the working man. How can one be an effective leader if he has no respect for the labor and the laborers that he is managing?

It’s very telling.

Please give me some advice. I was thinking of posting fliers around my neighborhood and going door to door to get started

I have a service in the education sector that I believe could be scaled up through the creation of an application and disrupt the current industry; however, I have no background in tech and little liquidity compared to the cost of development. Any tips of finding someone who would be willing to help develop the app? Perhaps in exchange for equity?

I'm a freelance game/AR/VR dev, but I've been wanting to switch fields for a while now. I want to start a business but each time I start to brainstorm/work on something, I end up spiraling into 'this is not a good idea, and not worth pursuing' and then I give up. This has been a very strong pattern for as long as I can remember. I tried to start an online clothing store: visited the wholesalers for pricing one day, realised I know next-to-nothing about clothing, gave up. I tried to start an AR/VR marketing thing: researched, brainstormed, and then thought 'no way I can get clients' and gave up. I tried to start a small ice-cream brand, found a place where I could setup, researched costs, bought a domain and everything, then it just fizzled out. I don't know what is wrong. Right now, I'm trying to start a web design business. I've been going over reddit posts to see what problems people face with agencies and getting their websites done, and I'm finding some interesting patterns, but now thoughts are starting to creep again and I don't know if I'll be able to do this or not. I don't know the first thing about connecting with people or getting the word about my services out there. I don't know what to do.

Have any of you faced something similar? What did you do to overcome this?

hello everyone, I just have a simple question. What are your best tips for idea generation?

Like many on here, I am a young person and believe I have the “grit� it would take to start a business. I understand a proper business is not a get rich quick scheme and can take decades to build.

My biggest hurdle is finding an idea. I hate to say it but I feel like im blanking when it comes to an idea. Would love to learn how entrepreneurs got the idea for their business!

thank you for your time everyone

“Propose to an Englishman any principle, or any instrument, however admirable, and you will observe that the whole effort of the English mind is directed to find a difficulty, defect, or an impossibility in it. If you speak to him of a machine for peeling a potato, he will pronounce it impossible: if you peel a potato with it before his eyes, he will declare it useless, because it will not slice a pineapple. Impart the same principle or show the same machine to an American, or to one of our colonists, and you will observe that the whole effort of his mind is to find some new application of the principle, some new use for the instrument.�

• Charles Babbage

(I would have posted a photo of the extract from the source but this sub doesn’t allow images)

Is there anyone who is in coffin industry, want to optimize your supply chain, or want to find a supplier in China 🇨🇳, please let me know! Professional coffin manufacturer waiting for your inquiries!

To breafly explain, I have more than 10,000 IG accounts.

I can make all of them like if it was client's back up account. And redirect the viewers to client's main account. Actually it is called mother-slave account method.

It's what works like hell with onlyfans.

But I want to build something bigger than onlyfans agency.

Until client's sees concret result I am willing to do it for free.

No BS, free, nothing to pay. I don't want your password or anything.

But I expect client to be able to publish at least 3 good quality reels/week.