Recent content by Shougan
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Back after a pause. Sanity check on manual offer before building
- AI -Context It’s been a while since I last posted here. Earlier this year I shared weekly updates around an AI concept for manufacturing, but I went quiet for about 2–3 months. That pause wasn’t inactivity. I’ve been focused on execution and decided to postpone posting updates on the forum while...- Shougan
- Thread
- Replies: 2
- Forum: AI Startups & Business Ideas
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONWeekly Update I’ve kept up with my outreach this week. Nothing major to report, it’s going slow and I’m still finding it hard to build enough trust to get prospects comfortable with either a call or my offer. The best opportunity so far is still the maintenance manager, but he hasn’t responded...- Shougan
- Post #33
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONWeekly Update This week has been better. No sales yet, but I’ve had two people ask to see a demo of the software. Unfortunately, both went silent after I showed them the example report I made. My guess is that they’re expecting software, not another PDF report. And if they already have visual...- Shougan
- Post #32
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONWeekly Update This week has been rough. I’ve been sick most of the week, so I only managed the bare minimum: sending my daily outreach messages and doing follow-ups. On top of that, I got hit with the usual frustrations at my day job: A pay raise that still undervalues the work I do. More...- Shougan
- Post #31
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONGood point, consultants could be a good entry point and I’ll eventually explore that. The challenge right now is that my setup still relies on companies sending me their own data, and consultants usually don’t own that data themselves. They could use my tool to speed up their analysis and...- Shougan
- Post #30
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONMakes sense. You’re probably right. I need to stay consistent and not spread myself too thin before I’ve really proven value in one place. Most of the people engaging with my content right now aren’t really my ICP a lot are software folks, consultants, or people in manufacturing but not...- Shougan
- Post #28
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONThat actually sounds like a really good approach. Are you mainly doing it through LinkedIn, or some other platform to capture their info? I could definitely see myself using a similar method. Since i'm posting 2 times a week on linkedin right now, doing one newsletter a month would probably not...- Shougan
- Post #26
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONYeah, I can see how if people don’t act on the recommended actions, it just becomes a loop of the same results. In my own experience, with manufacturing data things tend to shift over the months anyway, so there’s usually some natural variability. The biggest reason is that most teams are...- Shougan
- Post #24
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONWeekly Update This week I kept up my pace of outreach with 10 DMs a day plus follow-ups. A few conversations are starting to take shape. Two people showed real interest but aren’t in the right situation right now, so I’ll circle back later this year. Key Conversation of the Week I spoke with...- Shougan
- Post #22
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONYeah I could try to ask those who went silent if there was something missing, or what I can do to improve. Feedback is mainly what I'm after in the first stages anyways Connecting in person is something I want to do, I'm keeping my eyes out for events nearby that I could attend to connect with...- Shougan
- Post #21
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONReuploading last weeks update. Weekly Update This week has been an emotional rollercoaster. At the end of last week, I had a few people ask to see my example report. I sent them over and kept up my daily outreach (10–15 per day). Midweek, doubts started to creep in. More and more “No...- Shougan
- Post #17
- Forum: Process and Execution
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Struggling with LinkedIn Outreach for My AI Manufacturing Startup. Need Feedback
MARKETING QUESTIONHey, thanks a lot for the tips. Really appreciate it. I see what you mean about reframing it. My current challenge is that the “report” doesn’t actually say anything about their business unless they share their production data with me. Right now, it’s just a generic example of what it could...- Shougan
- Post #3
- Forum: Marketing Strategy
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Struggling with LinkedIn Outreach for My AI Manufacturing Startup. Need Feedback
MARKETING QUESTIONHey everyone, I’ve been working on building traction for my AI-powered cost analysis tool for manufacturers. Right now, I’m validating the market through outreach rather than focusing on product development. For the last few weeks, I’ve been sending LinkedIn DMs daily to my ICP (operations...- Shougan
- Thread
- Replies: 5
- Forum: Marketing Strategy
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONWeekly Update This week I’ve been focused on outreach and building relationships. LinkedIn Outreach I’m currently at ~750 connections and sending 150–200 connection requests per week to my ICP to grow the network. This week, I sent 10 personalized messages per day. My first batch got no...- Shougan
- Post #16
- Forum: Process and Execution
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[Progress Thread] Building an AI Startup for Manufacturing
HOT! SAAS / APPS EXECUTIONExcatly! I'm basically replacing myself as an engineer. I spend way to much time today analyzing data to drive actions. My solution will do that for them, deliver biggest cost drivers, their root causes and suggested actions to implement. Thanks for the recourses, much appreciated. I will...- Shougan
- Post #15
- Forum: Process and Execution
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