My failed attempt at my solo project

[user0001]

Hello everyone,

This year I set out to create a website that allows strangers to talk to each other anonymously in real time, with a rating system linked to an algorithm matching people based on their ratings.

I wanted to share the site in my city so that people could meet new people they liked safely.
And to make money, I wanted to put up ads for local businesses.

Everyone I told about the idea said it was great.
I shared the idea on reddit to validate it and got a lot of positive feedback.

I finished building the backend after 6 months after my work hours, learning everything I needed to know about web development and the related technologies for real time communication.
I then spent 2500 euros on the frontend design and development, which took another 6 months, after many problems with the frontend developers I hired on upwork.

And now I've started advertising online for it.
Nobody who clicked on the website has tried to talk to anyone. Out of 6000 impressions and 40 clicks.
I've sent emails to every important local buisness in my city and none has responded to my emails.
I've shared the link on socal media, but I've had no reaction on the local groups.

I feel really bad right now.
I feel like I am not cut to be an entrepreneur sometimes when I compare myself to other people.
i feel so dumb being enthousiatic about it like I was.
It really took a toll on me. I am not sure I have the energy to try something like that again.
I've been trying to make something work for several years now, and after several failed attempts, I really start to doubt I can make it.

I see people my age that put the same kind of effort in a regular job, reaching managerial positions, having a partner, buying a home, having children, and I feel like I'm nowhere and a loser.

It has gotten to the point I cry most night, and can't fall asleep because I worry about my future.

Have anyone had similar experiences before?
How did you find the motivation to start something new after a failed attempt?
How do you know when it's worth to keep pushing, or to try something else?

 

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[Toyotomi]

Hello everyone,

This year I set out to create a website that allows strangers to talk to each other anonymously in real time, with a rating system linked to an algorithm matching people based on their ratings.

I wanted to share the site in my city so that people could meet new people they liked safely.
And to make money, I wanted to put up ads for local businesses.

Everyone I told about the idea said it was great.
I shared the idea on reddit to validate it and got a lot of positive feedback.

I finished building the backend after 6 months after my work hours, learning everything I needed to know about web development and the related technologies for real time communication.
I then spent 2500 euros on the frontend design and development, which took another 6 months, after many problems with the frontend developers I hired on upwork.

And now I've started advertising online for it.
Nobody who clicked on the website has tried to talk to anyone. Out of 6000 impressions and 40 clicks.
I've sent emails to every important local buisness in my city and none has responded to my emails.
I've shared the link on socal media, but I've had no reaction on the local groups.

I feel really bad right now.
I feel like I am not cut to be an entrepreneur sometimes when I compare myself to other people.
i feel so dumb being enthousiatic about it like I was.
It really took a toll on me. I am not sure I have the energy to try something like that again.
I've been trying to make something work for several years now, and after several failed attempts, I really start to doubt I can make it.

I see people my age that put the same kind of effort in a regular job, reaching managerial positions, having a partner, buying a home, having children, and I feel like I'm nowhere and a loser.

It has gotten to the point I cry most night, and can't fall asleep because I worry about my future.

Have anyone had similar experiences before?
How did you find the motivation to start something new after a failed attempt?
How do you know when it's worth to keep pushing, or to try something else?

hey @user0001 I can't talk about my failed experiences since I am in the process of building. Hopefully someone else is able to do that for you.

For me personally, if what I have spent my time and effort fails, I would not think I am a failure for what I built and who I am are two different things. I will take a break applaud myself for doing what most people don't and move forward.

Don't tie yourself to your success or failures (my personal opinion).

Again for myself, I plan to spend 6 months on the idea after launch and getting people into the door along with pivoting when needed. But, if my offer and value I provide for others result in nothing (literally 0 engagement) but crickets even after refining the idea multiple times I think I would close shop and try another idea.

Best of luck don't cry yourself to sleep you already did what most never do.

 

[Partyplanser]

Hello everyone,

This year I set out to create a website that allows strangers to talk to each other anonymously in real time, with a rating system linked to an algorithm matching people based on their ratings.

I wanted to share the site in my city so that people could meet new people they liked safely.
And to make money, I wanted to put up ads for local businesses.

Everyone I told about the idea said it was great.
I shared the idea on reddit to validate it and got a lot of positive feedback.

I finished building the backend after 6 months after my work hours, learning everything I needed to know about web development and the related technologies for real time communication.
I then spent 2500 euros on the frontend design and development, which took another 6 months, after many problems with the frontend developers I hired on upwork.

And now I've started advertising online for it.
Nobody who clicked on the website has tried to talk to anyone. Out of 6000 impressions and 40 clicks.
I've sent emails to every important local buisness in my city and none has responded to my emails.
I've shared the link on socal media, but I've had no reaction on the local groups.

I feel really bad right now.
I feel like I am not cut to be an entrepreneur sometimes when I compare myself to other people.
i feel so dumb being enthousiatic about it like I was.
It really took a toll on me. I am not sure I have the energy to try something like that again.
I've been trying to make something work for several years now, and after several failed attempts, I really start to doubt I can make it.

I see people my age that put the same kind of effort in a regular job, reaching managerial positions, having a partner, buying a home, having children, and I feel like I'm nowhere and a loser.

It has gotten to the point I cry most night, and can't fall asleep because I worry about my future.

Have anyone had similar experiences before?
How did you find the motivation to start something new after a failed attempt?
How do you know when it's worth to keep pushing, or to try something else?

Man I feel so bad reading your post, wish you wouldn’t have to worry
You know ‘comparison is a thief of joy’
Wish I could give some encouraging words, I’m not all that seasoned but you did all the things you needed to do to promote and build your business. So you were smart in following all the steps. I too don’t know why no one is engaging.
I can share that on my instagram for my business no one has left a comment yet :’) it can feel a bit discouraging especially since I write call to actions. So I can kind of relate anyways maybe the others will have some tips on what to do next. It will be alright.

 

[DougieFresh]

Have you looked at SEO or if you have the money just advertise on Google to improve search ranking?

 

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[user0001]

Thanks for the answers, it helps to put things in perspective. It's going a bit better today.

I think SEO could help, I've optimised the website for keywords but I need to get some traffic so that it gets visible.

I'll try google ads and going physically to the local businesses to ask if I can put posters I printed somewhere.

If it does not work, I will try sharing it globally, not for a specific city.
Maybe it's too much of a niche solution to get enough users for a specific geographical area.
Otherwise I will pivot.

I will keep you updated.

Thanks again for the kind words

 

[uhhfeef]

Hi! I think its fantastic that you went out and took action. You got to experience real life lessons that you wouldn't have if you took the safe route.

Don't think of yourself as a loser, think of yourself as a learner and take this opportunity to find out why you failed and what you can do to avoid this in the future. I think failure is the most important step in learning. In my experience, the more you fail, the better. It's hard for the ego but its the quickest and easiest way to become better at a skill. And once you fail a lot it gets much easier, in fact, when I don't "fail" I get suspicious and feel like I got lucky.

The best part about failing for me has been to research books on the topic and find people that have solved that particular problem for you. Its like downloading information from somebody with massive experience directly for you to use and play around with.

I see a potential problem with where you failed though.

There's a high chance that the validation you received from people was just them "being nice". Which I've learned recently myself. Compliments, hype, promises, etc, does not mean you validated your idea. Its very unintuitive but most people are very freindly and are always ready to hype you up which feels like validation. But it isn't.

So how do you learn what to build and discover if people actually need your solution? These books really helped me with it:

• The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you
• The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
• The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback

I love these books in particular because they teach the fundamentals of building small, getting feedback and iterating over a period. This is where your experience in failing will help you immensely.

I wish you luck.

 

[Mikkel]

You haven't "failed" yet. It sounds like you still got work to do.

Second, stop feeling bad for yourself. You are acting like failure is a bad thing. There is much more gained in knowledge from failure then from success.

I've failed a MINIMUM of 10 times, probably more... but I've lost count. Each failure, I gain valuable insight I didn't have before. Each failure provide more clarity of success.

Would it be great to have an early win? Sure! I feel like I'm due soon. The wind gets taken out of my sales for a brief period of time. I bounce back quickly, feeling bad for yourself is self destructive and self fulfilling.

Do you think you are one of the lucky few that will hit a homerun on your first few tries with little to no practice. Don't be unrealistic. Join the club of failure. The FLF would not exist in its magnitude if success came easy.

Saddle up. Get back on the horse.

 

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[Chris_Varick]

I think you should hold your horses a bit. You are putting a lot of frustration in this post .. I mean first of all you have tried to take action and did it! You have already gotten some skills and build up additional skills which is an earning not in the form of money but in the form of experience - you have only spent € 2500 which is reasonable, I mean just think about all the guys who bough into Crypto even on credit who have now lost in the thousands and the last thing you should do is compare yourself with people around you. They might have homes and children but often their expensive are eating them alive - big mortgage on a house(maybe even with variable interest rates) and you are caught in the slow lane forever. Just take a step back - reflect your "product"- where you went wrong in the CENTS model and start attacking again. ..and of course keep us postet